Bitrus Gani-Ikilama

Bitrus Gani-Ikilama
Born	(1944-02-25)25 February 1944 Donga, Northern Region, British Nigeria (now Donga, Taraba State, Nigeria)
Died	20 February 2011(2011-02-20) (aged 66) Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria
Nationality	Nigerian
Alma mater	Royal National Institute for the Blind, London, United Kingdom
Occupation	Physiotherapist
Years active	1967–2011
Known for	1st blind child in Nigeria to be enrolled into the School for the Blind, Gindiri
Spouse(s)	Omoze Aigbe ​ ​ (m. 1973, died)​ , Taiwo Olufunto ​ (m. 1983)​
Children	Andrew
Awards	OON, FCSP, MNSP

Butrus Gani-Ikilama (25 February 1944 – 20 February 2011) was a Nigerian professor of physiotherapy. He became visually impaired as a child. At the apex of his career, he was made the head of the Physiotherapy Department, Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria, Nigeria.

Earlier life and career

Gani-Ikilama was born on February 25, 1944, in Donga, Northern Region (now in Taraba State), Nigeria. After contracting measles, he lost his eyesight at the age of five.

In 1955, young Gani-Ikilama became Nigeria's first blind child to be enrolled at primary school level in the School for Blind Children, Gindiri (now in Plateau State), where he graduated in 1957. In 1958, he also became the first blind teenager to be admitted into the Boys' Secondary School, Gindiri.

Between 1963 and 1967, Gani-Ikilama was a student in the School of Physiotherapy at the Royal National Institute for the Blind, School of Physiotherapy, London, United Kingdom. Upon graduating, he returned to Nigeria and became a registered member of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy. He faced challenges with potential employers who doubted his abilities as a blind man. However, in 1967, he was employed first at the University of Lagos Teaching Hospital where he began working as a physiotherapist for six years. In 1973, he moved to the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital (ABUTH) as an employee.

In 1976, Gani-Ikilama played a key role in producing the first tape recording services for the Nigerian blind. It became a success story. The organization grew larger as lot of people flocked in to ask for services. Braille production, guidance and counseling, consultancy, and vocational training were added to the services in 1979. The organization got renamed to Hope for the Blind Foundation.

At ABUTH, he rose to become the chief physiotherapist and head of the department and retired in 2009.

Positions held

• General Practice Physiotherapist, Lagos University Teaching Hospital, 1967–1973;
• Senior Physiotherapist in-charge, Orthopaedics, Lagos University Teaching Hospital, 1971–1973;
• Senior Physiotherapist, Physiotherapy Department, Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria, 1973–1974;
• Superintendent/Physiotherapist in-charge, 1975–1977;
• Principal Physiotherapist I/ag. Head, Physiotherapy Department, Institute of Health, Zaria, 1977–1979;
• Assistant Chief Physiotherapist/Head, Physiotherapy Department, 1979–1981;
• Chief Physiotherapist/Head, Physiotherapy Department, Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria, since 1974;
• Chair, O.M. Trust Limited;
• National Vice President, Nigeria Society of Physiotherapy, 1977, 1987–1988;
• President, Nigeria Society of Physiotherapy, 1988–1989;
• Chair, Hope for the Blind, 1983–2011

Evangelical ministry

While he lived, Gani-Ikilama took the Gospel of Jesus Christ to mostly Moslem-dominated areas of northern Nigeria through evangelism.

Personal life

In 1973, Gani-Ikilama married Omoze Aigbe, a doctor, who died a few years later. He then married Taiwo Olufunto (née Akinluyi), also a doctor, on April 9, 1983. Together, they had six children of which only three survived. As of 2017, his son, Andrew Gani-Ikilama, was the executive director of Knowledge for the Blind Initiative (KBI), a non-governmental organisation working to alleviate the suffering of blind people.

Awards

Gani-Ikilama was a recipient of many awards like Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON), Fellow of the Nigerian Society of Physiotherapists (NSP), and the Nigerian Government Icon of Hope (2002).

Other awards

• Molex Foundation Gold Medal Award for Fortitude, 1984
• Meritorious Award through Trinity College of Ministerial Arts, 1989
• Meritorius Award Through Trinity College Ministerial Arts, 1987
• FNSP, 1998

Membership

• Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, London, since 1967;
• World Confederation of Physical Therapy, since 1969

Fellowships

• Nigeria Society of Physiotherapy, since 1998

Publications

During his lifetime, Gani-Ikilama made over 10 publications, including:

• Physiotherapy Practice in Underdeveloped Condition, Association of Blind Chartered Physiotherapist Journal, 1968;
• Occupational Opportunities for the Blind – A Survey "Nigerian society of Ophthalmology Conference, Ibadan, 1983;
• Reading for Disabled Child, world Organisation for Early Childhood Education (OMEP) Conference, Zaria, 1985.

Demise

Gani-Ikilama died on February 20, 2011, five days to his 67th birthday.

External links

• The Music of Nigeria Medic Melodies (Side A) (1969) – L.U.T.H Crusade Choir led by Bitrus Gani, by The Music of Nigeria (YouTube)
• Meet Bitrus Gani-Ikilama the first visually impaired Nigerian to... by Gerry Gutierrez (YouTube)
• Hope for the Blind, website