The Executive Director of the Centre for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD), David Anyaele, has shared how President Bola Tinubu played a vital role in his recovery after Sierra Leone rebels amputated his hands in 1999.
Anyaele spoke in Enugu on Friday at Nkata Umuibe, a monthly speakers’ series hosted by the Centre for Memories (CFM). The event carried the theme “Onye Aghana Nwanne Ya.”
He recalled that fighters of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), which waged war in Sierra Leone from 1991 to 2002, attacked him in Freetown during a business trip.
“I was targeted because I was Nigerian. My pleas for mercy were ignored as they cut off my hands,” he said.
Tinubu’s Intervention
After his ordeal was broadcast on television, Anyaele wrote to several governments, including Southeast governors, for help but was denied. He later appealed to then Lagos governor Bola Tinubu, who ordered doctors to evaluate his condition.
Medical reports recommended treatment abroad, leading to his rehabilitation in Germany, where artificial hands were fitted.
“I must thank the Tinubu administration and the good people of Lagos State for their hospitality,” Anyaele said.
The activist lamented that people with disabilities in Igboland often face neglect and discrimination.
“That experience changed my life completely. I suddenly found myself in the disability community, unsure of what the future held,” he noted.
Anyaele added that despite facing stigma, isolation, and exclusion, he has continued to advocate for equal rights.
Call for Inclusion
He urged the Igbo community not to discriminate against persons with disabilities, stressing that disability can happen to anyone at any time.
He praised Abia State Governor Alex Otti for creating the Abia State Disability Commission and encouraged Enugu Governor Peter Mbah to establish a similar body.
Source: NAN
