Vision beyond the sight: A call of fulfilment for the visually impaired

By Rofiat Olayemi

My name is Rofiat Oyindamola Olayemi. I am a visually impaired young lady. That is I am blind. I am a student of Lagos state university where I am studying English language in Faculty of Arts. I am a person who strongly believe in struggles, hard work, perseverance and patience. I believe that I will be there someday. But my dreams and belief of spreading my wings widely to fly all came crashing when I lost my sight. All hopes gone during that time for me. No joy nor happiness but sorrow, emptiness and grief for that one and important thing that makes me complete as a human which is my sight. Let me start on how it all began.

In the year 2012 around October, when I was in Basic 5, I was sick and I was taken home by my school just like every other student who will fall sick and the school will take them home for proper treatment and the child will return back to school but it wasn’t that in my case. I was sick and I was taken home from school and I never return back to that school again. My life changed and I started a new routine which I never pictured myself to be there in my life, from one hospital to another, from one religious house to the other, from one state to another state. Praying, hoping, endless tears and searching for miracle but it yielded nothing. Finally in 2014, I was taken home by my parent. Always staying at home doing nothing, occasionally taking strolled with my siblings. Everyone moved on with their lives but I was stuck doing nothing meaningful with my life. After many days of doing nothing, luck finally shone on me. Grace finally Spoke for me. A good Samaritan heard of a blind school and gave my mummy information about the school.

My mummy told me about the school and I cried out with joy and I thank Almighty for giving me the second chance of reconstructing my future. All hope that were gone came rushing, the fire I thought was quenched was sparked again. I started a new chapter of my life as a visually impaired.

I gained admission into Pacelli School for the blind and partially sighted children in 2015, where I started learning how to read and write as a  blind person, instead of writing with book and pen. I  learnt   to write with Marburg  and stylus and learning  [A dot 1 to Z]. Although  it was never easy for me, seeing new people with different characters and from different  backgrounds and I tried my best to cope among different people. I spent roughly three and half years in Pacelli where I was thought  that there is ability in disability, that  I can do anything that I set my mind on. My blindness is not a weakness and  I can do anything with Allah who strengthens me.

I graduated from Pacelli school for the blind and I gained admission into Queen’s college Yaba Lagos. QC was never an ordinary school for me, It is a school that teaches me to talk and be heard, to set my track and keep running no matter the weight on my shoulder. I remember when I was in SS 1, it was very difficult for me that I thought of living secondary school, but when I remember where I was coming from, I called myself and said to myself that quitting was never an option because I am a success created to succeed. I thank Almighty Allah for giving me the strength and courage to keep on moving no matter the discrimination and negative thought of those who do not believe in me, who thought my blindness is my weakness but I do not allow negativity to destroy my dream.

As a visually impaired person I won’t allow my condition or my disability to determine my future for me and I pray that Almighty Allah will make all my dreams come true and He should enable me no matter what I face as a blind person.

I graduated from Queen’s College on the third of August 2025, which was my valedictory service. On that day while talking to some friends and I said what I had been through from primary to secondary school, I don’t think anything can shake me any more because I thought I have seen more than enough for my age and I am strong to overcome any thing life throws at me. But I was only teasing myself because the more you walk in life the more you see and the less you walk the less you see. When you say you have tried let you rest, life will come and you will notice that there is no time to check time and you will keep moving on.

After writing WAEC, I thought that was the worst of it all that nothing can stop me from entering university this year. But due to the lack of facilities in the country, when my mates where seeing their result, I was not seeing mine. After some weeks my result was finally released, I now started another journey of my life. I am giving admission in Lagos state university. I know that life has a visually impaired has not been easy but that I will keep on striving and life must continue but my family and close relatives were crying silently for me that how would I cope because this was not longer the primary and secondary schools that I had been through that I am now going into the jungle. I left them doing the crying for me and I started strategizing because blindness cannot and will not stop me from making it in life.

The day I resumed fully as a student of Lagos state university student, my lovely sister told me that she does not know that thing in her that is giving her the mind set that I can survive. I know also that I will survive but I didn’t know how long or when I will survive.
I started receiving lectures like every other student but I told one of my friends to record for me during that period and I would go back during my leisure time, I will convert the recordings to note Just like always which has been my day to day activities. I know that I have a purpose in life and passion but I did not know where to start from.

On one best Friday in my life, I had a class which was ENG 107 around 10 A.M to noon, thinking that it would be like all other days but no, Dr Ganiu Bamgbose who is my lecturer started his class by talking to us about our purpose and our mission in life. But for me, it was more than a motivation, more like a wake up for me or the words of his mouth added fuel to the fire in me. At that moment, I see myself having new lead in life by knowing my purpose in life and fulfilling my mission to become a speaker. After the class, with the help of my friend, I walked up to him with the determination of telling him to help me with my goals in life, but that day I did not really express myself, so he asked me to come see him when he is less busy so I went to see him and he asked me that what did I love doing and I said I like talking and he said, start from writing.

I look forward to becoming a great speaker who will motivate lives of many, to keep the fire burning in many people’s lives and I don’t just want to be a voice but I want to be heard. I want to be a great writer that whenever people read my write ups, either one or two lessons should be learnt from them and I believe that with Almighty Allah the sky will be my starting point.

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