A visually impaired Nigerian man identified as Paul Okpanachi has defied all odds and triumphed over a hurdle that some people with visual impairments confront when traversing the world.
Through perseverance and determination, Paul Okpanachi was awarded a scholarship to continue his studies in Canada.
Samuel Ayankoso, a companion of Paul’s, narrated how he met Paul at the American University in Cairo (AUC), Egypt, when Paul was on a scholarship.
During their post-graduate studies, Samuel’s revealed that With the help of a smart screen reader, Paul could access the internet through his computer.
Samuel said:
“Before Paul left Nigeria in 2018 for his studies at AUC, he was an investigative journalist with the Kogi State news agency, and those at his workplace didn’t want him to come for his masters. Yet, their salaries were not paid consistently by the Yahaya Bello government.
“Paul returned to Nigeria after graduating from the AUC with a 3.67 CGPA, where he has been having a lot of troubles; his family was raided one night by robbers, and he had to fend them off.
“In fact, he has been a victim of the alarming insecurity in our country. This was what happened: Paul and his wife were robbed on a bad evening in front of their rented apartment in Abuja. They collected his wife’s phone and despite being blind, he tried his best to push the guys away from collecting his own phone too. Thank God he was not shot or harmed in the process, Samuel announced.
Paul’s luck turned around as he secured a fully-funded scholarship to continue his studies in Canada.
