How We Were Waylaid During APC Ward Tour – Youth Leader

By Cami Ezenwa

How We Were Waylaid During APC Ward Tour is second part of a story on the attack on Francis Odum, an active grassroots member of the party in Ogbaku Imo State, which has since confined him to use of crutches

He continues the story:

At the hospital, no help was coming from any quarters.
The Honourable member whom I was deputy director to was paying me mere visits.
. At the end of the day when the election result came out , he won his election, the governor won his election , and I thought they would come helping me, but they have not till date
After I stayed five months at the bone setters , there was no improvement, my leg was decaying. There was no help to take me out of that place to hospital.

Before a distant relative finally located me, and took me to National Authopadic Hospital Enugu, my problem had gotten worse.

Amputation

The doctors complained that I did not get there on time.
They wanted amputating me but considered the leg too bad to amputate.
Amputating would have meant taking out my left leg completely from the hip which they considered a risk..while receiving treatment at the bone setters, I had become infected, so while they were treating the infection, my leg was going bad.

I stayed at that hospital for a year and two months. For about 8-9 months, I couldn’t come down from the bed for once.

I ate on the bed, eased myself on the bed and took my bath on the bed I stayed there for a year and two months .

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Escalation of health challenge

What really escalated my case was that, in the course of administering treatment on me, , health workers went on strike. That meant National Authopadic Hospital workers went on strike. I almost died. I kept crying out to the party, there was no response.

When I was discharged from the hospital, it was like either going back home to die or to manage myself
I have appealed to the party through Orient Radio.. I have written an appeal letter also.

I had even met with the then Commissioner for Information, at the end of it all, no help has come. Somebody helped me to another hospital, but they said there was nothing they could do

The last hospital I cosulted said I had to be sent to a particular hospital in China if I would be well again.

How to become well again

The cost was estimated to N10 million.
I do not have the money to finance that kind of treatment.

Right now I am at home, still a member of the APC, but honestly, I must confess, I have been treated badly, I have been dumped , neglected, no care from the party yet I am still giving my service to it.

All they could do for me was to make me an executive member of the party representing the disabled.
And of course there is nothing I can do about it.

Even for the so- called executive committee, I have never been invited to any meeting..
How can I even function when my left leg is battrrd, my knee joint cannot function properly again , same with my ankle.

I am now left no option than use of crutches for short distances.

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Unending Pains

Every night and day, I am in pains because of the ache.
I have not received proper treatment on the leg.

With a wife and five children, it has not been easy to cope.
I cope with people coming around, dropping five hundred naira, two hundred naira.
I can nonger pay my children’s school fees.

I want to believe that when you labour for an organization that you should have a reward especially in the kind of condition I find myself. I was on an official assignment for the party when the assignment occured

Before party politics

Before I joined the APC, I was a printer and also had a small scale soap manufacturing business.
Right now the businesses have died due to high cost of procuring raw materials.
I had to sell off everything I had – printing machines, soap mixing machines, moulders, nylon cutting machines, and drums – to take care of my family

Education

After secondary school, I did Higher School Certificate (HSC), at Government College Umuahia (Fisher’s), I also went to the University of Calabar.where I studied Political Science, finishing in 1995.. I went into business before the political era dawned.

I only appeal to the party to recognize its fallen heroes, to recognize those who had worked for the party.
At least, let my leg be okay. If they can fund my trip to any good hospital to give me a breath of life. , Ghat would be an encouragement to other committed members of the party.