Someone Else's Problem

Jacob Driving through Lagos

There's mental calculus that we all engage in when we first meet our rideshare driver: "Do I strike up a conversation with this person, or not?" Usually, in the hustle and bustle of Lagos, Nigeria, the answer is "not." The cacophony of street hawkers, beggars, motorcycles, pedestrians, and other cars trying to bob and weave their way through traffic makes it hard to focus on anyone but yourself. For the life of me, I still don't know why I started talking to Jacob, but I'm glad I did.

I was immediately struck by his intellect. He talked about physics so much that I thought he might have been an engineering student. I was stunned to find out that he had actually been in law school until was struck by a speeding vehicle. This ultimately left him with a limb length deformity (a condition in which one arm or leg is significantly longer the other). He couldn't keep up with school and health expenses, which forced him to drop out. Now, he drives for Taxify (Nigeria's biggest Uber competitor) to make ends meet.

Jacob’s Injury

In listening to his story, I couldn't help but think about the hardships he'd faced and how lucky he was to still better off than most other Nigerians with disabilities. According to the Borgen Project, there are approximately 27 million Nigerians living with disabilities. Most of them (about 70%) have visual impairments or functional mobility limitations. Lack of medical, social, and financial support often leaves them feeling like pariahs - a sentiment Jacob shared, saying "Everyone treated me like I was someone else's problem."

It's hard to shake the truth of that statement. In Nigeria, people with disabilities are often met with a practiced indifference or even open hostility in some cases. His words reminded me of all the people I'd seen on makeshift skateboards and wheelchairs by roadsides that I'd learned to ignore.

Part of this attitude towards people with disabilities stems from the idea that having a disability is a consequence of some sort of spiritual affliction. It does not matter whether it was God or the devil that cursed this person. Whatever forces are believed to be at work in the life of a person with disabilities are best avoided and left unbothered. As a result, many people with disabilities are left reliant on tacit acts of charity.

Jacob

In a world that almost reflexively relegates people with disabilities to begging on the streets, Jacob forging his own path against all the odds. He speaks often of creating a home for people with disabilities similar to the Catholic Mission House where he lived as a child. There he was able to receive care for orthopedic issues related to his left leg. Ironically, it's the same leg that's now permanently damaged because of the car accident he suffered as an adult. In the meantime, he works hard chauffeuring people through the boisterous streets of Lagos, in hopes of fulfilling his dreams.