By Oyeleke Bernice
Mr Abiola Adenuga is the co-founder of Sign Language Club (SLC) in Nigeria which comprises of pupils/students from selected mainstream schools in Lagos. He is also the acting chairman of Lagos State Deaf Teachers Association of Nigeria (DTAN).
He is a B.Ed holder in Guidance and Counseling; and M.A. in Special Education.
Meet Abiola Adenuga as he shares inspiring story to encourage others:
Journey into Deafness
When I was age 9, I was slightly ill and experienced acute headache. On that fateful day, after I returned home from school, I began to feel dizzy and ill. My people got help for me at home and I was given injection. Immediately my body system became numbed and I passed out. I didn’t wake up till the following day. When I woke up, I was still feeling dizzy and was unable to stand on my two feet. I was thereafter rushed to a private clinic and was given drip at the ICU. My health condition continued to deteriorate, my tongue swelled and I was unable to talk. In the process of the illness, I lost my sense of hearing.
I was so depressed and confused over the loss of my sense of hearing. I attempted suicide on some occasions. My parents began to take me around for spiritual interventions and no solution was found. All efforts of my parents to ensure I hear again proved abortive. I was taken to audiologist for assessment; result showed that I have bilateral severe-to-profound hearing loss which means that I’m deaf in both ears. Hearing aids becomes useless for me.
Few years after losing my hearing, my late mother enrolled me at a regular school to complete my elementary education. She did this because she was told that people who learn sign language or attend deaf schools can become deaf permanently. She was made to belief that if I was enrolled at a deaf school and exposed to sign language, my hearing condition and personality would deteriorate. Then came a fateful day, Late Mrs. O. Bamisaye, a family friend, visited my mother and found out about me. She pressurized and encouraged my mom to enroll me in special school in order to learn the art of signing.
So, I was enrolled at Defunct School for Handicap Children, Ijebu Ode. Upon completing my elementary program at this special school, and after the demise of my mom, my family members enrolled me to learn printing work as an apprentice. However, I declined and fought against their decision. I was later enrolled at St. Peter’s College, Olomore, Abeokuta, for my secondary education. And I was very studious.
I bless God for seeing me through it all despite all the humiliations I suffered. I defied all odds and face every difficult situation as they come. In the year 2009, I gained admission into the department of guidance and counselling, university of Ilorin, and I graduated with a second class (lower division) in 2013. I’m also a master degree holder from the university of Ibadan. I’m currently a civil servant in Lagos state.
Today with sign language, I AM EQUAL.