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Blinded By The Robber's Bullet - How A 42-year-old Driver Lost His Sight

Feature Article Blinded By The Robber's Bullet - How A 42-year-old Driver Lost His Sight
JUL 3, 2016 LISTEN

It started off as another normal working day for 42 year old Sumaila Balla Yakubu, who worked as a commercial vehicle driver from Kumasi to Yeji. He left Kumasi on 30th July 2011 for Yeji with passengers in his vehicle, telling friends and colleagues he will be back the day after. But that was not meant to be. Mid way through the journey, his vehicle broke down and he had to hop into the front seat of another commercial vehicle to go get a mechanic to come fix it. His worst nightmare was yet to come.

It was after 11 pm and the sky was dark. About 45 kilometers from Yeji, the vehicle was stopped by some men who had mounted a roadblock, flashing torch lights at the vehicle. They were not policemen; they were not commuters needing help. They were armed robbers wielding guns and other dangerous weapons. There were about six of them.

One of them ordered occupants of the vehicle to switch of the light In it and get down. Sumaila attempted doing just that from the driver’s seat in obedience to the gun wielding men. They misinterpreted his move as an attempt to drive off. One of them shot Sumaila in the fore head and eye.

Remember how painful it was the last time you mistakenly hit your head against the wall and imagine the pain that a bullet riddled through your head will evoke. A lot of Sumaila’s blood was spilled that night. The pain was unbearable. He could hardly see anything but little did he know that this was just the beginning of a life-long period of sight loss. He had been blinded by the bullets of the armed robber. Four other passengers sustained gunshot wounds. The robbers made away with cash, mobile phones, and other valuables.

There was no ambulance to convey him to the hospital. Another commercial vehicle was called in to do that. He was initially sent to the Mathias Hospital at Yeji for treatment and later referred to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH). A doctor’s report from KATH’s Emergency Medicine Directorate referring him to the Ophthalmology Directorate for further care said: “the patient was admitted with a case of pellets in the eyes after gunshot injury. CT scan revealed pellets in the orbits and skull.”

Sumaila spent the next three months undergoing one surgery after another at KATH, as doctors made efforts to remove the pellets and help him recover his sight. They were unsuccessful and he was sent back to his home at Yeji as a blind man. He was supposed to return to KATH for further treatment but by then, all his savings had been exhausted, making it impossible for him to continue paying for that. His family took to the services of traditional healers, several of whom have administered countless concoctions on him but Sumaila has not been able to get his sight back.

Today, the father of four wakes up every day not only with a lot of tears in his blinded eyes, but with a lot of self pity in his heart as family and friends on whom he has become too dependent continue to abandon him. His wife has divorced him and his children have had to relocate to live with family and friends. Sumaila feels his life has been shattered. He complains about stigmatization by people who used to be his friends in the Yeji community. He feels deprived of love and care. And he is worried society has turned its back on him since he lost his job as a driver after losing one of his most important senses, his eyes. He struggles to feed and clothe himself now, and is unable to take care of his family.

Sumaila goes to bed everyday “cursing the sun” that went down on that fateful July day, allowing the wicked robbers to rob him off the ability to see the beautiful things of this world again in the den of the night.

“It is the hope of every young man to live and see how beautiful his children grow as well as appreciate the beauty of his wife, mother, sisters and nature. However, some are not lucky enough to appreciate this and would only have to resort to imagination,” he said.

Sumaila is appealing for help to get treatment for his sight and to possibly get his life back on track. In a letter requesting for support, he lamented, “things have become so difficult and unbearable.” Sumaila is determined not to give up on life whether he recovers his sight or not. He has a firm belief in the popular saying that “disability is not inability.” He is confident he will be able to regain his sight and re-discover himself as the hardworking, independent man he used to be.

By Joseph Opoku Gakpo / www.josephopokugakpo.wordpress.com

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