News Detail

BOLU'S CP STORY!
4th, May 2022, 12:22 am

I came to know 19 year old Adebolu Adejobi aka Bolu, aka @adeboluadejobi, living with Cerebral Palsy (CP) on social media about 2 years ago and ever since, I have marveled at the way he expresses himself, his level of confidence and even knowledge when he talks about CP and when I learnt that he was the 2021 Best All Round WACE Student at Ajayi Crowther Memorial Secondary School, Lagos, it blew my mind.

There and then, I started following him on Instagram@, and wow, he has done alot, talking about CP and generally being a great ambassador of CP and advocate of inclusive education. At a chance meeting at an event about 2 weeks ago open my eyes to some of what Bolu has to offer. The handsome young man who is currently preparing to sit forJAMB regulated to host Benola's weekly WhatsApp Chat, 'CP Thursday' and when I reminded him that the Chat was for parents only, his response was a confident, 'My story will encourage them!'

Fast forward to last Thursday 28th April 2022, he had his chance to host and bellow is a summary of what he shared:

Bolu started school at the age of 5, faced quite a few issues as he was unable to keep up with other students and suffered a lot of humiliation and bullying, but rather than adapt to his unique circumstances, the school authorities simply promoted him on trail basis either out of pity or to get him out of their hair.

This unfortunate situation continued until his parents moved to Idi-Iroko where one of their neighbours, popularly called 'Daddee' by all the children, took it upon himself to teach Bolu how to read/write and with time he picked up.

On their return to Lagos and at the end of Primary 4, his Headmistress gave him a book which helped him understand reading and at primary 5 he asked for permission to sit for 3 Scholarship Common Entrance Examinations, passed 2, but his parents still decided to send him to a Public School which sadden him, but at the end of the year, he was recognised as, The Most Courageous Student (His first award ever). The prize, Ben Carson's book, 'THINK BIG' inspired him to never give up on his dream.

At age 12, his handwriting became his worst enemy as nobody could understand what he wrote, so he started paying classmates his food money to copy lesson notes for him and spending time in the library, reading at least three books a week.

At a stage he was even referred to Modupe Cole Home/School for Special Children, but with the help of a Private Tutor and regular visits to the Library, he scaled through.

Recognising this difficulty his teachers took to examining him orally, which was how he sat for all his examinations up to WAEC. Of course there was resistance by the authorities at WAEC, but his mother and Principal stood their grounds and after numerous visits, WAEC agreed to special conditions for him.

Bolu is currently preparing to sit for JAMB, after which his plans to study Bio-Medical Engineering so he can help find solutions for children like him.

In closing, he recognized that he still has a long way to go but prayed for God to direct his steps. He also expressed his sincere appreciation to everyone who helped mould him into who he is today!

benola.org/news-detail.php?dt=MTA2