Who will help me out--------!?Sadness of
being dumb.
It seems to me that things rarely go the
way I would like them to. Or even the way
I thought they would. If I recall correctly, I
had planned at various times to be the
greatest advocate for education, to be a
crackerjack lawyer, to be a very successful
medical doctor, to be an ever-reliable
engineer, and to be the voice of every
streets and households in my darling
country, Nigeria.
Instead, I stay idle and thoughtful, alone in
my world. How did that happen?
Something like this, I suppose...
...As a young child from a rich and
resourceful background dreams were as
bright as the sunshine and hopes as high as mountain. I am the only fruit of the union of my father and mother despite coming from a polygamous family.
My father is a very rich, elegant, intelligent,
but cunning man. As against the law of
nature, my father gets more agile as he
gets older. At 53, I guess that explains why
he has as many wives as the number of
women ever seen with him.
Mother, they say, is the first true friend of
a child. That is not an exemption in my
case. My mother is a lovely, resourceful,
and virtuous woman. That would be
perfect, but, alas, she is stubborn and a bit
selfish too. She would go a long way to tell
the extent of my stay on this sick bed.
Having known each other for many years,
my parents still seem to lack concrete
understanding of each other. This speaks
volume of why a little misapprehension
between them is often given a great
shadow. Peaceful agreement is always
called upon in times like this but my
cunning and stubborn couple would not
entertain it. I could delight you with
several examples, but believe me, none of
them says anything different, or anything
more revealing than my present situation.
Ever since I was born, I have always been
on this little sick bed fighting for my life
from the grasp of the deadly drepanocytic
anaemia disease. It has been a one way
battle right from the start and it seems my
chances of survival gets slimmer with every
breathe I take.
The disease is not only sickening, but also
dream threatening. It is forcing me to
accept defeat in the pursuit of my goals. I
mean, how can I be a successful medical
doctor when i cannot even treat myself
first? Being a crackerjack lawyer requires
agile mind and numbed body, but it is
painful I possess none As much as I could feel your pity, it is sad that my parents would never make me feel the same. They would rather irritatingly argue all day on what to do regarding my
urgent situation. Hypothetically, a
proactive reaction from appropriate
quarters, my parent in this case, would
have definitely given me an outright
chance of surviving my health issues.
However, my distress deepens whenever I
attempt to show my discomfort and my
voice fails me. I do have the image in my
mind, and the expression right in my body,
but my voice will always deprive me the
perfection.
The sadness of being dumb definitely kills
me more than any other thing. A chance to
make my voice heard is what I desire
most.
"If only I could talk" I do think. If only I
could whisper into the ears of my parent of how deeply hurt I am, by their non-
challant and selfish attitude towards me. If
only I could dialogue with them, in quest
for a resolution to their old feud. How I
wish I could tell them I am already dying.
However, I will not let my limitation
dictate my designation for long. Before my
father (Nigeria Government) and my mother (ASUU) make my life more
miserable, I have decided to make my
voice. This, I believe, is a brave way of
showing my discontent with their careless
attitude towards me. I hope for a positive
change, but I understand that will be
possible if this letter could make its way to
their hands.
Despite being dumb, I have discovered the
power in pen and paper. I will forever be
an advocate of it; because flowing from it
is a river ofnjopportunities. Ranging from
an unrestricted exploitation of my
dexterity to the chance to speak well of my
race anywhere in the world.
Education is my legacy, and it has enfranchised me to rightfully fight for what
belongs to me even at this crucial
moment. I am Nigerian students and my
dream lives. I may be dumb for now, but i
wont be forever.