The association appealed for the understanding of MAZI ODERA who wrote that the financial support was too poor to sheath his swords as the association has nothing now and needed all the support from everybody.
Coordinator of the association, Aisha Edward in a press statement said the sickle cell patients will appreciate any form of support to buy first aide boxes and other needs of the patients.
Edward said: “I want to thank the wife of the Governor, Chief Mrs. Ebelechukwu Obiano for considering it necessary to flag-off our thanksgiving service with us. It shows that she loved us. We appreciate all her efforts towards our welfare; her presence either in person or through a representative is quiet commendable. She was well represented by Dr. Ego Uzoezie, the Provost of Nwafor Orizu College of Education.
“My people were very much happy because it was first time they witnessed it themselves. It is no longer when I used to tell them that the state government is supporting us, but some of them got confused when they do not see any sign of my assurance, thereby making me uncomfortable when certain promises are not fulfilled. This time around they saw it themselves, felt it and enjoyed it. This also saved me the embarrassment I would have received from my household APLSCD,I am also happy too because it is now on record. And my people now knew where we are heading to.
‘’We however regret that Mazi Odera dwelt on the fact that it was an open or public donation to criticize it. The representative of Governor’s wife made the open donation. To some extent we were happy about that, but personally as a leader the trending news making rounds has served as cautionary steps that need to be noted in the future.
“However, we are unhappy that the writer is condemning the First Lady not minding that the donation was done in her personal capacity not as a government. We are not politicians therefore he should kindly reason with us. This is why I preferred secret donation to public donation because am a security conscious person Again, there are two things about public donation. The first is that it clarifies issues for avoidance of doubt; making it possible for everyone to see what was given. But making a coded donation is advantageous because it saves you from the possible mess, unnecessary attention, and exposure to dangers too. That day, I fearfully handed it over to an elderly woman in our midst to avoid been ambushed by anyone. Worst of its negative impact is that people will capitalize on it and may likely criticize it as if it is the sole responsibility of the governor's wife. It is not so.
‘’I wish to remind everyone that Chief Mrs. Ebelechukwu Obiano is an individual and not a government per say. She has her own pet project, known as CAFÉ. It would have been a different ball game entirely if the donation had come from the state ministry of health ,finance ministry ,women affairs ministry, or the federal and state houses of assemble representatives, even SSA and SA who some of their children belong to APSLD family, then the criticism would have drawn our support .
I will like the entire public to note that the wife of the governor is just one individual who is not everywhere to know what is going on in the entire state. it is the duty of her principal staff officers to brief her adequately on the state indigents with various health challenges including our association despite all correspondence being submitted to her office I feel the writer should be more understanding with her person as well as her husband the governor in criticizing holistically and constructively, I understand the writer's pain having known so much about our general condition especially regarding the welfare and psychological management of my people.
It has been very difficult for me to speak on the matters arising because am presently working on my temperament as a leader who is saddled with a huge responsibility of putting the welfare of my people first, saving and protecting lives of the weak, since it is a different experience during my services in the military which logically states that you get down the perceived enemy or rebel before you are targeted.
But I will like to warn that people should not take my calmness, respect, humility and patient as a sign cowardice (Mugu). I would not like anybody who undermines my association (APLSCD) by experiencing the claws of a tiger when we are provoked to exhibit such tendencies.
I know that we are in a society that understands provocative languages, confrontations, given the trending of militancy, terrorism, kidnapping, political blackmails and gross abuse of human right, having said that, I urge all well meaning Nigerians to shun an act of eye service attitude to work especially those serving the government. I have come to realize that any error from the conduct or attitude of the principal staff officers could unconsciously cause a leader a whole lot of public embarrassment.
“Therefore, I am appealing to the writer to take it easy with us because we are not politicians, and we will not want our condition to be politicized bearing in mind that we are quite fragile, sensitive, peaceful and tolerating in nature, even when we are grossly cheated, stigmatized, wrongly judged ,dehumanized by some of our family members let alone the society that are not biologically related to us. I was trained to always say thank you no matter how little am given as a gift. The donation might be small to you Odera, but it is a huge and significant to us coming from one person who was touched, despite her responsibility to many people that have similar cases as we do. You should understand Obiano and his wife and give room for benefit of doubt in the future before going rampage.
‘’This association was formed to put an end to the psychological trauma and stigmatization (we) sickle cell patients passing through. We can’t be joined with politicians or dabble in political statements. my worry is the impression that has been create by people of no conscience towards the donor. As a moral crusader and a media person, experience has thought me to be mindful of what i say and whom to trust, the writer no doubt has good intention of saving us from hell of rejection and undeserved treatment from the society but i bet you some ill minded people have cashed into it to politicize our condition to break us down and get us out of favour with the government but i will leave judgement of our attitude and secret intentions for God, since he knows better than we do .
I want him to know that the same donation he kicked against in his reports would send about ten of our members back to school. A considerable number of our members’ dropped out of school as a result of poverty, hardship and agony their parents are passing through. We are not going to return the fund. We are channelling the fund to settling our members’ schools fees. After that we shall publish the beneficiaries for record purposes in case am not their tomorrow.
“Also, I read those names he mentioned in his Tuesday-Report Card. I want him to know that we are not close to those personalities he mentioned and do not know them personally. We are not beggars as some people had tagged us, We are only advocating for our fundamental rights from a senseless society. It is true that we are living with sickle cell disorder but good number of the rich and wretched in the society are living on sickle cell disorder cases and research to survive, which I consider a total fraud of the highest degree. Some even call us story tellers which they may be right in their own thinking because am a professional story writer and if i don't tell my story to educate you, you will remain forever ignorant.
Therefore, I urge you to be grateful to the association when our stories are being told. That is called undiluted sensitization that deserv their reasonable sponsorship rather than allow me engage in a media rejoinder for their ignorant. We thank and solicit his report to reaching them, if the writer considers it important to reach out to those he recommended in his report then he should help us to do so. We need their support as well. It is a collective responsibility. If they contribute at least each, the same amount being criticized , I am sure most of us will regain our jobs and happiness. So, I am not interested in politicizing the Association. (APLSCD) is a very different Organisation from other NGO's around extorting from innocent people through people with a similar case study
Like ours.
“The said report had made the members of the association very emotional given the way he got this information mysteriously with our particulars and our full contacts, though the hand bills and flyers we printed may be responsible for that, we are convinced about his love for us but appeal that his approach to the Government be moderated in the best way possible.
We urge you to do so since we need them, We thank you for championing our course in your reports as well we ask that you withdraw all the threat you had earlier issued to us and see reason with us, as well as the Donor. Please do approach our issues with caution and refrain from being judgmental in our dealings with the Governor and his wife. You can only judge them when you have facts that we have met with them personally in futility. However, I haven’t met with any of them. I have sent much letters to them to that effect, but may be they were stopped on the way or the same bureaucratic proceedings by their channel of communication. We will continue to thank you for kind support through information dissemination. I am an ardent reader of your reports… I have never met you in person and I don’t even want to see you in person so as to avoid been accused of bias or partisanship with you. This has given us sense of belonging.
Mazi do not be too harsh in condemning the governor and his wife the reasons are not farfetched firstly I learnt you are invisible but i and my members are visible, secondly you sounded like a very financially comfortable person which suggest that you might have a bodyguard or police protection but we are vulnerable to dangers of all sort as result of your harsh and judgmental reports, therefore put our safety especially myself as the leader of the group in your priority list when publishing your stories.
I was astonished when you made reference to our legs conditions which speaks volume of your wealth of the mysterious knowledge of our challenges mobility wise, may I use this opportunity to correct you again that we do not have cancer as you claimed in your report but ulcer of the legs, the difference is that cancer is terminal while ulcers are not. Though both of them are sorry site and painful too. I used my walking stick to go round the local government areas , radio stations and churches for sensitization with the support of my personal driver, Fr. Cosmos Ebebe, and Chief Nwobu Alor respectively at the beginning. I would have felt the pain of the stress much thereby using much drugs to suppress the pain, am sure the medical expert understands what am saying. Consequently i cannot continue to abuse those kind gestures because they are not the only people with kind heartedness in the state neither are they the government, charity organization nor the stake holders concerned with our predicament.
The association remembers them in their prayers always and also wish that more spirited individuals would wake up to the realities on ground and help us setup a vocational center which will create more job opportunities and save more lives from dying incessantly as result of the recent poor and harsh economy we facing in the country today.
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> finally, I will like to caution on the exaggeration of the allegation of N200M that is mind blowing to me given that i have not touched such an amount of money. it is true that i have served this administration selflessly out of my own volition and This personally is a means of contributing to humanity especially the indigents in the society who never enjoyed any opportunity to survive the hardship of this country. The Nigeria army gave me the best respect, regard,treatment and health management without knowing my background or history, therefore it will be normal if i reciprocate back to the civil world.People should not over flog my voluntary services to the state which i never asked anything in return and making it look like am protesting for their reward.For the records, children from Royal families hardly beg for alms rather they will negotiate a business relationship for mutual benefits. Am sorry to disappoint those who think i should hide my status and watch my people die helplessly in a selfish society. I promise to fish out the highly placed persons with children living with sickle cell disorder in due time since they want to make me look like a beggar who is insensitive to government effort.To before warn is to before armed, Osodieme has done her best in my own understanding and has even promised to do more in the nearest future. It is left for all to join her and achieve our desired demands. The clergy men are not left out too they should pull out the philanthropist in their churches and make them see reason towards helping us. Little drops of water makes an ocean as well Rome was not built in a day, the most important thing is that we have started on a solid and a credible foundation which is recording success in the whole world, and i pray it will continue to thrive successfully even after my demise.
Don't forget to reach us on this contact like the writer suggested :
08033222007
And you can make your kind donation through:
Bank name - FCMB
Beneficiary-Association of people living with sickle cell disorder
A/C no.-3373524019
Aisha Responds to Odera's Report, Appeals to him for Understanding with Governor Obiano’s Wife
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Sunday, October 25, 2015
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