TheCable

After being in a wheelchair for four years, Boko Haram child’s victim, Ali Ahmadu, has returned to Nigeria following successful surgery on his legs in Dubai.

The boy, who was wheeled onto the plane three months ago, disembarked from an Ethiopian Airline plane at the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja, at 12:22pm without assistance.

Ali, who was dressed in a grey blazer, white shirt and blue jeans, was all smiles as he disembarked from the plane.

He returned to Nigeria to the warm embrace of a tumultuous crowd at the airport.

Overwhelmed with joy, Ali thrilled the crowd with brisk walks at the Abuja airport. It was hectic controlling the crowds who trooped out to catch a glimpse of the boy.

When he was approached by journalists at the arrival area of the airport, he simply said “I am fine”.

Ali before the surgery

Back to his feet

When asked in Hausa about his experience in Dubai, he said “lafiya lao” (Fine, thank you).

To really prove that he was fine, Ali lifted his legs in a marching order.

He arrived in the country with his aunt, Hannatu Madu; the coordinator of Global Initiative for Peace, Love and Care (GIPLC), Nuhu Kwajafa and representatives of the Dickens Sanomi Foundation.

Journalists seized the moment to ask him about his ambition, he said in Hausa, “I am fine, I want to be a policeman, I want to save people from harm”.

But while the boy savoured the moment with many taking photographs with him at the airport, the Taleveras Foundation, announced a scholarship, up to the university level, for him.

Igho Sanomi, chairman of the board of trustees of the Dickens Sanomi Foundation, said: “About three months ago, we all witnessed, at the same airport, Ali Ahmadu being taken away on a wheelchair, today to the Glory of God we are here to receive Ali Ahmadu, walking handsomely into our arms.

“What started as a painful journey for Little Ali, after the Boko Haram attack in Chibok four years ago that confined him to a wheelchair, has transformed into a journey of hope, love and care.

“Dickens Sanomi Foundation is backed by the principles of love and care, that were practised and preached by the Late Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Dickens Sanomi. Today we demonstrate these principles by being our neighbour’s keeper and teaching love by showing it.”