Commuters along Gandun Albasa street in Kano have in recent weeks encountered a heartbreaking sight of an 18-year-old boy, his face swollen and disfigured by a deadly disease, standing under the scorching sun from morning till night, begging for help. The teenager, Salisu Sani, hails from Yalwa town in Tofa Local Government Area of Kano State. He told Daily Trust that the illness, which doctors suspect to be Noma, has crippled his ambitions and left him in constant pain. The swelling on his face provided a tumor, a growth near the cheek and jaw, presenting as a large lump on one side of his face and distorted his facial symmetry. Sani, who is the eldest of six children, now positions himself daily in front of the residence of late Alhaji Bashir Tofa, the 1992 National Republican Convention (NRC) presidential candidate, hoping to attract public sympathy. “I have been battling this disease since I was small. It kept growing over the years. Every night it pains me so much, I can’t sleep. Because of this disease, I can’t go to school. It has crippled all my ambitions,” he said. He explained that he underwent the first surgery at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH), but doctors warned that a second operation was necessary to save his eyesight. “They told me I risk losing my eye if the surgery is not done. But my parents cannot afford it,” he said. “We spent a huge sum of money during the first surgery and had to solicit support from people. Now I stand here every day to beg, appealing to government, NGOs and philanthropists to help me with the surgery sponsorship,” he said. Despite visiting hospitals in Kano and Sokoto, as well as traditional medicine sellers, Salisu’s condition continues to worsen. He says his biggest wish is simply to get it out of his face.
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