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As the country celebrates the victory of the Golden Eaglets at the just-concluded FIFA Under 17 World Cup in Vina Del Mar, Chile, the situation of Daniel Joshua (MON), one of the players who won the same cup some years back, comes to mind. Joshua, who wore jersey number 6, a central defender under the Coach Yemi Teller boys in South Korea lays paralyzed after a car accident. He told Daily Trust about his desire to walk again. Excerpts:
Daily Trust: Tell us the teams you have played for...
Daniel Joshua: I played for the Late Coach Yemi Teller’s Under 17 team that won the World Cup for Nigeria in South Korea in 2007. After that, I played for Niger Tornados in Minna.
Did you go for trials abroad?
Yes, I went to Athletico Madrid in Spain. When I returned I was invited by Zenith St. Petersburg of Russia and I was about going there before I had the accident that paralyzed me.
How exactly did the accident happen?
That is what I cannot explain till date; I just woke up and found myself in the hospital and I was told that I had an accident and was unconscious for one week. They took me to General Hospital in Minna and that was where I woke up to find myself.
I could not remember anything that happened. I just woke up in the hospital days later.
When did the accident happen?
The accident happened on December 12, 2008.
It was my car and I was the one driving. The car is a Honda Civic and I bought it when I was in the Under 20 Camp, which is after the Under 17 World Cup.
My Coach, Ladan Bosso, was called upon and he came. He was the one who paid for the immediate treatment and took care of me.
When I woke up I discovered that my legs were not moving. What worsened it was the fact that I was just kept in General Hospital in Minna without scanning and proper check up. I spent about seven weeks there and I couldn’t move my legs.
It was later on that the then Governor of Niger State, Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, flew me to Germany where I had a successful surgery. After the surgery I was taken to the rehabilitation centre where I was told that I will walk again. A German professor in charge of the rehabilitation centre told me that after 120 days I will begin to walk. I started making serious improvement and the Professor was even very impressed with my recovery. But after three weeks, the Niger State Government through the then Commissioner of Health sent that we should come back because the treatment was very expensive that the government can no longer pay. That was how I missed the chance to recover. I was brought back on a wheel chair.
Which hospital were you taken to when you returned to Nigeria?
I was taken to Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB) Hospital in Minna and the Niger State Government gave me N100, 000 (one hundred thousand naira). I spent a month there and then came back to Kaduna because the money finished and I couldn’t continue staying there because I was paying for feeding, hospital bill and other expenses.
In Kaduna, I was taken to Barau Dikko hospital and I stayed there for about six months but the hospital had no facility to help me here and everything is done manually.
Are you still doing the therapy in Kaduna?
Yes, one physical trainer has been coming and we do pay him N10,000 (Ten Thousand Naira) monthly. But for some time now I haven’t had the money to pay him so he stopped coming.
Has the federal government help you in any way?
No, my father wrote to the Federal Government to tell them about my condition but nothing was done. Kaduna State government did not come to my aid. My father also wrote Former Vice President, Namadi Sambo, who was the Governor of Kaduna State then and nothing was done.
When Yakowa became the governor, we were happy that finally we would get some help. But when my father wrote to him, unfortunately he told my father I am federal property and not Kaduna State property. He said it was the obligation of the federal government to help me since I have helped the country to Under 17 World Cup glory before the accident. Yakowa also said I am having a national award of Member of the Order of the Niger (MON) and so I am a complete property of the federal government.
You mean that since your accident, the federal government has not done anything for you?
That is exactly what I am saying. Many people are finding it difficult to believe, but that is the gospel truth.
How about your team mates whom you won the World Cup?
Frankly, they have not been doing anything for me and they have not been calling me either. The only person who has been helping me is Macauley Chrisantus.
How do you move around, ease yourself and do other things?
My younger brother has been the one helping me over the years. He helps me to bathe and do other things.
Source: http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/
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