…Begs Governor Kefas, philanthropists for help
By Femi Bolaji
Jalingo – On the morning of May 21, 2025, the air in Jalingo was electric with anticipation. Flags fluttered along the restricted Government House corridor as the city prepared to host the prestigious Taraba State International Investment Summit (TARVEST) and welcome Vice President Kashim Shettima.
Among the crowd stood Iorhee Saanmoyol Paul, a vibrant National Diploma student at Taraba State Polytechnic, holding aloft a metal banner pole. As the first son of peasant farmers, Paul carried more than just a ceremonial flag.
He embodied the collective hopes of a family counting on his education to break the cycle of generational poverty. The hope of the family is for him to complete his education and be able to cater for the other members who have little or nothing to depend on at the moment.
Then, in a catastrophic split second, routine met tragedy. The iron pole touched an overhead hightension power line and sparked a fire that consumed the student. A violent surge of thousands of volts ripped through his frame, instantly throwing him onto the hard asphalt. He was in deep, inexplicable pain.
Onlookers watched in horror, presuming the young man dead as smoke rose from his severely scorched limbs. But against every medical probability, Paul’s heart kept beating. He eventually arrived at the treatment table with some of his heartbeats still racing. What followed was an agonizing 28day battle in the ICU of the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Jalingo, where doctors were ultimately forced to amputate both of his hands to save his life.
Waking up without the very hands he intended to use to build his future immediately plunged Paul into a bewildering, quiet grief. Simple daily rituals vanished overnight. Yet, where despair might have settled permanently, an astonishing resilience took root. Paul refused to give up his ambition, hope and confidence as a man whose shoulders are loaded with a lot of expectations. Today, Paul has taught himself to navigate touchscreens using his knuckles and remaining limbs, refusing to abandon his academic pursuits. “I can no longer hold a pen and write, but I can operate a cellphone without any assistance,” he said.
“That is to tell you that I am still pursuing my education. This is a new life for me altogether, and I am grateful to be alive,” he added.
His survival was made possible in part by the timely intervention of Governor Agbu Kefas, who cleared Paul’s initial hospital bills and approved a N500,000 post discharge grant to assist with his ongoing wound care and recovery. In gratitude, Paul said, “I want to personally thank Governor Agbu Kefas for sponsoring my medical bills and releasing that support after I was discharged. “That money helped in no small measure with treating wounds that are not yet fully healed.” The journey toward his full rehabilitation is far from over. He is still left with severe postburn contractures and still faces corrective surgery hurdles before prosthetic limbs can be safely applied.
For an unemployed student from a modest rural background, the costs of high grade functional prosthetics, ongoing rehabilitation, and daily sustenance remain insurmountable without sustained support. Confronted with this challenge, Paul has come out to make a heartfelt plea to the Taraba State Government, corporate bodies, and well meaning philanthropists to help him secure functional prosthetic hands and an employment opportunity within the state civil service. He is not asking for charity to remain idle, but for the tools to stand on his own feet and provide for the family that sacrificed everything for his schooling. “My hands may have been lost to the high tension wires, but my determination to write a triumphant chapter out of an unthinkable tragedy remains completely intact,” Paul told AV in an emotion laden voice.
With his hands lost and with little or nothing to thrive on, Paul survives mostly on hope and a strong belief that somewhere along the line, someone with a heart of gold could help him navigate the path of a tattered life. But who is willing and ready to help him?
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