Introduction.

I was born Chukwunweike Etuka but my friend call me Chuks; I think that has taken over and serves as both my name and my nickname. If I should go further to introduce myself, I graduated in 2004 from the University of Lagos and studied Urban and Regional Planning. I am a business net worker as well as a Human Resources Consultant and media practitioner.

Adventures.

First and foremost right from the time I got into the university, I will tell you that I have been to every single state in Nigeria and sometimes I don’t need to know anybody in some states; I just pack my bag, strap it on my bag and off I go. I have also backpacked across the West Coast; all the way from Nigeria to Cote d’ivore. I was an adventure for me to take up Taekwando when I was in the university and right now as I am talking to you I hold a Black Belt in the art. I have done so many things out of adventures.

Growing up and society.

Well, the truth is that I was born challenged so you I can say that if it were a situation where I was not born challenged or that I became challenged as a result of an accident.  It’s like being born blind; you have never seen anything before so what can you say you are missing; you don’t know what you are missing. So for me I will say that I don’t know what I am missing but I know everything I am gaining just for being like this.  

Challenges while growing up.

Getting into school in Nigeria was a challenge for me because I was sent back by so many public schools; from the onset my parent’s had been determined that I would not go to any special school, they wanted me to go to a mainstream school.  Getting into college itself was tough and had a story. Because by the time I did the entrance examination, I passed and passed very well; I was told that I failed because of the same stigmatization and assumption that I would not be able to cope with the other ‘normal’ students. But I thank God and would say God touched him and that same night at exactly 9 p.m he showed up in my house and informed me that he had to go through my application form and got my residential address and traced my house to come and apologise for his earlier words and told me the truth that I passed and passed very well..

You really started getting involved in certain organisations right from your undergraduate days, are there any you belong to now and what do they do?

Well, I worked and went through LEAP AFRICA as a Youth Leader; I went through their Youth Leadership programme we were made to start up a social initiative that will bring about a change. For me I started up a television programme on the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) called Will To Survive; I liaised with a lady called Adesua Onyenekwe of the Today’s Woman Fame and we started this programme. It was designed to target motivating Nigerians and changing the perception of Nigerians towards persons with physical challenges, learning disability and also to change the perception of persons with disability towards their environment by identifying to them persons with disability in the society who are adding great value; people like Cobhams Asuquo, Comas Okoli, Danladi Bashiru, Prince Adelabu in Ibandan and other such people.  

Government attitude to persons with disability.

The truth is that the Nigeria society due to cultural belief and ways of thinking has been very very harsh to persons with disability and the government is not concerned and unaccommodating towards persons with disability.  Unfortunately in the Nigeria of today, persons with disability are perceived as sub-human, are worthless and are good-for-nothing is still very much in existent. It is unfortunate, the Nigerian government has not done anything for persons with disability in anything; we are still being relegated to the background in everything.

Getting a job.

It has been tough, very tough.  I have at several times I have gone for job interviews and find myself being interviewed by people I know I have a far better knowledge of the job than in the field they are interviewing me for; I have been to a place or two where I was told point blank that I shouldn’t have interviewed in the first place because they don’t think I can handle the job.

 The Nigeria choice.

Yes I was born in the UK; all my brothers were born there. My parents met and got married there and spent a number of years there. The truth is that the UK is perceived as being the utopia of this world in Nigeria; everything is perceived to be right but the truth is that it isn’t. Yes there is a structured social welfare package for persons with disability in the UK but I am not the sort that will go and depend on handouts and hand me downs, I am not that; taking that option will do nothing but depress me and I don’t want to be depressed. I want to go to the UK and I will go on my own terms.

Business.

First and foremost, it is a business I started up in partnership with two friends of mine; we started a company called Corpsconnect and its major focus is business and relation networking; we aim to bring together people from all sectors of the economy to do nothing but meet each other and hopefully develop business synergies, develop ideas and contact information and what have you. We want to organise a forum were persons from all industries can come together and meet and get to know themselves. Our debut event will hold on the 29^th of March and will take place in a boat; reasons being that most business are not done across the desk or the four walls of an office; businesses these days are done in clubs and in informal environment because when you are relaxed you will be more open to ideas. That is what we want to do to encourage corporate relationship building.

Relationship and Love life.

For my most cherished physical asset, I can’t tell you that right now. As I said, Nigerian have some perception of persons with disability; many people look at me and think if I have a girlfriend, whether I have a love life; Can he date? Can he perform? Will he be able to reproduce or make love? Yes I can and Yes I have and yes, I have been into. I cannot count the number of relationships I have been into, which is the truth. I have been into several relationships and my relationship with people of the opposite sex is cordial and interesting. Right now I am not in a relationship because I want to take out time to start off this area of my life that is really important to me. But I can have normal relationship with everyone and I will get married, have children, and start my own family just like everyone else.

Life philosophy.

Never say no; never say never.

Dream.

I want to stand for the extra ordinary; I want people when they hear Chuks Etuka they will say that is someone who has broken the mole and chattered it.

Robot  # 1 | 19.07.2009 14:16

://img18.imageshack.us/img18/696/chuksetuka1j.Introduction. I was born Chukwunweike Etuka but my friend call me Chuks; I think that has taken over and serves as both my name and my nickname. If I should go further to introduce myself, I graduated in 2004 from the University of Lagos and studied Urban and Regional Planning. I am a business net worker as well as a Human Resources Consultant and media practitioner. Adventures. First and foremost right from the time I got into the university, I will tell you that I have been to every single state in Nigeria and sometimes I don’t need to know anybody in some states; I just pack my bag, strap it on my bag and off I go. I have also backpacked across the West Coast; all the way from Nigeria to Cote d’ivore. I was an adventure for me to ta...Read the full article.

nijalaw  # 2 | 20.07.2009 12:14

Chuks, I can't see any handicap, all I see is a young man determined to get the best out of life. I am sure we'll get to hear more about you and your exploits in the future.