Date: 2015-06-06

Though he is blind, his aspiration is razor-sharp despite his disability. This is a story of a 300-level Law student of University of Ilorin, Biliameen Babalola, who spoke to Daily Trust.

As a physically-challenged student, he is naturally going to stand tall among his course mates but he strikes their imagination, as well as that of his friends and lecturers by his intellect, determination, diligence and aspiration. Biliameen Babalola, in his early 20s, was cheerful and effervescent and at the same time shy when an interview was requested during a lecture.

Babalola eventually agreed to a chat about his journey in life and how he has gone far in his educational pursuits despite his disability, which to a larger extent would have dissuaded his peers to even attend primary school. The indigene of Ibadan, Oyo State, lost his sight from the very tender age of two to a an undisclosed illness and his parents tried hard to find a remedy, visiting several hospitals, to no avail.

Interestingly, he's not discouraged by his disability. He attended primary school in Lagos, SPED International Secondary School in Ibadan and took the Cambridge Advance Level programme at Education Advancement Centre in Ibadan where he graduated as the best student before he got admission to study Law at the University of Ilorin.

Asked how he lost his sight, he said, "I was very young then, I was too young to know how it all happened but I've been told it was as a result of an illness. We've visited hospitals for treatment to no avail but we've been told it is curable probably through surgery."

But how he has been able to cope all this while, finishing primary and secondary schools and performing excellently boggles the mind. However, he revealed that with the assistance of his friends and course mates in school, he has been able to surmount the hurdles of elementary education. With the aid of a manual type-writer which he has vast knowledge about, he was examined by teachers.

Technological advances have helped him a great deal in his university education and he explained that he usually reads with his laptop and android devices which have applications that read out what's on the screen.

"Most of our courses, like in 300 level, it is only one that doesn't have a text book, that has a material. Others have text books and I usually read them on my android tablet and on my laptop. There are applications that would read basically what is on the screen, the same with my laptop as well. It reads basically what is on the screen and that is how I usually read."

Speaking further on the challenge posed by his disability, he said, ""ecause Nigeria is a developing country, e-books aren't readily available like what we have abroad whereby text books can be bought online and you can actually buy e-copies of most of them. In Nigeria, what we usually buy are the hard copies of the books which in my secondary school days I required someone to read to me."

During examinations, the questions are read out to him by an aide appointed for him by the Centre for Supportive Services for the Deaf, a centre catering for the needs of physically challenged students in the university. He would then type out his answers and responses to assessment examination questions which are printed out for marking.

Babalola insists that his disability cannot dash his dream of becoming a lawyer, stating that seeing with two eyes is not a requirement of becoming a lawyer. He was also full of praise for his mother, who he said had been a pillar of support, making sure never lacked anything in school. To him, University of Ilorin has propelled him to greatness with its provision for special students. Having been denied admission to many universities because of his disability, he found a space in Unilorin which offered him admission to study Common and Islamic Law in 2013.

Babalola inspires confidence in those who meet him and his teachers and colleagues also testify to his intellectual prowess. "We all want his dream to come true, as he's very diligent and dedicated," said Idiat Ameen, a course mate. Another course mate, Olusegun Modeyin said "He's an active member of the class. If he is not in class, you would know that he is not class. He is such a genius. He recognises people by their voice."

Sub-Dean of Faculty of Law of the University, Dr. Ibrahim Imam, said: "Going through his script, he is very good. He always participates in lectures, whether you call him or not, he would participate positively and argue his points logically."

Asked why he chose to study Law, Babalola told Daily Trust: "Initially, I didn't want to study Law. When I was really young, all I wanted to be was a journalist or a newscaster because the first thing I got used to was the television and the radio and I always like the way they present. Later I realized I was good at arguing and I grew up to realize that it was only in the Law profession that could be done. So when I was in secondary school, I began to find out about what they actually do and that was how I concluded that I was going to study Law."

Apart from being a lawyer and judge, Babalola said he would like to be the President of Nigeria in future. "Sometimes my friends would say it is wishful thinking, but I think I am serious because there are many things that need to be changed in the system and within the people themselves," he said.c