Public Agenda (Accra)
Frederick Asiamah
29 August 2008
"Disability is a matter of perception. If you can do just one thing well, you're needed by someone," Martina Navratilova, the onetime tennis star once said.
Benjamin Nyameye, a 34-year-old physically disabled has given much credence to Martina's assertion. He is a wonderful artist who can paint both portraits of anybody and imaginatively too. Those who have seen his handiwork stare with their mouths ajar! Some of his works include paintings of President J.A. Kufour and former President J.J. Rawlings, both of Ghana, as well as, the late Pope John Paul II of the Catholic Church (see accompanying picture).
But he tells Public Agenda that all is not well. For two years now, his painting work has been irregular. First, a kiosk he works in is dilapidated and uninhabitable. As a result, he cannot even afford materials to paint in large quantities. He also faces accommodation difficulty and presently puts up at the Accra Rehabilitation Centre, thanks to the benevolence of Mr. Joseph Attiga, the Centre's Manager.
Unfortunate beginnings
Nyameye, as he is affectionately known, was born on January 25, 1974 to Madam Georgina Dadzie, a fish seller and the late Mr. Kofi Abaka, then a fisherman at Abandze in the Central Region where they both hailed.
Sadly, the late Abaka, upon noticing that little Nyameye had come to this world with partially developed arms thought he was not human and suggested the baby be either dumped or poisoned to join the ancestors. That suggestion did not please his wife and led to the separation of the couple. Of course, the two families were divided as well; those of Georgina supported her position, while Abaka's family left it entirely to him to decide what to do with the "abominable" baby.
The Progression
Georgina was not perturbed. She went ahead to enroll Nyameye at the Abandze Methodist Primary from where he proceeded to the Abandze Methodist Junior High School. He said, "My interest was in the arts and design throughout my days in primary and JHS."
His next stop was Accra where he became a "son of the Accra Rehabilitation Centre," said Mr. Attigah. He lived there, fed and grew up there together with the trainees. He has spent almost all his life in the capital at the Centre.
Nyameye narrated and Mr. Attigah corroborated that the centre got an NGO to sponsor the young man through vocational education at the Ghanata College of Arts & Design where he passed out in 1997 with a diploma in Arts & Design.
After school
Since completing school, Nyameye has nurtured a desire to be self-reliant. This was after uneasy experiences immediately after school when he first sought for a job. His first job search was around the Danquah circle but he was turned down. Then he secured a job around the Accra Girls' Senior High School but he felt cheated and decided to quit. Later, with the help of a philanthropist he put up a kiosk on a piece of land offered to him at Osu Regal by the Social Welfare Department.
"While there I designed portraits of President Kufour, President Rawlings and Pope John Paul II of blessed memory for advert. This attracted many people to my shop but upon seeing who I am they turned away and never came back," he told this paper.
As a result, the business never actually flourished but he held on until two years ago when the structure deteriorated to a state where it was impossible to inhabit. Then he was also confronted with accommodation and had to return to the Rehabilitation Centre where out of sensitivity on the part of the manager he was cohabiting with some trainees of the centre.
"He is back here but certainly not as a trainee and not living here at the expense of the centre," said Mr. Attigah.
From the look of things, Nyameye cannot continue to live at the centre because officially he is supposed to be independent. "We train all persons with disability and teach them how to live independently after their training," the centre manager added.
Membership of GSPD
He became a member of the Ghana Society of the Physically Disabled (GSPD) only this year but even before then, Mr. Alexander Tetteh, National Administrator of the GSPD, said he took personal interest in Nyameye's excellent designs. The society applied subsequently to the National Commission on Culture's arts and culture facility but could not secure anything for him. Mr Tetteh also tried arranging something for him but issues of mistrust prevented Nyameye and the other party from working together.
"I also know that some of his friends sublet contracts to him but after doing all the work, they pay him peanuts," Mr. Tetteh said.
The way forward
Nyameye's current dream is to hold an exhibition but he needs at least fifty (50) paintings for that. Producing one painting, he said, can cost as much as GH¢150. So for now, he needs help from philanthropists, groups and organisations to get his career back on track. He is also still awaiting a visit by His Excellency Vice President Alhaji Aliu Mahama who pledged when he received a portrait of President Kufuor on the president's behalf to pay him a visit at the centre.
Mr. Tetteh said "I'm ready to speak on his behalf if anyone is willing to help."
By the way, Nyameye is also a wonderful table tennis player.
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