State. It was 4.45pm and as the sun withdrew gradually, a
handful of partially clothed kids came out of their houses to
play.
Chatting excitedly in the Hausa language, they played together
while some of them spilt into smaller activity groups.
But a particular little boy stood out of the pack. Dressed in a
not-too-clean pair of mint green knickers, the white t-shirt on
him would not be described as neat either.
Though the four-year-old played with other children, his
grandmother followed in order to prevent him from falling
over anything or anyone.
Fondly referred to as Sadiq Usman, he cannot play with other
children unaided.
He is blind.
Still chatting excitedly with his little friends, Sadiq was thrown
into the world of darkness on January 25, 2016 when two
unknown men gouged out his eyes just a stone throw from his
family house in Buda.
The incident shook the village to its foundations but also
changed everything about the family of Mallam Usman Isa
also known as Auta.
According to Khadija Usman, Sadiq’s elder sister, Sadiq’s
ordeal started with his craving to eat sweets before going for
his Koranic classes.
Before she could proceed, Sadiq volunteered to narrate his
story the best way he could: “One day, grandma gave me N10
to go and buy sweets. I went, I saw two men on a motorbike.
They were following me and one of them asked me whether
there was a road in front and I said no. Later, they promised
taking me to where they would get better sweets for me.
“Then, they grabbed me and took me away to where I was
given injections several times and they removed my eyes,”
Sadiq said in fluent Hausa language.
Khadija took over the narration:
She said, “For over 30 minutes grandma didn’t see Sadiq but
we were relaxed, thinking that he was out there playing with
his friends as usual. But after a while, some of our neighbours
came to inform us that they saw Sadiq in a pool of his blood
at a dump-site behind the village’s baby-friendly hospital and
that his eyes were removed. We all ran there, saw him crying
and discovered it was true. Then, we saw that his two eyes
were gone.”
Shocked, sad and with every sense of one that has lost a
treasure, Sadiq’s grandmother told SUNDAY PUNCH that she
cried uncontrollably at the incident. Taking solace in God, she
said, “I know it was Allah’s wish that such a thing should
happen.”
Describing Sadiq as very dear to her heart, the grandmother
still wondered what made the men gouge out her grandson’s
eyes.
“When the unfortunate incident happened, I cried bitterly and
could not eat for many days. I know that God will not let the
perpetrators of this dastardly act go unpunished,” she said.
Though not a journey of ease for the Usmans, the family
members showered encomiums on personalities which
included Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State; Senator
Shehu Sani as well as the highly revered Emir of Zazzau, Alhaji
Shehu Idris.
“When the incident occurred, the Emir sponsored Sadiq’s trip
to the National Eye Centre in Kaduna. From there, we were
referred to the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital,
Shika, where they operated upon the eyes,” a family member
said.
Meanwhile, arrangements are in place to fly Sadiq to India.
Sadiq’s elder sister told our correspondent that the gesture
was in fulfillment of the Emir’s promise on sponsoring the
treatment.
She added that though at ABUTH, doctors had proposed to
construct artificial eyes to fill the spaces left; the overseas
treatment had put on hold the surgery in Nigeria.
“His royal highness, Dr. Shehu Idris is making arrangement to
take the boy overseas for further treatment,” she said.
The Protocol Officer to the Emir of Zuazzau, Alhaji Abubakar
Ladan, noted that the Emirate Council was highly disturbed by
Sadiq’s ordeal, describing it as sad and most unfortunate.
He said, “We pray that those behind the dastardly are
apprehended and punished.”
Reacting to the incident, Zauzzau Unity Association, vowed to
take legal action against individuals or group that are found to
be involved in ritual activities in the ancient city . In a
statement, the association condemned the activities of ritual
killers in Zaria, which is known for its peace and tranquility.
“In recent time, we have witnessed killings where human parts
are removed but we are prepared to tackle such act with all
seriousness if it ever occurs again, “ the statement said.
The Special Assistant to Governor el-Rufai on Media and
Publicity, Samuel Aruwan, el-Rufai, said in addition to the
money given to the boy’s parents, the governor has promised
that the state government would pay Sadiq’s school fees from
the nursery school up to the university level.
In the same vein, Senator Sani has promised to assist in
footing the bill of any treatment incurred abroad by Sadiq.
The four-year-old is said to be coping well with his condition.
Though blind, family members said Sadiq now recognises
them and his friends through their voices.
This was unlike when the incident occurred. “Initially, Sadiq
would always ask his mother to open his eyes for him so as to
see her (his mother). It was a pitiful sight and we would cry
but now, he knows what has happened to his eyes and now
recognises us with our voices,” said the grandmother.
Accepting what befell her grandson as the will of Allah, she
noted, “We are praying to Allah to open Sadiq’s heart to be
able to do wonderful things like some of the world’s
outstanding blind persons. Sadiq is a wonderful boy and we
are ready to do our very best for him. We have accepted what
Allah has destined and we don’t have problems coping with
his current predicament.”
Can Sadiq see again? The Chief Medical Director, Ahmadu
Bello University Teaching Hospital, Shika, Zaria, Prof. Lawal
Khalid, responded in the negative.
“No, but the removed eyes would be replaced with artificial
eyes. Already, the operation had been successfully carried out
by experts at the ophthalmology department of the hospital
and the artificial eyes cost less and they are accessible any
time the need arises,” Khalid said.
SUNDAY PUNCH gathered that the police had arrested two
persons in connection with the incident but the Auta family
denied having any information from the police. It was learnt
that the vigilance of the people in the area led to the arrest of
the two suspects. They (suspects) were said to have been
arrested on the premises of a primary school in Buda. They
have been transferred to the Criminal Investigation
Department (CID) of the Nigeria Police in Kaduna.
When our correspondent contacted the Police Public Relations
Officer, Zubairu Abdullahi, for confirmation, he promised to
contact the Area Commander and revert but as at the time of
filing this report, Abdullahi didn’t pick repeated calls to his
telephone.
But Sadiq has a prayer for those that removed his eyes.
“Those who plucked my eyes, will have theirs plucked by
God,” he said in Hausa. “Amin,” echoed his family members
present.