Boko Haram: Wounded Chibok Boy Flies To Dubai For Treatment
…Dickens Sanomi Foundation Bankrolls Medical Trip with $48,000
By Oyedun Oluwadamilare
Following intervention by Dickens Sanomi Foundation, a Chibok boy, Ali Ahmadu has been flown to Dubai for corrective spinal cord surgery.
The Foundation, which bankrolled the medical trip with $48,000( N17.5million), said Ali is expected back in three months.
The arrival of the boy at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja drew sympathy from many passengers who prayed endlessly for him and the Founder of Dickens Sanomi Foundation, Mr. Igho Sanomi who owns Taleveras Group.
The bill was offset by the Foundation following an appeal by a humanitarian body, the Global Initiative for Peace, Love and Care( GIPLC) which was raising funds for Ali’s corrective surgery.
The Founder of GIPLC, Mr. Nuhu Fulani Kwajafa said Ali was overrun by Boko Haram terrorists’ motorcycles when they ransacked Chibok community barely a few days after abducting the Chibok girls in April 2014.
He said: “Ali has spinal cord injury after being overrun by Boko Haram terrorists’ motorcycles when they ransacked Chibok community barely a few days after abducting the Chibok girls in April 2014.
“Ali was being carried by his pregnant mother who was struggling to escape from the Boko Haram attackers but fell down as she was trying to run and Ali fell off her back in the process and was overrun by the terrorists.
“With mother and child seriously wounded, Ali was kept under a tree for over three days and had never been given any form of medication. He was bleeding from mouth and nose for the period of staying under the mango tree.
“Since his mother was able to remove him from under the tree to the house in Chibok, Ali has remained bed ridden as a result of his spinal cord injury.”
He explained how GIPLC and Dickens Sanomi Foundation collaborated on the corrective surgery.
He added: “We got to know about his condition and began to mobilize for his treatment when someone called from Chibok and narrated his pitiful condition to us.
“When we heard of his traumatic condition, we brought him to Abuja and began to mobilize support for his corrective surgery in Dubai.
“We are taking him to Dubai today and hopefully he will be restored to his normal condition. We are confident that after the surgery he will be back on his feet.”
“We moved into action immediately to raise the $65,000 required for the surgery in Dubai.
“Fortunately for us after meeting some Nigerians for assistance, including the Senate President, Bukola Saraki and some Nigerian lawmakers, we approached the Dickens Sanomi Foundation which has graciously made available the balance of $48,000 needed for the surgery.
A member board of trustees of Dickens Sanomi Foundation, Hayi Goodluck said: “We decided to mobilize the funds required to give little Alli Ahmadu corrective surgery in Dubai so as to save his life and give him a future.
“We are already so excited about the prospect of a new lease of life for Ali and we promise to stand by him before, during and after the surgery in Dubai.
“The Dickens Sanomi Foundation will not only cater for him in Dubai but wil also take up his education upon his return from surgery all in a deliberate bid to stabilize him and help him to live and actualise his dream as a man created by God.
“We want to assure Ali, his family and Nigerians that the Dickens Sanomi Foundation will not abandon him in his moment of dire need. We stand by him to the end. Indeed, the Chairman of the Dickens Sanomi Foundation has set his heart on Ali. He has a soft spot for him.”
