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I like It When People Stare At Me - Chuks

Determined to live life to the full

He exudes much liveliness, warmth and joy which is contagious. He is naughty, funny and full of pranks when the occasion demands. For one who is physically challenged, he has no limits. He is Chukwunweike Etuka, the guy who has the 'Will 2 survive'.

He is very lively and fun to be with. With him around, there is no dull moment. Chukwunweike Etuka (fondly called Chuks by friends), the producer ad presenter of 'Will 2 Survive' on NTA 2 channel5, is a pride to the physically challenged and to humanity in general. He has an uphill task on his hands-changing public perception towards persons with disabilities.
Born physically challenged on the December 31, 1976, Chuks, the last of four boys is from Nsugbe in Oyi local government area of Anambra State. He graduated from University of Lagos in 2004, where he read Urban and Regional planning.
His television programme, 'Will 2 Survive', was born out of the opportunities and gifts that God has given him, not necessarily because he is physically challenged. "The opportunities and gifts that God gave me motivated me to create 'Will 2 Survive'. The gift that God gave me, being my family; the opportunity being the state of mind that He gave me. The realization that a lot of people out there who are living with disability in their own way or the other don't have this same opportunity that God has given me. I have been given this opportunity and I will try as much as possible to show people that it can be done. So why not do it.
Recently, the programme has expanded its frontiers into the print media. He writes a column also called 'Will 2 Survive', in Totally Whole (TW), a magazine targeted at the women folk generally.
What is the concept and what is his programme all about? He explained that: 'Will 2 Survive', is a forum whereby persons with disability who are living positively despite their challenges are showcased to the rest of the world. This is because in Nigeria, people who are living with intellectual and mental disabilities are treated as subhumans. They are not respected; they are not appreciated. So 'Will 2 Survive' seeks to provide a forum whereby persons who are living positively can be celebrated.
"It is also a forum where issues around disabilities are aired, expressed and trashed out for the general public. So you find out that 'Will 2 Survive', has people who come into it who are not necessarily living with disabilities themselves but who in one way or the other either have relations or friends with disability or in their professional lives have to do with people living with disability or just deal with disability issues. That is basically the idea behind 'Will 2 Survive'."
The challenge confronting the programme include finance. "It is unfortunate but the society we live is not conscious about this issue . We are socially conscious by mouth and not by action and that is the painful truth. Unfortunately, a lot of corporate organizations are not fulfilling their real corporate responsibilities. The only time they are ready to part with money is when it will benefit them. They give money for activities that are trivial. Meanwhile, they leave out the major societal issues like poverty, education, persons with disability, the less privileged, the list goes on. That is the unfortunate thing in the Nigerian society. That is one of the major challenges of the programme.
"Another challenge is finding persons who are living positively but who are willing to overcome their shyness because a lot of them are afraid of publicity. They are scared of what they think might come out of the publicity. They refuse to understand the fact that their lives can be seen as models which other people can learn from: they can be role models themselves".
Raised in a family that didn't see him differently, Chuks was made to do domestic chores like every other person. Looking back now, he appreciates his family for the fore-sight and confessed that this act alone helped in making him who he is today. Another thing that helped him was: "I did not for one day spend a single second in any special school. Right from my kindergarten till I graduated from the University, I have always been educated in the mainstream schools. The funny thing is that I hardly see myself differently from any other person. Unfortunately, a lot of people with disability see themselves being put in a special school. At the end of the day, by the time they leave the special school and face the society, they develop a psychological imbalance, they become complex which affect their development socially and otherwise."
People tend to stare at other people with one challenge or the other in an embarrassing way. So how does he cope with such discomforts. He replied: "People stare at what they don't understand. But I have been stared at from the time I was born. At such moments that I have people's attention, it means that I am important. I like it when people stare at me".
Chuks has always been busy with one thing or the other. This is even to the challenge of people that are not challenged. During his Youth Service in NTA Asaba, he was the brain behind two programmes: 'Young and Strong'(a youth self realization and awareness programme) and 'Groove Avenue' (a music and entertainment based programme).
In as much as he is trying to change people's perception towards the disabled, he took a swipe at them saying that they are their own worst enemies. He decried the state of mind of majority of them, the mind to be dependent on others which he criticized vehemently. "Some of them even envy some of us that are doing well in one way or the other. They see us as a hindrance to their lifestyle of begging. "If you encourage them to try and do something useful, you will become their number one enemy. They will say... 'what do you mean by I shouldn't beg? Am I not a disabled?' That is their response and it is annoying.
"Number two, the Nigerian Society should give the disabled people a chance. They constitute 10 percent of the population and that number is growing. Do you know what that means? How many are we in population? One hundred and forty million and ten percent of that population are challenged and that is a large number of people. And that number is growing and you know why? HIV exists; it makes people disabled. Polio exits, old age, people are growing old everyday. We still have okada accidents and road accidents; we have domestic accidents, we have ethnic and social violence going on.
"Everyday, people have cause to come down with one disability or the other. That 14 million is growing in number everyday and that is a huge human resource that is being over looked and some even die. It is not fair. Let the society give us the chance to add value to the nation".
Most challenged people are getting involved in relationships that lead to the altar. This is especially for individuals who are bold and understand that disability is a thing of the mind.
Chuks Etuka is no exception because when asked if he hopes to get married someday, he threw back his head and laughed his heart out before replying: "Do I hope to get married some day? I am going to have a football team or two of handsome boys and beautiful girls. Yes I do hope to get married. Am I into a relationship now? Yes! A very beautiful girl. I hope to get married someday. I hope to have children someday. I hope to be a grandfather someday. I am determined to live life to the full.