BEYOND WHAT YOU SEE
What is it like studying in Nigeria while living with a disability or chronic illness?
PEOPLE SAY I’M USING MY HEALTH AS AN EXCUSE
One of the obvious complications of this disease is pain, I mean crazy pain. But there is a notion in the hospital that sickle cell warriors are drug addicts. If I have a crisis and I enter a hospital and name a drug that makes me better, I’d become an addict like that. I’m seen as someone who’s been buying and using. Whereas I simply know my drugs and what works for me.
I FEEL OVERLOOKED IN CLASS
Given the vast size of the campus, it was quite challenging for a visually impaired student like myself to navigate independently. But I soon formed friendships with supportive peers who helped me adapt and thrive. I don’t rely on mobility aids, but I lean on the support of my friends. I occasionally miss classes if my friends are not available.
USED MY FEES TO PAY FOR TREATMENT
When I was offered dialysis or a kidney transplant, I asked for a less expensive option. I was required to drink ten sachets of water daily, stick to a diet, and take my drugs properly, and maybe I wouldn’t need dialysis. But I knew that would be hard to do. With a late father and a brother who is the sole breadwinner, my purse was not full.
NO STRUCTURES IN PLACE FOR STUDENTS LIKE ME
To make it worse, the school bus park (at the gate) was relocated and now we, who live off campus, have to queue for over two hours to get a bus that will take us inside the school. With my health, I queue and wait for the bus, but sometimes, my friends stand for me while I sit elsewhere. Even inside the school, my lecture halls are far from the car park, up to a 15-minute walk. There’s the option of keke, but due to my financial status, I trek instead.
I AM JUST SICK, I DIDN’T KILL ANYBODY
I think one big flaw with the university is that they don’t really prioritise health issues. Regardless of your condition, the system doesn’t stop for you. I always say that the exceptions I’ve gotten are because I sought them myself… There’s no backup if you miss classes. There was a time in my class when more than four students were sick. We had to plead with the lecturer to postpone the scheduled test and he did. But it is not always like that.
Yoruba people say iroyin ko to amojuba, meaning that narration cannot match experience. However, while narration might not beat experience, it can share a part of it.
As a young girl who developed a chronic disease at an age when my life was supposed to be starting, I constantly measure who I used to be versus who I am now. In doing so, I realised the systemic and societal gaps that affect the quality of life of people living with disabilities.
Beyond What You See is a storytelling series that shares the lived experiences of students with disabilities across Nigerian universities — their stories, journeys, challenges, resilience, and the quiet ways they navigate a system that was never designed for them.
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) defines a disability as any long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairment which, in interaction with various barriers, may hinder the full and effective participation of disabled people in society on an equal basis with others. So, beyond the common and visible disabilities that we know, disability can take various shapes, from chronic illnesses like Fibromyalgia to genetic diseases like sickle cell disease to mental disorders.
Nigeria, as it stands, is not built for people with disabilities, visible or invisible. Our campuses and transport systems lack ramps and safe walkways. Even hospitals, the one place that should offer relief, often feel unwelcoming, from long queues to health workers who question your pain if you don’t “look sick”.
When the system only acknowledges what it can see, it teaches society to doubt what it cannot understand. Infrastructure shapes empathy. In places where ramps, awareness campaigns, and inclusive systems are part of daily life, people grow up learning that pain can be real even when unseen. Here, the absence of such care has trained us to be suspicious of suffering.
Across campuses in Nigeria, students with sickle cell, visual impairments, and other chronic conditions share different experiences, yet their struggles often mirror one another. Delayed treatment. Non-inclusive education systems. Dismissed pain. But regardless, they find ways to belong and to create beauty even within systems that rarely make room for them.o take notes or queue for the bus, and strangers who reach out without needing to be asked.
Listening to different people who developed disabilities at different stages of their lives made me realise that good health isn’t guaranteed, and to live without any form of disability is an invaluable blessing.
Each story ends with a structural adjustment that could make life easier for students with disabilities. Perhaps we can pick one or two ways to be more humane. Perhaps student politicians might have better things to put in their manifestos.
My wish is simple: that everyone who reads these snippets walks away with gentler eyes, to see the invisible. That we look again. That we learn to see difference as strength. That we remember “disabled” often means differently abled. That we practise consideration, not pity. I also wish that our medical officers understand this: while they may study these conditions, it is those who live with them who feel them most.
While working on this series, I realised that institutions may fail, but humanity still tries to show up. It shows up in the form of friends who stay behind to walk slower, lecturers who are considerate, classmates who take notes or queue for the bus, and strangers who reach out without needing to be asked.
Once again, remember that narration cannot match experience. So, whatever emotion you feel when you read these narrations, it is just a minute percentage of the actual experience.
— Sakeenah Kareem.
I SET OUT FOR CLASSES TWO HOURS IN ADVANCE
With my visual condition, I had to pay the price of determination and discipline to avoid missing any class, test or exam. For instance, if I have a class scheduled for 9 a.m., I often leave my hostel as early as 7 a.m. to ensure I arrive on time. Although it has not always been easy, my effort has helped me maintain a good academic record and a strong CGPA despite the challenges.
THERE ARE BARELY ANY RAMPS ON CAMPUS
Moving around school is not easy. Due to the cost of transportation, I find it hard to go out. I have not done my faculty registration because it is physical and there is a lot of going back and forth. At the gate, I often beg the Keke drivers to lift me to the bus stop. Inside school, I have to spend more on transportation; most of my hostel mates trek from class to the hostel, but I have to take a drop (to and fro), which is expensive.
MOVING THROUGH CAMPUS WITHOUT HELP IS HARD
The school was contemplating whether or not I was fit to continue studying German because of my disability. Students at the school with disabilities, such as visual impairment, are usually found in special education or communication. But I stood my ground. I had already lost one thing; I was not going to lose another, especially not a language I loved.
MISSED CLASSES DUE TO MEDICAL APPOINTMENTS
I have missed classes almost throughout my stay in school because my medical appointments coincide with days of classes, and because of flare-ups. Even for classes I am able to attend, the chairs are too hard. I missed a Physics test in 100 level because of a medical appointment. I notified the lecturer in charge, but I didn’t hear back. Since then, I have tried not to miss another.
LECTURERS GAVE ME SUMMARY NOTES
The government came here to see the level of damage the floodwater caused, but since then, we have not seen anyone intervene. Nothing was done. The Lions Club was able to compensate the community a week after the government came for sightseeing. The chairman of the New Generation CDA tried a lot because she’s a member of the Lions Club. She was the one who invited them to see the level of damage.
Curated by: Sakeenah Kareem.
Edited, designed, and vibe-coded by: `Kunle Adebajo.
Sakeenah Kareem is a storyteller whose work explores identity, gender, and the human experience. She is drawn to stories that challenge narratives and enjoys reviewing literary works. When she’s not hunting story ideas, reading, or writing, she binge-watches sitcoms and medical dramas. She tweets and grams @tranquill_ink.
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