A 52-year-old visually impaired man, Taiwo Edekere, recently tied the knot
with his 43-yearold heartthrob, also visually-challenged Grace Taiwo, at the
Makurdi Registry, Benue state.
In an interview with Daily Trust, the couple spoke about the journey of
their love and how they got married against the advice of many people. “I love
her so much because I noticed that she always had soothing words whenever I’m
in any kind of problem. When I noticed some special qualities in her, I started
wooing her,” Edekere said.
Narrating how he lost his vision and
where their paths as lovers crossed, Edekere, recalled, “I work with the
Ministry of Education in Ekiti State as a teacher at the Government Special
School for the Blind. I’m from Edo State. I was born on July 5, 1968. I became
blind in 1998. I went to St. Mathias Catholic School Lagos after which I
proceeded to Government College, Osborn Road in Ikoyi Lagos. I worked with the
Nigerian International Bank, Victoria Island, Lagos, and thereafter put in for
my ICAN course. It was in the process of becoming a chartered accountant that I
became blind.
After I became blind, I went for
rehabilitation at the Oshodi Special School for the Blind where I was
rehabilitated and trained in Vocational Training. I was later employed as an
instructor at the Government Special School for the Blind, Ekiti State, in
2008. That is where I work till date.”
Edekere, an indigene of Edo State, and his Idoma wife, Grace, met in 2018
at the Special School for the Blind in Ekiti State where they are both teachers.
Speaking on how he met his wife, he had this to say: “I met my wife
after she was posted here as an N-Power staff in 2018. I got attracted when I
found out that she’s an educated lady and a good woman who can support me. I so
much love her because I noticed that she always had soothing words for me
whenever I have a problem. When I noticed all these qualities in her, I started
wooing her in a bid to marry her.”
Speaking of the challenges their love faced, he said: “As a blind person,
it is not easy to get a wife or husband. I told her I was ready to marry her.
It took her about eight months to accept my proposal. It was a tug of war
because after I proposed to her, some people rose up against our relationship.
“Those same people who were telling
her not to marry me were the same people who came from behind and were
introducing another lady to me. When she got to know about it, she now said, if
their person is qualified to marry me, then she too is qualified to marry me.
It was at that point that she made up her mind to accept my marriage proposal,”
Edekere added.
Edekere, who admitted that two visually challenged people coming together
in a marriage would never be an easy task, however posited that part of their
training in school had already equipped them on how to do domestic work unaided
and independently. In fact, in the school where we work, some of our colleagues
here are married to their blind counterparts. So, it’s not something so difficult
or new.” On her part, Grace said, “When the battle was hot, I turned down his
proposal but when I discovered that those discouraging me from accepting his
proposal were in turn suggesting another lady for him to marry, I accepted his
proposal.” “What made me accept his proposal was the fact that the same people
who did not want us to get married were suggesting other girls for him to
marry. I saw envy in all of that and then decided to marry him. I love him
because he’s an unapologetic giver, honest, a man of his words and also God
fearing.” Grace advised fellow visually impaired ladies who are not
married to toe her path since they have already been trained to cope with their
disability so that life can be enjoyable for them because the only thing some
men do to blind women is to impregnate and then abandon them in their parent’s
houses.
