By KEVIN OKUNZUWA and USMAN ALIYU

Golden Solomon?s life took a dramatic turn at 16 when a wrongly administered injection left him paralysed from the waist down.

Born Solomon Mudi, with a promising future, this resilient teenager?s path was altered forever.

Forced to rely on a wheelchair, Mudi?s education and future prospects seemed bleak.

Unlike his peers who attended public primary schools, he was compelled to beg for survival ? a harsh reality many persons with disabilities face.

In spite of these daunting challenges, Mudi?s determination and mental agility propelled him toward an extraordinary destiny, one that would ultimately lead him to stardom.

In a small workshop in Benin City, Nigeria, Mudi?s story unfolds like a beacon of hope for those who believe circumstances define their destinies.

At 46, Mudi, an upholsterer and entrepreneur, has apprentices and an impressive clientele.

His journey is one of resilience, ingenuity, and an unwavering belief in the power of self-determination.

Born healthy and vibrant, Mudi began his education at the age of six. But at 16, an immunisation injection caused complications that left him physically disabled.

This life-altering event abruptly changed his dreams and prospects. Forced to drop out of school in primary six due to financial and mobility challenges, Mudi?s world seemed to shrink.

And like many others with disabilities in Nigeria, he briefly resorted to alms-seeking to eek a living.

However, even in those dark times, he realised that begging was not a sustainable future.

?I knew I couldn?t beg forever. Even if someone gives you alms today, they may not be there tomorrow. You have to think beyond that,? he said.

Meanwhile, available data suggests that while precise statistics on beggars in Edo, Nigeria, are limited, studies indicate that a significant portion of them belong to the Edo ethnicity.

They make up approximately 19 per cent of the overall street-begging population in Nigeria, with many concentrated in Benin City, the state capital.

Some of the identified factors contributing to street begging in Edo, include poverty, unemployment, disability and lack of education.

Edo Government recently carried out evacuation and rehabilitation of street beggars, mentally-challenged persons and other destitute persons in major streets and markets within the Benin metropolis.

In spite of this action, beggars still roam freely on the streets of Edo constituting social menace.

Not to become anybody?s liability, and threat to social order, Mudi, early in life, determined to rewrite his story.

This realisation marked the turning point in his life. Determined to rewrite his story, he sought vocational training.

He trained under a physically disabled master upholsterer, drawing inspiration from his mentor?s ability to thrive in spite of glaring challenges.

?I was privileged to learn from a master who was also physically challenged, though he is late now. Seeing him succeed made me believe I could too,? Mudi recounted.

Over five years, he honed his skills with relentless passion, driven by the belief that success was more about dedication than financial rewards.

?Passion must come first; if you pursue anything just for money, it won?t last; but if you love what you do, rewards will follow,? he said philosophically.

Today, he runs a thriving upholstery business on the popular Obakhavbaye Street axis of Benin, capital City, of Edo, specialising in car seats, office chairs, and event decorations.

His workshop, with the bold inscription, ?SoloGold and Upholstery Nigeria,? bustles with activity, employing four workers and having trained over 10 apprentices, many of whom have started their own businesses.

His work has earned him contracts from notable organisations, including Federal Government institutions.

Mudi?s achievements extend beyond his business.

He owns a house, drives a luxury car, and has five children, two of whom are currently pursuing university degrees, an accomplishment that seemed impossible, for many without disabilities.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, over 27 per cent of Nigerians are unemployed, and for persons with disabilities, the figure is even higher, with many excluded from meaningful economic activities.

For these individuals, while access to skills training and employment opportunities remains a daunting challenge, Mudi?s story, however, is a testament to the untapped potential among persons with disabilities (PWDs) in Nigeria.

Mudi?s impact goes beyond his personal achievements.

Apprentices and workers at his workshop shared their accomplishments under the master, whom they described as hardworking.

Interestingly, Mudi renders willing apprentices opportunity to learn a trade and earn societal respectability free of charge.

One of them is Abdulgafar Saminu, who has been an apprentice with him for over ten years.

Saminu has been able to pay his way through primary and secondary school education with the stipends paid him by his boss.

?When my brother motivated me to learn upholstery work, my mom insisted I must come here because of the character and popularity of our boss.

?I started when I was in primary school, but now I have completed my secondary school and have written the West African Senior School Certificate Examination.

?I am only waiting to write the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) for admission into tertiary institutions.

?All these I was able to do from the stipends he pays to apprentices at the end of the month.

?It is with the stipends I was able to enrol for and I wrote my primary six examination; it is with it I wrote my junior school certificate examination.

?I also registered and wrote the senior school certificate examination among other things,? he said.

The apprentice, who hails from Osogbo in Osun, said the show of love by his master had kept him in the work for this long.

Whatever good the future holds for him, he said, he would still open an upholstery workshop and put people there to work for him.

Sharing a similar sentiment, Destiny Osarimen, a 19-year-old boy from Edo, said his schooling would not have been possible without the support from the work.

Osarimen, who had been an apprentice for six years, said, ?the work has helped me because of the stipends he pays us.

?I have got admission into the University of Benin to study Public Administration, through the money I get paid in my place of work.?

According to him, he desires to own an upholstery workshop like his master in the future.

On his part, Famous Umudi described his master as a free-minded, cheerful giver and understanding person, whose disposition to apprentices and workers had helped a lot.

Meanwhile, Innocent Dandison, 25, married, from Akwa Ibom and one of Mudi?s employees, said his decision to relocate to Benin has been a life-changer for him.

?I learnt the work in Port Harcourt, Rivers, but the working experience here is good; It is sharply different from Port Harcourt?s experience.

?What I am paid here sustains my family, even though it is not my wish to be a ?join man? (an assistant) forever,? he said.

Challenges

In spite of his successes, Mudi?s business, however, faces some challenges.

Like many small businesses in Nigeria, Mudi struggles with epileptic electricity, having to spend over N10,000 daily on fuel to power his generator to run his equipment.

?If we had stable electricity, I could save more, expand my business, and train even more people,? he said.

Though inflation and the high cost of materials also weigh heavily on his operations; but he remains undeterred, saying, ?I?ve learnt to plan for myself because waiting for the government is not an option.?

Mudi said he had neither received assistance from government programmes or incentives, highlighting a missed opportunity to scale his impact.

?By providing free or subsidised vocational training, the government and private organisations can empower individuals to become self-reliant.

?If someone had given me equipment or support when I was starting, I would have gone even further by now,? he remarked.

Corroborating the stance, Dandison regretted that there were some working tools lacking in the workshop.

According to him, his boss will have made more progress with those machines, considering the high patronage.

Notwithstanding, Mudi remains optimistic about Nigeria?s future, calling for better leadership and policies to empower its citizens.

?We are hardworking people,? he says. ?But our leaders need to create opportunities for us to thrive.?

Amidst the prevailing challenges, Mudi remains hopeful and paints his workshop in the colours of the Nigerian flag, a quiet statement of his undying love and enduring patriotism.

?I believe our country can be better; but until then, we have to create our own Nigeria and support one another.?

Obviously, the story of Mudi underscores the urgent need for systemic change to support PWDs and other vulnerable groups in Nigeria.

With the right infrastructure and support, individuals like Mudi can drive economic growth and inspire a generation to dream beyond their circumstances.

As Nigeria grapples with unemployment, Mudi?s life stands as proof that inclusive empowerment is not just a moral imperative, but an economic necessity. (NAN)

?PHOTO: Solomon Mudi, who defied all odds, turning his life around from a disabled beggarly teenager to a multi-millionaire employer, establishing the SoloGold upholstery brand. (NAN PHOTO)

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