Monday Olise from the Onise-Nkwani, Ndokwa West Local Government Area, began his story. He narrated how a minor injury led to the amputation of one of his legs. He said it was a medical negligence by a supposed nurse who, out of ignorance, allegedly ignored his medical records of being a diabetes patient and gave him wrong injections.
In his pathetic tale, the father-of-two and husband-of-one also narrated how he struggled, in spite of his health challenge, to own and operate a tricycle in Warri in order to cater for his family.
He tells his story: “My name is Monday Olise from Onise-Nkwani in Ndokwa West Local Government Area, Delta State. I live in a two bedroom apartment in Iyara.
“I was riding a tricycle one day when I noticed a small injury on my leg. A sharp object pierced my leg during that COVID-19 period. When I noticed the injury, I called a nurse to treat me, but the nurse didn’t know how to take care of a diabetic patient.
“Because I’m a diabetes patient, I don’t take all kinds of injection, but because the nurse was inexperienced, she was not aware, too.
“In fact, even before she administered the injection, I told her that I was and still a diabetes patient and she said she knew her job.
“After taking the injection for three days, I noticed that the leg was smelling. I went to the hospital thereafter and I was told that nothing could be done about it and that they would have to amputate the leg.
“For the leg to be amputated, I spent nothing less than N500,000 in the hospital.
I stayed at home for one year and people were helping me to survive but after that one year, I thought to myself that if I see a tricycle to ride, I can hustle.
“By then, I had sold mine, so I had to look for someone who was ready to give me his for hire-purchase so that I could be making the payment daily.
“It was through that daily payment that I saw this keke. I paid agent fee of about N20,000 to get this one. I used this keke for one year.
“I was made to pay N4,000 daily and N28,000 in a week. After six months and with a total balance of N1.850 million, I was able to own it.
“For one year, six months, I did not take a day to rest; I even worked on Sundays. Those days, I could make N7,000 or sometimes N8,000 daily.
“After payment, it was the remaining amount that my family used in managing ourselves. I completed the payment in October, 2023. This particular keke was bought in May, 2021.
“I have two daughters and I got married in 2004. My first daughter is 11 years old and she is in her first year in Junior Secondary School (JSS).
“The period when I was having issues with the leg, I went through hell but thank God for my wife because she stood by me.
“It’s not easy to see good women, so I count myself lucky to have her. People were against her that period but she tried.
“I didn’t have a child with my wife immediately after our marriage. We had to wait on the Lord for seven years before we had our first child and the period of waiting was not a pleasant one as we were mocked.
“Some people even said I couldn’t impregnate my wife but at the end of the day, God came through for us. There were pressures on me to take another wife but I didn’t want a polygamous home so we kept praying and believing in God.”
Monday isn’t at home with the current economic hardships in Nigeria primarily caused by the removal of fuel subsidy by the Federal Government in 2023.
“The increase in fuel price has really dealt with this my tricycle business because since the price of fuel skyrocketed, it is more or less exchanging the daily struggle with the fuel money.
“I will make N6,000 in a day and spend all in purchasing fuel. When things were not as bad as they are now, after buying fuel in the morning, one would still have up to N10,000 as profit at hand.
“But right now, it seems that most keke drivers are working and giving fuel stations their daily sweat. Before this regime, you could buy N2,500 fuel and use it to make N10,000 profit. Now, we buy fuel for N650,” he lamented.
Since he might not be able to continue the commercial tricycle business for too long given his age and health status and he cannot opt for begging, Monday said he had other options if he could find tangible help from well-wishers.
“There are a lot of businesses that I would like to do when there is enough capital and I find help.
“If I have money, I would like to start nylon business. If I can get like N500,000, I can start the business.
The machine is about N250,000.
“I can’t take advantage of my situation and begin to beg. Tufiakwa! With one of my legs still intact, I’ll strive to eke a living for my family.
“Begging demeans one’s worth. I can’t stand such. I can’t. Though I don’t blame those who are begging for survival, I can’t do it. I would not allow the bad decisions that led to the current economic suffering in the country to push me into begging,” he vowed.
and then