I remember the first time I saw Abdul. It had been a stressful morning organizing the orientation program for Fulbright scholars at the University of Washington. Quite frankly, I woke up on the wrong side of the bed that morning. But it didn't matter because I was going to meet Abdul, a Fulbright scholar from Nigeria. The first Nigerian I had seen in months.
It was over 30 minutes after we had checked in other students for orientation and Abdul had not shown up. He was late, just like I had been that morning. And I wasn't surprised. Abdul had flown in straight from Nigeria. I remember when he first strolled into the orientation lobby in his purple native attire, traditional cap and bag pack, I smiled. There was no doubt he was a proud Northern man. Of course, the others couldn't tell the difference but I could. Although he was tense, he smiled at me. The first thing he said, "You look Nigerian" . I smiled back. "I am, nice to meet you". " Oh...my sister", we began to laugh. I could tell I eased his tension. Out here, he quickly learned we didn't have the privilege of tribal sentiments. To the white man, we were just African.
In a few hours, he brought me up to speed...
Abdul is a Veterinary doctor from Northern Nigeria and a passionate lecturer. As part of his research, he is one of the few or only people in Africa to induce stroke in a rat and cure it. I listened as he went on about his research. Amazing! He was not born with a silver spoon. Actually, he was born with no spoon. He told me how he sponsored himself through a Nigerian school. How he eventually became a lecturer in the same school. How he began his research and how he took a loan of millions to fund his research.
But that was not all. Abdul told me about his love for football and how he was a referee. He told me he used the money to run an NGO which rehabilitated "Area boys". I was in awe. These were boys who politicians had blessed with machetes and weed and turned into terrorist. Abdul was recruiting them to play football and refocus their youthful exuberance. He was trying to help young boys. But that was not all. Abdul told me about the "Amajiri" boy by his house. The boy who never went to school but listened to other kids when they returned and chanted their "States and capital". How one day he heard the boy chanting his "States and capital" and how the boy thought the capital of Bayelsa was "in a zuwa".😂 How since then, he is now currently sponsoring the boy through school. He told me about Ify who he is sponsoring to write jamb a second time. The stories went on and on.
"Abdul do you want to remain here", I had to ask. "I can't, if I do, my people will die. All the people depending on me will die. That boy will never make it through school. And Ify will never be a nurse. I'm doing this so I can make a way for them. So they can come here and be better. Our leaders have failed us and we are the only hope of Nigeria. We, the community. It is the children of the poor whose lives our country has ruined that will ruin own children lives if we don't help them. I don't ever want to leave my state or my school. I want to give back."
I was shocked. Is this one Jesus or what? Abdul didn't do anything for accolades. Actually no one recognized him in Nigeria. But even in seeming obscurity, he served his people. It was reminder that when you consistently serve people like Abdul, you never have to look for recognition on social media or any platform. It will find you. Your life should be a platform for other people. So at 2:00 am I rushed to ink him down. I had to make sure I don't forget that
Abdul, the lecturer;
Abdul the researcher who had independently induced stroke in a rat and cured it
was Superman
And I couldn't be more proud to be Nigerian.💜
Ps: The Picture is not Abdul. lol.
