Linus Oota, Lafia
“Hope springs eternal in the human breast,” Alexander Pope observed in his timeless poem, An Essay on Man. “The soul, uneasy, and confin’d from home, rests and expatiates in a life to come.” That is to say, people will keep on hoping, no matter the odds. That is why, no matter how hopeless a situation may appear, most people will keep on hoping against hope, hanging on to the belief that things will eventually get better.
But not so with 27-year-old Theodore Utime, a Tiv from Nasarawa State. The hope of ever getting better from his spinal cord injury and making it in life as he had hoped, has since stopped springing eternal in his breast. He now wears sorrow like a garment. He has no desire to live any longer, he tells you, because of the insufferable pains and the never-ending misery his life has been subjected to. After being bed-ridden for over 10 years, he can’t walk or sit up.
Deteriorating situation
The situation has denied him the opportunity to complete his secondary education and his desire to study Chemistry in the university. It has also drained his family’s purse, and making the peasant farmers to live like paupers. The truth is, despite their efforts, Utime’s health has continued to deteriorate to the point where the embattled young man now prays the prayer of Job almost everyday: to die and thereby bring to an end his earthly suffering.
As he and his mother tell their tales of woe, amid sobs, you found tears also welling up in your own eyes, in sympathy. In fact, when you visited him in a private residence in Lafia, you found him in tears. He could not sit or turn properly from his bed-ridden state to talk to you. And, when he eventually managed to brace up, he could hardly talk. His voice choked as he tried to suppress sobs. Amidst tears, he explained that his parents have lost all hope as a result of his condition.
The world of Utime who hails from Mararaban Danko, Awe Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, came crashing when on September 30, 2010, he, unknowingly, fell into a deep pit and got his spinal cord seriously sprained in the process. Then he was a JSS 2 student at Government Secondary School, Awe, preparing to move to JSS3. His dream of becoming a chemist was shattered as x-ray tests showed that the fall affected his waist and neck regions. And, since then he has been bed-ridden.
“In 2010, when this happened to me, I was 18-years-old but now, I’m 27-years-old,” he said. “I was in JSS 2 before I found myself in this situation and I couldn’t continue with my studies. I had always wanted to read to university level, but today here I am. I can’t walk. I can’t sit up; I can’t stand. I can’t do anything. My mother does almost everything for me.”
Of course, he is not happy with his condition, with the lot fate has handed to him. He is not happy being a burden to anybody, depending on the sympthaties and mercies of people. That was not his ambition, his plan. He never, for one day, dreamt of being a liability to anybody. “My ambition was to study Chemistry, become a great man, a philanthropist, a man who can help people, before this ugly incident happened to me,” he said amid more sobs before going into details of how he came about the debilitating injury.
How he came about his pitiable condition
His pathetic narrative: “What happened was that I came to Lafia to work temporarily with the Nigerian Electricity Power Holding when I fell into a pit and since then I have been bed-ridden. My uncle, Mr Francis Yua, secured a contract with them. So, he invited me to come and work with him, that was in 2010, so that I can also raise some money to take care of myself and pursue my dreams in education. It was in the process of working there that I fell and sustained spinal cord injury. We started the work on September 13, 2010 but I got injured on September 30, 2010.
“On that fateful day, we were casting iron. We cast the first day and on the second day, we were to remove the iron pole. Usually, they would put it in a pit and expect us to fetch mixed concrete and cement in the wheelbarrow and be pouring into the pit. We were taking the iron pole to another pit. It was rainy season and I held the iron, but the ground was too slippery; it was not strong enough to stand on. When I went and held it, I wanted to turn but unfortunately the ground was slippery and I fell inside the deep pit with the iron pole I was holding. That was how it happened and that was how my problem started.
“I was taken to a specialist hospital in Lafia, but after much spending, they were not able to handle my case and I was advised to go to Makurdi for further treatment. I was taken to Makurdi in a state of coma and I was in that situation for days. From Makurdi, I was referred to Mkar, Gboko where they treated the spinal cord; that was where I got a little relief. I was in serious pains throughout these stages until I got to Mkar but before we got to Mkar, my parents had already exhausted all they had. My uncle equally emptied his account to ensure that I got the best treatment.
“Mkar actually tried but lack of funds hindered them from continuing with the treatment. The spinal cord allegedly got broken in my neck and waist regions. They treated the neck and I got some relief, so I can turn my neck freely. But that of the waist, they were not able to treat it, largely due to lack of finance and we were compelled to return to Lafia without completing the treatment.
“At present, I’m not undergoing any treatment. The electricity company did not assist me with one kobo because they said that I’m not their staff. At the moment, I can’t stand, I can’t walk; I can’t sit up and I’m in excessive pains continuously. I have been at home for a very long time. If I get help from anyone, I would want to go back to Mkar hospital. They really tried to revive me but finance hindered them from bringing me back to normal life. We have tried our best; my parents are peasant farmers. Since then, they hardly go to farm because they use most of their time to take care of me. They have nowhere to go and source for money any longer as they are hugely indebted to people.”
Despair and hopeless feelings
This is why Utime is feeling that it is high time the Lord took his life as he can no longer continue to bear with the pains and situation. “I have really suffered in life,” he said. “I wondered why I should be saddled with such condition in my life. The financial costs and emotional pains that had gone into this dilemma are unimaginable, the pains are excessive.”
If given the chance to choose, he would prefer being dead than being alive to continue to suffer the excruciating pain and hardship. Speaking to our correspondent, his mother, Paulina Utime, confirmed her son’s word that for the past 10 years, she has not been able to do anything because she has been moving with him from one place to another in search of solution for the spinal cord injury.
She also confirmed that both her and her husband, Utime Gbaagbu, are peasant farmers that have spent all their resources on the treatment. Looking into your face, she said: “It is as if God has inflicted a permanent injury in my entire life; there is absolutely no point in His keeping me alive. This is my only son. Most times, I think of taking my life. God is not fair to me and I don’t know my offence.” Having said so, she burst into tears.