By Kola Alhassan
Ayo Samuel must have cursed the cruel fate that befell him. Although, he was not born with silver spoon in his mouth, he was born like normal children with very bright future, before fate threw a missile at him — he fell sick as a toddler and took injection which led to him having deformed legs, he has been on crutches ever since.
The 38-year-old is an agbero in Surulere, Lagos. He told IkejaBird in an interview that he doesn’t want to end up begging for alms, hence, he took to the job.
He said: “I was not born with deformed legs. My mother told me I was ill, and the injection I took made my legs weak and made them deformed.”
Samuel noted that he learnt shoe-making, but doesn’t have the money to buy tools, and he has a family to feed.
“I learnt shoe-making. I don’t have money to buy tools to work. Instead of begging, I decided to do agbero work,” he said.
Despite the odds, stacked against him, the father of two wants to work and earn some stipends. He doesn’t want to be a liability to anyone.
“Since there is no help from anyone, and I don’t want to beg on the streets, I was introduced into this agbero job when I came to Lagos late 2020 from Ondo State.
“I make over N1,000 per day. I feed from it. I also ensure I send money to my wife in Ondo to take care of our children.
“My wife is very understanding and peaceful. We manage the little I get from here. At times, she goes to her mum for assistance.
Samuel also noted that the charm and allure of Lagos was irresistible for him.
“There is no job in Ondo town. Lagos is better. That is why I am here to work so that my family and I would not suffer, he told IkejaBird.
