News
How I Became Blind At Four Months Old — Nigerian Popular DJ Tells His Story
Augustine Akpeji, a 26-year-old blind popular Nigerian DJ, spoke up about how he became blind at the age of four months and became a Disc Jockey
Akpeji disclosed this during an interview with The PUNCH on the sideline of a seminar to create awareness on glaucoma with the topic: “Unlocking The Mysteries of Glaucoma-All You need to know, held at St. Felix Heights, Eleta Eye Institute, Academy, Olomi in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
He explained that despite his blindness, he had made DJ and music his passions and did all that other normal human beings do on social media.
Akpeji said, “I was blind when I was four months old due to cancer of the eyes. It is a cancer, I’m no exception. So, I’m blind doesn’t mean I cannot do anything. I’m a musician, DJ, I play, I sing. I loved music when I was a kid.
“I’m a DJ and you have to be universal. You have to be able to play every part of the music. I play musical instruments as well as sing songs despite my eye challenges.
“Nobody taught me about it. I broke a lot of challenges when I wanted to become a DJ. I play music. I play drum set, I play talking drum, trumpet. And I’ve been in the music industry for the past 25 years, and I’m 26 years old. So, I’ve been on this every day of my life.”
He stressed that despite his blindness, he chatted on social media just like every other person, adding that “Because I’m not seeing anything but I chat on WhatsApp the way you do. I’m not seeing at all. I’m completely blind.”
Speaking earlier, the Chairman of Eleta Eye Foundation, Dr Gboyega Ajayi, lamented that the condition had quietly destroyed many people who could have prevented it before it went out of hand.
He said, “We are here today because there is a condition that quietly destroys the eye without the person knowing. We call it glaucoma and it’s a painful thing for me as a doctor to sit in my clinic and see people who could have been prevented from being blind coming at the late stages.
“And we felt we were not fighting the war adequately. If we continue to stay in the hospital then more and more people will go blind. So, we better take a fight to them and the soldiers on the warfront are few so we need to recruit people. Let them be aware of the condition and they can fight for us. So, we are creating awareness of glaucoma to prevent blindness from glaucoma. Because blindness from glaucoma is irreversible.
“We have trailer drivers who are blind. One of them came to my clinic and with the test we did, I asked how did you get here? And he said I drove myself. He said I’m not blind because I saw people but the quality of what we saw was very bad. He would see movement and that’s why they cleared people at checkpoints.”
Also speaking, a professor of Glaucoma Care and Research, Affiong Ibanga, urged Nigerians to always go for medical checks when they are over 40 years old as many people were already affected without knowing.
She said, “Early detection, prompt treatment, and not just treatment, appropriate treatment and avoid self-medication, avoid patronizing quacks, avoid using anything in your eye without consulting with your well-trained doctors we have available in the country.
“Glaucoma is an issue. It’s a major problem in Nigeria. We are Africans and being Africans we are at risk. And many people have the disease already. The last survey that was done in Nigeria some years back showed that it’s a problem. A large number of the population is being affected and a large number of people are going blind blindness is a problem because the age group of the people going blind is a reproductive age group and it has the implication for economy and productivity of the country.”
By Mario Deepromoter
Three persons have been left seriously injured after a tanker with Reg No. T20 146 LA fully loaded with Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) burst into flames after colliding with a Toyota Sienna space bus at Imani roundabout in Maitama, Abuja, on Monday night, September 23.
According to the FCT Police Command spokesperson, the Police patrol teams from Maitama, Wuse and Central Police Station alongside operatives of the Federal Fire Service swiftly moved to the the scene to possibly rescue victims and extinguish the fire.
She said while no fatality was recorded, three persons, Idris Mohammed, Suleiman Gimba and Adamu Isiayku were injured and immediately rushed Maitama district hospital for medical attention.
Adeh said the situation is now under control as the combined efforts of the Police and Fire service personnel was enough to curtail and extinguish the fire.
By Mario Deepromoter
Another tragic news in the entertainment industry as popular Nigerian Islamic singer, Rukayat Gawat Oyefeso has passed away.
She was well-known for her captivating voice and religious music that resonated with many in the Muslim community.
According to.reports, the news of her death was shared by popular Ilorin based cleric Alfa Aribidesi At-Tawdeeh Islamic Da’awah his official Facebook page on Tuesday morning.
Her loss is deeply felt among her fans and the broader Islamic music scene – with the news of her death widely shared.
Further details surrounding her death have yet to be fully disclosed.
More details soon……
News
We lost 29,000 Yoruba People K!lled By Herdsmen, Separation Only Option — Akintoye On Yoruba Nation’s Survival
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
The National Leader of the Yoruba Self-Determination Movement, Professor Banji Akintoye, on Monday, intensified his call for separation from Nigeria asking South West governors and monarchs in the region to declare September 23 as Yoruba unity day.
He, however, alleged that suspected Fulani bandits have killed no fewer than 29,000 Yoruba people and continue to rape women and subject others to all sorts of atrocities.
He said this in a statement to mark the anniversary of Yoruba Unity Day.
Akintoye, a renowned historian, emphasized that given the continued threats to life and destruction of farmlands, the only option left is to separate Yoruba Nation from Nigeria.
He said: “The only viable and sustainable answer to all this horrible situation is to separate our Yoruba nation from Nigeria, and to establish our own country where we shall be able to exercise our sovereignty to provide security for our land and people, and where we shall be able to run our economy decently in the way that we Yoruba know.”
Claiming that the Yoruba unity day was being celebrated in Ile Ife and Ibadan, he said: “In the rural areas of our homeland, where probably the majority of our people live, the Fulani people who are determined to seize land for a homeland of their own, are daily killing our people, have killed a roughly estimated 29,000 of our people, are raping our women, kidnapping men, women and children, extorting millions of Naira in ransom for the kidnapped, destroying farms, food barns and villages.”
Calling on the South West governors and traditional rulers to adopt the unity day as a public holiday, Akintoye said: “Obas, the fathers of our nation, should adopt this Yoruba unity day in their Councils of Obas in all our Yoruba States. I urge that our Governors, when they assemble in their Southwest Governors meeting, to adopt this Yoruba unity day for all our states.”
While asking other Yoruba people to join him in his self-determination struggle, he stated: “We are seriously pushing for the separation of our Yoruba nation from Nigeria and the Nigerian disaster is different. Our perception of the Nigerian situation is not self-centred. It is not emotional. It is intellectually sound and realistic. And it is accepted by at least 80 per cent of all our Yoruba at home and in the Diaspora. Objectively, there is good reason to fear now that the Nigerian situation could destroy our Yoruba nation.”
On the creation of the security outfit, Amotekun, he said: “There was some hope when our Governors created Amotekun some years ago to resist the Fulani rampages, but Fulani people in control of the Federal Government have contrived the impotence of Amotekun. The Fulani terrorists are also becoming increasingly audacious in crimes and barbarism in our main cities.
“Our kinsman who won election as President of Nigeria is being made to face ever-mounting harassment, including threats of military overthrow, threats of wholesale regional rebellion, and even a defiant declaration of war.
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