A non-governmental organisation in Kebbi, Mass Literacy Programme and Almajiri Initiative (MALPAI) Foudation, on Sunday, donated two sets of two-bedroom bungalows worth N12 million to a 60-year-old blind man, Mohammed Muhammed.
It was gathered that the Foundation was initiated about 11 years ago by wife of Kebbi Governor, Mrs Aisha Bagudu.
It was reported that the blind man had three wives, eight children and 10 grandchildren.
The coordinator of foundation in the state, Alhaji Aminu Attahiru-Nassarawa, told newsmen during the handover of the houses in Birnin Kebbi on Sunday that the attention of the governor’s wife was drawn to the ordeal of the man, through the Youths Peace Initiative of Nigeria (YPIN) in the state.
“The Youths Peace Initiative of Nigeria introduced the blind man to the founder of MALPAI, observing that the children of the blind man were not going to school, and that the daughters of the man were occasionally abused.
“So, Hajiya Bagudu enrolled all the children in schools, paying for their feeding as well as providing security for them and today, these two houses were built for them and handed over to them,” Attahiru-Nasarawa said.
The coordinator added that the two bedroom bungalows, worth N12 million, were constructed within three months.
Also speaking, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry for Basic and Secondary Education, Mrs Rafa’atu Noma-Hammani, described the development as heartwarming.
“Hajiya Aisha Bagudu has passion for helping the vulnerable in the society.
“When she learnt about the living condition of this man through YPIN, that he is living in a hut on somebody’s land, and that he has plenty of girls, and that some people are taking the disadvantage of their father’s disability to abuse and molest them, she decided to help.
“She personally went there to help. First, she secured the place; second, she enrolled the children in schools. For the past three years, Hajiya Aisha Bagudu had been providing for their needs.
“When the owner of the land wanted to use his land, she felt that they should not be left idle, roaming about, and that brought the idea of building the houses for them.
“This is the result of what we are witnessing today,” Noma-Hammani said.
In his remark, the Kebbi State Publicity Secretary of All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Sani Dododo, who handed over the keys and document of the houses to the beneficiary, said when the story of the man’s family got to him, they took it to governor’s wife.
According to him, all the suspects involved in molesting the blind man’s daughters have been arrested by security agencies.
Speaking on behalf of the beneficiary, the National Vice President of Persons Living with Disability in Nigeria, Alhaji Aliyu Usman, commended MALPAI for the gesture and called on well-to-do individuals to emulate the Foundations.
