By Mohammed Ismail
He is a true reflection of hard-work, commitment, resilience and an unquenchable thirst to succeed. The 45-year-old man was not born with the proverbial silver spoon. In fact, Ardo Usman faced his real litmus test when he had a near encounter with death after he was administered a polio vaccine at the age of eight. Although he survived the tragedy, that event left him with impaired legs making him unable to walk for the rest of his life.
But despite that initial setback which undoubtedly left him with a life scar and nearly threw him to the precipice of depression, Usman bounced back and found life bearing through hard work knowing that a lame duck has no place in our contemporary society.
Ardo Usman, is an eloquent example that with a can-do-spirit, vision and commitment, no obstacle will be hard to crack. Currently, he is an entrepreneur, a motivator, a trainer and a youth leader all moulded into one.
The business savvy young man has been given back to the society in quantum. He single handedly created hundreds of employment opportunities and concomitantly gave his quota to the growth of our national GDP and reduction of unemployment induced crimes in the society. He also contributed immensely to the development of humanity by training hundreds of youths in Adamawa and beyond, the art of shoe making.
In an interview with our reporter, Ardo Usman said life was brutish and tough because of the disability which he encountered at an early stage in life which left him emotionally distressed.
“I was not born with any form of disability. I became a victim of Polio vaccine when I was eight years old in Gombi local government of Adamawa State.
“Since then my life became miserable until I summoned the courage to conquer the myths, paranoia, stigma and phobia attached with my condition. But I know I cannot make it if I consigned myself as an object of pity. I took the gauntlet and the rest as they say is history.
“I was fortunate to know early in life that disability is a matter of choice, it is a state of the mind. I developed a mindset never to beg because of my state. I saw myself in the realm of an able bodied man who has to go out and compete to gain a foothold in the ever competitive market space. I chose a trade and ensure I excelled in the trade.
“Despite the impairment of my legs which made me to be permanently incapacitated, I know I have three big assets, my brain, my spirit and my hands. These assets did not fail me till this day.
“I told myself never to accept that I’m disabled. I believe I’m able bodied because my brain and other essential parts of my body are working perfectly. Because of that spiritedness, even the society did not treat me as a person with disability.
“I now train able bodied men across the 21 Local Governments of Adamawa State. I have trained over two hundred and fifty shoe makers in the State.
“With this profession I’m conveniently paying my bills as a bread winner and father of seven children including two adopted orphans from my village. I can comfortable pay my kid’s school fees and I thank God they are all doing well in school.
“Since I started this work over a decade and half ago, nobody ever supported me apart from the former secretary to the government of Adamawa state, Mallam Bashir Abdullahi.
“I’m pleading to well meaning Nigerians, especially Government and NGOs to support my initiative to do more. I’m ready to take Adamawa to the global stage in this industry,” he said.
