HOW I OVERCAME: Joyce Imasuen: Defied Blindness To Emerge As Law Graduate

Fourteen years ago, Joyce Imasuen’s future looked painfully uncertain. Blind at a tender age and growing up in Benin City, Edo State, where disability often translates to exclusion, poverty and street begging, her life could easily have followed a familiar, tragic path.

It is a common sight to see visually impaired children, especially girls, who are frequently seen on highways and street corners, led by handlers, reduced to objects of pity rather than promise.

However, Joyce’s story took a different turn in 2011 when the then-Edo State governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, adopted her.

On a recent visit to her family home on Upper Siluko Road, Benin City, Oshiomhole was welcomed by a jubilant crowd drawn by a story that has come to symbolise hope, compassion and the power of belief.

Joyce, now 21, is no longer the vulnerable child he met years ago. She is a law graduate of the University of Benin (UNIBEN), graduating with a Second Class Upper Division, a feat many sighted students struggle to attain.

Oshiomhole recalled adopting Joyce because he believed she was not responsible for her misfortune. What surprised him most was her resolve to study law, a course widely regarded as demanding even for students without disabilities.

Rather than lament what she could not change, Joyce chose determination over despair.

With consistent support for education at Queen’s College, Lagos, access to learning tools, and emotional encouragement, Joyce braced up against all odds.

She refused to let blindness define her destiny, unlike many others who, without support or hope, are pushed into begging for survival.

Speaking with gratitude, Joyce described Oshiomhole as a father who lifted a heavy burden from her family, allowing her to focus on excellence.

“Oshiomhole made sure I was always comfortable, and then I got admission into the University of Benin in 2011 to study Law. I told him, and he got me a laptop to aid my learning and made sure that my years in UNIBEN were free of stress, except the stress from the school.”

“I finished my programme and now my results are out, and I am proud to say that I made a 2.1, and I am happy and thankful to God that he brought Senator Adams Oshiomhole my way,” she said.

Her father, a retired teacher, echoed the relief of seeing his child thrive beyond limitations.

Joyce Imasuen’s journey is not just a personal triumph; it is a powerful reminder of what inclusion, compassion and opportunity can achieve.