Follow Us on Google
Gloria Ikegbule
An aluminium fabricator, Buky Agbelese, is in agony. The 40-year-old man has been struck with a spinal cord injury, which has rendered him incapacitated.
When the reporter visited him recently at the church premises where he resides, he tried to wear a cheerful face. But deep down in his heart is the longing to walk again. He explained that a gunshot injury he suffered has affected his spine. It has left him paralysed and bedridden for 12 years.
The medical report from Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) has recommended that Agbelese be flown abroad for orthopaedic and plastic surgery. With the assistance of Parkview Estate Lions Club, Ikoyi, the family was able to contact Max Super Speciality Hospital, an Indian hospital, which requires the sum of N20 million for Buky to walk again. The money, according to his doctors, would cover his flight, the surgery and accommodation and the person accompanying him to Indian.
Describing Buky’s condition, his 67-year-old mother, Mrs. Bolanle Agbelese, said her first son was hit by a stray bullet from an armed robber; the bullet hit him in the back of his neck, came out from his side and paralysed his spine. Consequently, the victim lost the use of his limbs and later developed bedsores from sleeping on one side. He also wears diapers. He has been lying on his back since 2002 when the incident happened in Ilupeju, Lagos.
The woman, who used to sell waste paper, said she has been the one taking care of her son since the incident. She now lives on people’s benevolence. Even the room where they have been living in the last 11 years was given to them by the leadership of St. Emmanuel Spiritual Church of Christ, C & S International, Ketu, she said.
It was gathered that the incident occurred the day Buki’s girlfriend was delivered of a baby girl. However, the lady has since left him for another man after releasing the baby to the family. Also, Buky and his mother became homeless after they were discharged from the hospital for their inability to pay rent.
Faced with these challenges, Buky, who said he would love to relocate from the church to a quieter environment, remains positive that he would walk again, if given the needed assistance.
Recounting the incident, he said, at the close of work that fateful day, he and his brother turned into Savannah Avenue, Ilupeju to buy noodles from a roadside kiosk. While they waited for the food to be cooked, some robbers happened on the scene, and Buky was hit by a bullet.
“Initially, my condition was very frustrating but I had to encourage myself. I watch a lot of videos on Youtube that God uses to give me hope that I will come out of this.
“I am thanking God for life. When there is life there is hope. What gives me courage is that I have seen more critical conditions. Most essentially, I was not born like this, I believe I will get back on my feet. I will get married and have my own factory,” he said.
Buky, enjoining Nigerians to come to his rescue, said he spends his time reading and listening to music. Those willing to help should send donations to his Access Bank account. The account name is Agbelese Bukola Folorunsho and the account number 0031106003. He can be reached on 09082323526
