Why Sir Emeka Offor Is Keen on Polio Eradication- Just a Story. READ

On the 27th November 1999, a house wife in a remote village of Jigawa state, Mrs. Amina Abubakar called on her three year old son, Umar to come down from their old flaccid foam to eat masa, a local stable food. Her son had been down with fever and there was no money for hospital treatment but he appeared to be getting better. The little boy tried to get himself out of the bed but could not and as he continued to try, he found out he had lost the ability to do so and he began to cry for his mother’s help. His mother was both angry and concerned that he could not do what he used to do without any stress thinking he wanted to be doted on. As she carried her little poor son out of the bed and dropped him on the floor, his limb went numb and it was polio. She was alarmed and shouted for help because she didn’t know what to call whatever that had befallen her son as she had neither heard of polio nor its vaccine.

Umar will be eighteen this year and had since graduated from crying for mother’s help to that of the society where he crawls through the streets begging for alms. His destiny, talent, life’s dream and whatever contribution he would have made to the development of the society are all crippled by polio which first crippled and terribly twisted his two legs. The distasteful effect of polio is not only physical but also robs one of the stability of his emotion, mind and talent. This is one in thousands of dreams, talents, ambitions and contributions polio have robbed the world of and its undesired effect can never be overestimated.

This is one of the many heart-rending stories that spurred the philanthropist in a duel with polio in Africa. Long live Sir Emeka Offor, long live SEOF, long live Nigeria, long live Africa.