At a tender age of 10, little Sehinde Bakare has become the breadwinner of a family of two; his grandmother and himself.
The boy is battling with the harsh realities of life following the death of his parents and the subsequent loss of sight by his 72-year-old grandmother.
He does menial jobs to put food on the table for his granny and fend for himself.
The Primary Two pupil of Saint Benedict Primary School, Akure, the Ondo State capital, lost both parents when he was just nine months old and his maternal grandmother, Mrs. Margaret Ajayi, immediately took up the responsibility of taking care of the orphan.
But another tragedy soon came when he was four years. Mrs. Ajayi lost her sight due to lack of proper medical attention.
It was learnt that the relations and friends of Sehinde’s parents tried at the initial stage to assist the young lad, but after some years they abandoned him for the old blind septuagenarian. The condition of the grandmother made life more miserable for the orphan.
The little boy, who narrated how he and his grandmother survive, said when it was obvious that assistance was not coming from their relations and friends, while hunger and starvation were ravaging them, “Mama advised me to go out and look for menial jobs at food canteens so that the little money they give me will be used to feed both of us, but she advised me strongly not to steal anybody’s money.
“She weeps anytime I come back from school and tell her that I am going out again to look for what we will eat. She is always complaining that I am too young to be passing through this trauma.
“But I always reply her that I don’t have any option since my parents’ relations and families have abandoned me to my fate and I must survive and I don’t want to steal, so I do tell mama to leave me and be praying for me.
“If I don’t go home with money, Mama will not eat. In fact, I have to go out and look for money so that Mama and I can eat. Mama is blind and she cannot do anything. Sometimes, some people in our house pity us and give us food but not always.
“When there is no money and food, I find a restaurant and help them to wash plates; they pay me and give me food”.
Sehinde said sometimes, he would beg people for money but he doesn’t always go far because Mama would be hungry at home and he would strive to get anything for her to eat even if it is garri.
When asked how he manages to go to school, he said one Akure-based human rights activist and lawyer, Mr. Morakinyo Ogele, is sponsoring his education.
His words: “Daddy lawyer is the one that is helping me; he buys books and school uniform for me and gives me money. Most of the times, he is the one that gives me money that I take home to buy food for mama and myself.
“There are times that Daddy lawyer will not be in office and we will be hungry at home. Times like that I just stay with Mama because there is nowhere to go and get money”.
Bakare has known what suffering and agony mean. To him, life is another picture, which not all can see.
Ogele, an indigene of Ikere-Ekiti, confirmed that he had been helping the little boy for about a year and said if not for the poor, aged and blind grandmother, he would have sought police permission to take custody of the boy for proper care.
The activist said he picked interest in the boy when he saw him where he was washing plates in a restaurant.
Moved by this development, he decided to help the little boy by giving him money every day.
He also saddled himself with the responsibility of caring for Sehinde’s academic needs.
Narrating her ordeal, the blind grandmother said she lost Bakare’s mother when he was still young. The old woman, who said she could not remember the actual age of Bakare, disclosed that the little boy’s late mother was a twin and her Taiye is still alive.
The old woman said the twin sister of Bakare’s late mum stays in Orita-Obele in Akure with her husband and kids.
Besides, she said the younger and elder brothers of Bakare’s father stay in Odo- Ijoka in Akure in their family house, but she could not remember the addresses.
The septuagenarian said the family members were not assisting them in any way, adding that their non-chalant attitude towards Bakare’s plight is giving her serious concern.
