Our correspondent John Adeleke went to the Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Aro, Abeokuta where he talked with a young man who is now an out patient there. He discussed his dancing ambition and how he ended up being a patient.

Have a happy reading:

My assumed name for the purpose of this story is Luke Edet and I am from Akwaibom State even though I was born and bred in Abeokuta the capital of Ogun State.

I am the last child and have three siblings. I have always loved dancing. I can recall as a kid when asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would always mention that I wanted to be a dancer. I admired them on television and practiced all the latest dance steps that were in vogue.

This didn’t go down well with my conservative parents who wanted me to have a regular career so that I could have a good job with a good pension plan and take care of them alongside my siblings in their old age.

I went to boarding school in Enugu and it was fun as I made lots of friends from different ethnic groups in the country. I shared my dancing aspiration with some of them and they whole-heartedly endorsed it.

A friend advised that I needed to ‘get high’ to be able to dance well and that most professional dancers were usually high on drugs. At this point, I started smoking marijuana which gave me a temporal relief from life’s troubles and cruel blows.

I finished secondary school and moved back home. I wasn’t really interested in furthering my education as I didn’t see the need for a certificate for my chosen career despite my parents’ pleas that I can always go back to dancing but I should at least get a university degree.

I participated in several dance competitions and signed up to some artistes which exposed me to some good money and the fine things of life. As a generous person, I brought home the goodies and this made my mum have a rethink about her earlier stance of not wanting me to be a dancer as in her words she was beginning to reap the fruits of her labour. She then encouraged me to follow my passion and gave me her unwavering backing. My dad though secretly proud of me wouldn’t stop complaining about my non intention to acquire a university education.

I bought my first car – the one which Nigerians call Honda Baby Boy and was living on the fast lane as I had wad, wine and women. I was gradually building a name for myself in the music industry and was a backup dancer for some popular artistes which made me permanently relocate to Lagos as it was the headquarters of entertainment in the country.

I moved from the backwaters of Abeokuta to highbrow Lekki Phase One at barely 20 and was really happy as well as fulfilled at how far I had come within a short space of time.

I got a call from my immediate elder sister one fateful day which changed my life forever. She called when I was in a rehearsal to tell me that my darling mother who sacrificed everything for me passed on in her sleep without any sign of an illness.

I was devastated and my world came crumbling all of a sudden. I became withdrawn and avoided everyone including my then girlfriend and my manager. I would look myself up in my room and brood from morning till night.

I left Lagos without telling anyone for the burial and cried myself hoarse especially when the corpse was being lowered to the grave.

After the burial I lost interest in everything and became a shadow of myself. I carried her pictures with me and kept staring at her face and calling her name. My dad was concerned and tried to keep me company; my manager came around and told me of some lucrative gigs he had secured for me as a way of cheering me up but I didn’t care anymore as I had lost interest in things which I once loved.

I tried getting close to God and sometimes would go for Sunday and week day service. I recall one particular week day service when the Pastor preached about the miracle of Lazarus being brought back to life by Jesus Christ. I can remember my shouting that he could do the same for my mum. I screamed like a deranged banshee and can’t recall what happened next.

I woke up to find myself in the Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Aro, Abeokuta.

Nobody told me how and why I was brought there which only made me more hostile. I remember being beaten up mercilessly by the Crisis Intervention Team when I ‘misbehaved’ and on one occasion made a futile attempt at escaping.

When I had a session with my doctor, he told me that the twin combination of substance abuse and grief brought about by my beloved mum’s demise were responsible for my being admitted.

I lost my self confidence and had no desire to live for anything. I got a text message from my manager that he had no more interest in working with a mentally deranged client as the news of my admission had circulated widely in the entertainment circuit. An online tabloid did the story with my name and picture and it trended for days also on social media.

Bowing to pressure from my dad, I decided to go to the University to study business administration since my entertainment career was now history.

My dad and brother finance my medications purchase and I live in despair and hopelessness as I am dismayed at my banal existence rather than living up to my real potentials as an entertainer.

I finished my degree and NYSC; job hunting took an incredible emotional toll on me and I simply gave up.

Lately, I have been toying with the idea of relocating permanently to the US but the reality facing me is that I don’t have the funds for it. As a way of escaping from my unemployment and poverty troubles, I follow American entertainment news on a daily basis which acts as a potent placebo for my woes.

When Kanye West came out as a bi polar disorder patient, it gave me a strong ray of hope that I wasn’t alone and that I could achieve all what I set out to do despite my health challenge. I resolved deeply within me that I was going to be a dancer in the US despite the water that had passed under the bridge.

I hung Kanye’s picture on my room wall to constantly remind me of my dream to legally migrate to God’s own country.

SOURCE: https://africavoiceshq.com/2022/04/13/my-ambition-to-be-a-dancer-landed-me-in-aro-by-john-adeleke/

tonyluyi1985:
Our correspondent John Adeleke went to the Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Aro, Abeokuta where he talked with a young man who is now an out patient there. He discussed his dancing ambition and how he ended up being a patient.

Have a happy reading:

My assumed name for the purpose of this story is Luke Edet and I am from Akwaibom State even though I was born and bred in Abeokuta the capital of Ogun State.

I am the last child and have three siblings. I have always loved dancing. I can recall as a kid when asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would always mention that I wanted to be a dancer. I admired them on television and practiced all the latest dance steps that were in vogue.

This didn’t go down well with my conservative parents who wanted me to have a regular career so that I could have a good job with a good pension plan and take care of them alongside my siblings in their old age.

I went to boarding school in Enugu and it was fun as I made lots of friends from different ethnic groups in the country. I shared my dancing aspiration with some of them and they whole-heartedly endorsed it.

A friend advised that I needed to ‘get high’ to be able to dance well and that most professional dancers were usually high on drugs. At this point, I started smoking marijuana which gave me a temporal relief from life’s troubles and cruel blows.

I finished secondary school and moved back home. I wasn’t really interested in furthering my education as I didn’t see the need for a certificate for my chosen career despite my parents’ pleas that I can always go back to dancing but I should at least get a university degree.

I participated in several dance competitions and signed up to some artistes which exposed me to some good money and the fine things of life. As a generous person, I brought home the goodies and this made my mum have a rethink about her earlier stance of not wanting me to be a dancer as in her words she was beginning to reap the fruits of her labour. She then encouraged me to follow my passion and gave me her unwavering backing. My dad though secretly proud of me wouldn’t stop complaining about my non intention to acquire a university education.

I bought my first car – the one which Nigerians call Honda Baby Boy and was living on the fast lane as I had wad, wine and women. I was gradually building a name for myself in the music industry and was a backup dancer for some popular artistes which made me permanently relocate to Lagos as it was the headquarters of entertainment in the country.

I moved from the backwaters of Abeokuta to highbrow Lekki Phase One at barely 20 and was really happy as well as fulfilled at how far I had come within a short space of time.

I got a call from my immediate elder sister one fateful day which changed my life forever. She called when I was in a rehearsal to tell me that my darling mother who sacrificed everything for me passed on in her sleep without any sign of an illness.

I was devastated and my world came crumbling all of a sudden. I became withdrawn and avoided everyone including my then girlfriend and my manager. I would look myself up in my room and brood from morning till night.

I left Lagos without telling anyone for the burial and cried myself hoarse especially when the corpse was being lowered to the grave.

After the burial I lost interest in everything and became a shadow of myself. I carried her pictures with me and kept staring at her face and calling her name. My dad was concerned and tried to keep me company; my manager came around and told me of some lucrative gigs he had secured for me as a way of cheering me up but I didn’t care anymore as I had lost interest in things which I once loved.

I tried getting close to God and sometimes would go for Sunday and week day service. I recall one particular week day service when the Pastor preached about the miracle of Lazarus being brought back to life by Jesus Christ. I can remember my shouting that he could do the same for my mum. I screamed like a deranged banshee and can’t recall what happened next.

I woke up to find myself in the Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Aro, Abeokuta.

Nobody told me how and why I was brought there which only made me more hostile. I remember being beaten up mercilessly by the Crisis Intervention Team when I ‘misbehaved’ and on one occasion made a futile attempt at escaping.

When I had a session with my doctor, he told me that the twin combination of substance abuse and grief brought about by my beloved mum’s demise were responsible for my being admitted.

I lost my self confidence and had no desire to live for anything. I got a text message from my manager that he had no more interest in working with a mentally deranged client as the news of my admission had circulated widely in the entertainment circuit. An online tabloid did the story with my name and picture and it trended for days also on social media.

Bowing to pressure from my dad, I decided to go to the University to study business administration since my entertainment career was now history.

My dad and brother finance my medications purchase and I live in despair and hopelessness as I am dismayed at my banal existence rather than living up to my real potentials as an entertainer.

I finished my degree and NYSC; job hunting took an incredible emotional toll on me and I simply gave up.

Lately, I have been toying with the idea of relocating permanently to the US but the reality facing me is that I don’t have the funds for it. As a way of escaping from my unemployment and poverty troubles, I follow American entertainment news on a daily basis which acts as a potent placebo for my woes.

When Kanye West came out as a bi polar disorder patient, it gave me a strong ray of hope that I wasn’t alone and that I could achieve all what I set out to do despite my health challenge. I resolved deeply within me that I was going to be a dancer in the US despite the water that had passed under the bridge.

I hung Kanye’s picture on my room wall to constantly remind me of my dream to legally migrate to God’s own country.

SOURCE: https://africavoiceshq.com/2022/04/13/my-ambition-to-be-a-dancer-landed-me-in-aro-by-john-adeleke/

Say no to drugs, e have kill many destinies!

Marijuana made u craze?

I don't believe u oga