“You don’t have to make excuses for failure” – Physically challenged man says as he celebrates passing out of NYSC

Congratulations are in order for a physically challenged member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Ikiotere Ayebatonye Otuma, as he passes out from the scheme.

The 28-year-old man, from Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa state, defied the odds stacked against him due to his physical impairment to complete the one-year scheme.

Ayebatonye on Thursday, October 6, took to his Facebook page to celebrate passing out from the scheme and shared a picture of himself posing with his NYSC certificate.

“The work is done. God did it” he wrote.

His post caught the attention of a Bayelsa news outlet, Mangrovepen, who interviewed him to know his story.

In the interview, the physically-challenged man said he refused to let his physical appearance to limit his achievements in life, and kept pushing for more.

According to him, he grew up in a community where he was not mocked or despised by his peers because of his appearance.

Speaking to people with any form of physical challenge, Ayebatonye told them not to allow their condition limit their lives.

He said,

“Having a physical deformity should not make you think much. Your life is not over as long as you are mentally stable. You do not have to make excuses for failure. You have every reason to be who God wants you to be by his grace.

“Even though along the line you will face depression, difficulty and hardship do not let it get to you. Other people without physical deformity also feel down at some point in their lives and still come out of it.”