Hi readers, It’s another Disability Champions weekend! Welcome to the 24th edition of the series, where we feature Oyebimpe Stella Afolayan. Bimpe (as she’s fondly called) is a trained teacher of the Deaf working at the Kwara State School for Special Needs (KSSN). Beautiful, hardworking, unassuming—yet so self-assured—this deaf educationist harbors no bitterness about losing her hearing. Rather, from where she stands, Bimpe affirms that her disability is a blessing.
“Disability […] is a blessing on my part. I told you before: ‘no regret in being Deaf.’ I am happy, educated, married, have children—what non-deaf people have, I have too. So, I see it as a blessing to me… I know that God’s hand is there.” – Bimpe Stella Afolayan
Bimpe shares her Deaf story with an organic simplicity and directness that sharply contrasts the denial and escapism she lived in many years ago. Thanks, in large part, to the power of sign language and the blessing of the community (the Deaf community), where she found a place of her own—no apology needed for her disability.
Background
“I was born in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, in the 1970s. I am the third child in a family of six. My childhood experience wasn’t bad because I had already acquired language before the onset of deafness. The [main] challenge I had then was my mother not believing that my hearing was defective. Back then, my mother was always accusing me: ‘Agboya lo da e lamu’ (You are pretending).” Somehow, Bimpe’s mother was right!
Bimpe confessed to struggling in a web of pretense and denial before eventually accepting her deafness.
Education
I attended Saint Mary’s Convent School, Oke-Aare, Ibadan. My secondary education was at Ikolaba Grammar School. I then proceeded (rather reluctantly) to the Federal College of Education (Special), Oyo, for a National Certificate in Education (NCE). I earned my first degree at the University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Kwara State.
Deafness and Denial
The first signs of hearing loss began when the young girl was in primary school, but it wasn’t easily noticed.
Bimpe still remembers those early days: “I read lips fluently. I also [used to] have good and bad hearing days. There are days I would hear so clearly [you’d find it hard to believe I’m deaf]. Other days, the reverse was the case.”
The reality of deafness, however, hit when she got to JSS1…
“I could no longer cope, and my mum took me to the hospital,” she reminisced.
The actual cause is unknown, but Bimpe remembers that at the time, she was always having recurrent bouts of catarrh. A medical examination at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, found bits of broken pencils in one ear, and the Ear, Nose, and Throat (ENT) specialist said these damaged her eardrum.
Coming from a faith background, Bimpe’s parents responded with the typical believer’s refrain: “Trusting God for a miraculous opening of their daughter’s ear.” Faith affirmations were backed by parental sacrifice. Bimpe’s parents scrimped on conveniences to raise a handsome sum to get her a pair of hearing aids.
Unfortunately, the hearing aids were a big disappointment.
Bimpe recalls the outcome with a mix of appreciation and regret:
“Well, it wasn’t easy for Mum and Dad, but they tried their best in getting me those expensive hearing aids. [Ironically], this thing isn’t helping but adding to my troubles.”
She had to shelve the hearing aids.
Career
“I am a certified teacher of the Deaf,” Bimpe beams contentedly. “I have ‘no regrets’ taking up the teaching profession.” She goes on to share some of the blessings that being a teacher of the Deaf has afforded her:
“This [profession] has given me some great training opportunities [and exposure]. I was selected for the Teaching Excellence and Achievement Program in the USA in 2018. In 2023, I participated in the West Africa Teacher Exchange Alumni Conference, held in Accra, Ghana. Another training I have enjoyed as a trained teacher of the Deaf is the Deaf-E3 program, sponsored by USAID, to train Deaf teachers across Nigeria in pedagogy methodologies.”
She says these programs [really] helped her professional development as a teacher.
But she recalls her initial aversion to becoming a teacher: “Back then,” Bimpe says, “I saw teachers as poor, not-well-to-do people. Thank God for my parents, whose encouragement urged me on.”
Adapting to Disability
What did it take for this former loner to come out of hiding? What did it take to face up to the embarrassment of not being able to hear questions she was asked? What did it take to develop the boldness to reply to mockers who sometimes made fun of her when she mispronounced certain words: “Bimpe, why are you talking like this?”
It took sign language! Looking back, Bimpe recalls:
“The bad experience I had was when I hadn’t learned sign language as a means of communication. But ever since I learned sign language, I no longer worry about what people say about my speech or [deafness]. I can boldly tell people that I am deaf.”
But before then, the young girl shares what it was like:
“[When I was being spoken to], I would just pretend that I understood what was being said. Dad’s instruction had been to ask people to repeat themselves when I didn’t hear what they said, but I couldn’t bear to do that because I didn’t want to be labeled as Deaf, although a lot of Deaf people lived around my area. Sometimes, when I was home alone, neighbors would draw my attention to the landline phone ringing in the sitting room. I would go in and simply turn down the volume to avoid the embarrassment of ‘Eh, eh, I can’t hear you. What did you say?’”
However, after reaching acceptance and experiencing sign language, she has learned to magnify her abilities over her disability. Now Bimpe says:
“Honestly, no regret in becoming deaf—what my hearing counterparts can do, I can even do better in some areas.”
Her response is by no means an exaggeration. Bimpe combines her civil service career, farming, entrepreneurship, and managing the home front with an amazing efficiency that wins her respect and admiration within her community and beyond.
At this point, for a dose of comic effect, the amiable woman recounts a funny incident around her deafness:
“I remember the first day I drove our car. Neighbors were looking and laughing. They were like: ‘Deaf can drive a car?’ I decided to prove them wrong. It didn’t take up to a week before I took to driving on the road.”
Meeting Discrimination
The mention of discrimination draws a sigh from this champion. She gets her fair share of it. Indeed, Bimpe says:
“Discrimination is one of the challenges faced by [disabled] people in our [society].”
The Kwara State School for Special Needs, where Bimpe works, has a tradition of assigning duties like supervising external examinations to staff who’ve reached a specific level. However, Deaf staff weren’t allowed to supervise based on stereotypes. A determined Bimpe challenged and crushed that stereotype.
But biting the dust is part of the deal too—and Bimpe knows how much it hurts.
She complains bitterly about attending social events where there is no interpreter or an incompetent interpreter who takes Deaf people for a ride:
“At a Deaf Women of Nigeria event, which had women dignitaries from across society in attendance, the interpreter was signing trash all along. [That day was a good hearing day for me, so I was able to evaluate the interpreter’s performance.] When it was time for the group photographs, all women’s groups were called to join in, but this interpreter didn’t call us [Deaf women]. Very embarrassing!”
For the Deaf, worry over the communication gap faced in social settings is a recurring challenge.
“One can’t just attend a program for the sake of it…,” Bimpe argues.
She points out the stress of having to pay interpreters from one’s own pocket. How does she handle this? Bimpe says: “Where possible, I have one of my children or skilled friends help out.”
She echoes an overwhelming sentiment of Deaf persons on the subject of discrimination:
“One of the hurtful experiences for a Deaf person is being denied what one is supposed to get because one is Deaf. This isn’t balanced at all, knowing fully that some of us [Deaf folks] can do better. This is so hurtful!”
The Plus Sides of Deafness
“My disability makes me more humble… [It helps me pursue] good relationships with people—and I make it a goal to impart my knowledge to my female students. I have trained some of them in the production of liquid soap, toilet wash, germicide, etc.”
Sundry Advice
When I ask what advice she’d offer a young, upcoming generation of persons with disabilities, Bimpe responds:
“Pursue your dreams. Don’t allow your disability to limit you. Do what makes you happy.”
In a society that still stereotypes Deaf people as crude-mannered, Bimpe encourages young Deaf people to strive to improve themselves in order to earn more of society’s respect.
On facing society’s discrimination, she urges the need for more advocacy. Beyond that, Bimpe—herself a model of Deaf virtue—reasons on the imperative of pursuing personal excellence as persons with disabilities:
“We need to do better to show [society] that we are capable of more than they see in us.”
We round off the interview with Bimpe sharing her favorite quotes:
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
“God makes everything beautiful in HIS own time.”
The Disability Champions Series, a collaborative project with Madam Joy Bolarin, Executive Director, Jibore Foundation, is anchored by Alexander Ogheneruemu (Disability Issues Blogger).
Special acknowledgment to T.O.L.A Foundation for constant backup support.