Inspiring Stories with Busaosowo Bisong

Chukwu Justice is a legal practitioner, excellent communicator and overall best student with special need of the Nigerian Law School, 2017, born with visual impairment. Amidst a rough childhood, he held on to his dreams and conquered. Today at INSPIRING STORIES with Busaosowo Bisong, Chukwu Justice opens up on his childhood and journey so far…

Busaosowo Bisong : Can we meet you?
Chukwu Justice: My name is Chukwu Justice Chidozie. I was born in Maidugri ,Borno State, Nigeria and I am a lawyer.
Busaosowo Bisong : Tell us about your childhood?
Chukwu Justice: Hmm!....I was told that during my pregnancy, my mother was involved in an accident and she fell face down as a result. That was the beginning of many other problems. When I was born, it was discovered that my eyes were not responding to light. I was placed on medications, a lot of them to the point that I am forced to believe that the drugs contributed to the worsening of my sight defect. After several examinations, the doctors came to a conclusion that there was a disconnection between my retina and the brain making it impossible for my brain to interpret or translate what my eyes saw to vision.
Busaososwo Bisong :  When did you actually understand what it meant not to have normal sight?
Chukwu Justice: I discovered that I couldn’t do the things other boys did in the neighbourhood. I couldn’t play football or sack race because of my eyes. If I had to play at all, it has to be with girls because they were the only ones who were sympathetic to my plight then. I spent most of my childhood with my mother talking essentially about the hopes that I could see again one day or the next hospital we might visit. I was disheartened that I could neither read nor write (as at that time I haven’t been introduced to brail) like everywhere else in school did.
Busaosowo Bisong  :  When did you start schooling?
Chukwu Justice: As early as possible. I began from primary school to secondary down to the university.
Busaosowo Bisong : What was your experience like ?
Chukwu Justice: It was very difficult for me when I began primary school because at the time I was the only person with visual impairment and there was no provision for students like me. I could not read because I couldn’t use my eyes and there was no alternative neither could I write with pen/pencil. But fortunately for me, I had and still do have amazing listening skills. I sat on the front row in the class and listened attentively. A funny but sad event happened when I was in primary four. I was assigned to one of the very intelligent boys in my class so that he could help me read out the questions of a test we were given in class. Unfortunately, when the boy read the questions, I told him the answers he should write down for me but he insisted that the answers were wrong. I maintained that he should write them that way. This boy went ahead to write down the wrong answers on my answer sheet. When the result of the test was out he got 16/20 while I scored 4/20. I was completely devastated. I raised an alarm and the boy was scolded by the teacher. Even though we later became friends, I blamed myself for not having my sight. I felt cheated to be impaired.
Again, what finally broke the camel’s back was when the Reverend Father who took as his son and worked tirelessly to see that I didn’t have a hard time in school died mysteriously. This father bought me my first telescope at N 50,000. My world came crashing after his death.  A short time after he died , someone stole the telescope.
After primary shool, my family moved from maidugri to enugu during the heat of one of the Borno crisis.  Before moving to Enugu, I had written my WAEC but couldn’t wait behind to get the results because the city was in chaos.
Busaosowo Bisong : You had a rough time getting into the university , tell us more about that.
Chukwu Justice:  On arriving from Borno State, I had to sit for another WAEC. After that I wrote JAMB and the result wasn’t released . I wrote the second time but this time the result was released when admission opportunities had closed. I wrote the 3rd time and didn’t meet the cut-off mark. Because of my previous experience, I decided that it was best to go and register the 4th one at Abuja. On getting there, I was introduced to brail for the first time. This was a major challenge and as a result I couldn’t attempt all the subjects before time was up. I petitioned JAMB and nothing good came out of it. It was at this point that depression set in. I was frustrated with myself and angry at God. Thoughts of suicide began to flood my mind. I wanted to drink any poisonous substance I could find or run into the road to be knocked down by a moving vehicle. When I couldn’t gather courage to commit suicide, I began cursing God and screaming that the Bible is a mere fiction and that God doesn’t exist; all these was an attempt to get out of this unfair world but I know better now. After my 4th JAMB experience, I didn’t want to push further. I concluded God had abandoned me and that He didn’t want me to become a lawyer. But my loving mother kept pushing me. She went ahead to buy me a jamb form the 5th time. I wrote the JAMB and passed. I got admission into the University of Nigeria to study law.
Busaososwo Bisong : How did you feel when you got into the university ?
Chukwu Justice ; I felt it was time that I defined my life and accept responsibility for my life. I met people who believed in me and spoke life changing words into my life. It was from there that I decided that I was going to show the world what stuff I am made of. I made up my mind that I was going to graduate with my mates and that I wasn’t going to rewrite any course (carryover) throughout my stay in the university.
 Busaosowo Bisong : Why did you choose to become a lawyer?
Chukwu Justice :  The idea was first conceived in primary four even when my future appeared bleak. People in the neighbourhood later nicknamed me : “Justice must be done” . This was another motivating factor.
Busaosowo Bisong: You distinguished yourself at the Nigerian Law School, tell us about the award you won?
Chukwu Justice: After leaving the university, I was still determined to offer my best and God helped me achieved that. I explored all ICT devices that were at my disposal to aid my preparation for the Bar Finals Examination and by God's grace I  finished my law school programme as the overall best student with special need for the year.
Busaosowo Bisong :  Before we go , can you tell us what has been your motivation in life and the future plans you have.
Chukwu Justice: After all the ups and downs, I came to the conclusion that God has a purpose for my life and that He was leading me to see that come to pass. For future plans, I am working towards becoming a better communicator and advocate.
Busaosowo Bisong : Thank you for your time.
Chukwu Justice : You are welcome.