I Trained My Ears, Hands To Detect Car Faults – Blind Mechanic Reveals

There are perhaps a few people in the world today who can hold on to their goals and convictions tenaciously through the haze of disabilities like Murtala Shuaibu.

The visually impaired mechanic, who hails from Agbede, in the Estako West Local Government Area of Edo State, has been fixing cars for over 30 years.

workshop. My stay in Abuja is temporary, maybe for three or four months before I return to Kano State.

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“Ibrahim sometimes goes to work on clients’ cars where I wouldn’t be able to go physically because of my condition. I stay with my friend whenever I am here in Abuja, and I also have a younger brother who also lives in this city.”

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He added that accommodation and transportation, particularly for the visually impaired are two of the most potent difficulties he had to contend with.

“Accommodation is one of the biggest challenges I contend with here. Another is mobility, especially for someone that is blind. Some of my clients live far and their cars have broken down completely in need of my intervention, and they have come to trust me.

“There is a physical limitation that my condition places on my profession and that is why I hope to get a means of transportation with which I can be going to meet my clients when their cars develop problems rather than waiting for them. I am also planning to get my own shop so that I can work freely in a space that is suitable for my physical challenge.”

In his final remarks, the blind mechanic urged youths, particularly those with physical disabilities, to always focus on their abilities and not allow themselves to be discouraged.

He said, “Youths should have job skills even with education. People with disabilities are also gifted in their own unique ways and they must not allow themselves to be discouraged.

“Young people should always recognise their potential and encourage themselves. If I was surrounded by people who discouraged me when I became blind, I would have quit this profession.”