David O. Anyaele, a disability rights advocate and survivor of the brutal Sierra Leone civil war attack that left him without both hands, has publicly refuted claims circulating online that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu personally rehabilitated him.
In a press statement released on Monday, Anyaele, who is the Founding Executive Director of the Centre for Citizens with Disabilities and current Chairman of the Abia State Disability Commission, described the reports as misleading and lacking context.
According to him, after returning to Nigeria in 1999, he sought help from several governors in the South-East to obtain prosthetic limbs but received no response. He noted, however, that then-Governor of Lagos State, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, acknowledged his letter and directed him to appear before a medical board.
“The board reviewed my request and recommended that the Lagos State Government should honour it. Unfortunately, that was where the matter ended. No further action was taken,” Anyaele stated.
He clarified that the confusion likely stemmed from his remarks at the “Nkata Umu Ibe” event hosted by the Centre for Memories in Enugu, where he commended Tinubu for at least responding to his plea — a gesture he said stood in contrast to the silence of other governors at the time.
Anyaele emphasized that his first set of prosthetic hands was made possible through a fundraising concert organized by Mrs. Titi Adebayo in Lagos, with generous contributions from well-meaning Nigerians.
He concluded by expressing his continued gratitude to all who supported him during his time of need, while urging the public to avoid misrepresenting his story for political or media gain.