Chidi Olujie- A Man Who Came, Saw And Conquer

By Omata Chenemi

Chidi olujie has proved himself worthy both in character and learning. His works and dexterity have earned him a remarkable position among players of human development. Inspite of the challenges and obstacles faced by the majority of persons with Disabilities in Nigeria of which he is among, he is a true definition of the saying, “I came,I saw, and I conquered.

GROWING UP
Chidi olujie was born into the royal family of Olujie Dynasty in Akwete Ukwa-East LGA of Abia state where he lived with his parents and siblings. Growing up, olujie suffered health complications and misdiagnosis of Malaria instead of mumps, which resulted into permanent deafness at the age of two (2). However, with the support of his parents and siblings who believed in him despite his condition, he was enrolled into school and given all the necessary support and motivation, which was a huge factor to building his self-esteem and belief in his ability regardless of being Deaf.

EDUCATION
Chidi Olujie had his primary school education at MD special primary school in Lagos and his secondary school in Methodist Grammar school at Ibadan where he obtained his first school leaving certificate Ordinary level respectively.

He then proceeded to the prestigious University of Ibadan, Nigeria, where he obtained both his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in special education. When asked why the choice of special education at Masters level, Chidi explains that he has noticed with concern a number of educational challenges learners with Disabilities face in Nigeria. He has had the opportunity to travel widely and has worked closely with Gallaudet University for the Deaf in USA, which broadened his understanding of better practices that could be adopted by Nigeria to help learners with special needs. Owing to the above desire to bring the much needed change closer to home, he is currently pursuing a P.H.D programme in special education at the Northcentral University. In addition to the above, this seemingly humble but very ambitious gentleman is a businessman, blogger turned writer and has just published his first book titled “Unusual Times: How to reshape the world with conservative values. “ His book can be found on Amazon and will soon be available on other avenues.

LIFE STYLE
Chidi olujie is a famous philanthropist and a strong disability advocate in Nigeria and Africa as a whole. He currently leads the Nigerian National Association of the Deaf as the president. He is one of the Board of the African Disability Initiative as its Vice President and representative of West African region. He is also the national coordinator of the coalition of organizations of persons with disabilities (PWDS) and personally set up the Chidi Topaz Olujie (CTO) Foundation; a charity organization through which he extends humanitarian support to underprivileged people in his community in Akwete. Beneficiaries of this foundation are orphans, widows, the elderly, among others.

Needless to say, Chidi has received numerous recognitions and awards from disability rights advocates, bloggers, and change agents for the great work he does for the communities and empathy he has for Disability-related causes. When asked if he will be vying for any political office soon, Chidi admits that several people have asked him too, but he can’t give a definite answer because it’s something he has to think about deeply.

Dear readers, if this is not the definition of “I came, I saw, and I conquered,” then I don’t know what is.