On September 12, 2019, Tomi Waziri, an Uber driver, was driving from 1004, Victoria Island to Ajao Estate to drop off a passenger when in a traffic jam at the popular Apongbon Bridge, known for nefarious activities, two youths with locally made guns came up to his car window trying to rob him of his phone and other valuable.
Panicking, he turned away to get his phone but as he turned to the armed robbers, what he heard was a loud bang. He was shot in the face with a local gun filled with pellets. Tobi lost his sight on the spot and has remained blind ever since even after medical assistance.
Rather than Tomi falling into depression and lose all hope as he could no longer use his eyes, he decided to give back to humanity as a part of his healing process.
Speaking to The Guardian at one of the events he now organises under the Tomi Waziri Foundation, he spoke about the inspiration for his foundation: “The Tomi Waziri Foundation was birthed to preach the gospel of love and forgiveness”.
“When I lost my sight, I never wished anything bad on the armed robbers responsible for the loss of my sight. Instead, I organised an outreach to the Juvenile Remand Home for Boys, Oregun”.
Recently, his foundation partnered with the Institute of Counseling in Nigeria for the “Feed the Disabled Project 2021”.
During the event hosted at the Local Government Primary School Ikpakodo, Ikorodu, food supplies and academic materials were handed to the visually impaired. There was also free counselling for persons with visual impairment.
“Counseling is underrated in Nigeria”, Mr Waziri said when asked about the partnership with the ICN. “As we recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, insecurity in the country and a lot of other factors, counselling needs to be taken more seriously,” he said.
Tomi Waziri is a rare case of “getting lemons, and turning them into lemonades”
With Boko Haram insurgents terrorising the north east, bandits abducting Nigerians, and suspected herders holding the nation’s food basket to a standstill, Tomi Waziri is one of the few sparkling lights and patriotic citizens promoting peace, forgiveness, and love for humanity to a beleaguered nation.
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