| Bitrus Gani-Ikilama | |
| Birth Date: | 1944 2, df=yes |
| Birth Place: | Donga, Northern Region, British Nigeria (now Donga, Taraba State, Nigeria) |
| Death Place: | Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria |
| Nationality: | Nigerian |
| Spouse: | , |
| Children: | Andrew |
| Alma Mater: | Royal National Institute for the Blind, London, United Kingdom |
| Occupation: | Physiotherapist |
| Years Active: | 1967-2011 |
| Known For: | 1st blind child in Nigeria to be enrolled into the School for the Blind, Gindiri |
| Awards: | OON, FCSP, MNSP |
Butrus Gani-Ikilama (25 February 1944 – 20 February 2011) was a Nigerian professor of Physiotherapy.[1] He became visually impaired as a child. At the apex of his career, he was made the Head of the Physiotherapy Department, Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria, Nigeria.[2]
Gani-Ikilama was born on February 25, 1944, in Donga, Northern Region (now in Taraba State), Nigeria. After contracting measles, he lost his eyesight at the age of five.
In 1955, young Gani-Ikilama became Nigeria's first blind child to be enrolled at primary school level in the School for Blind Children, Gindiri (now in Plateau State) where he graduated in 1957. In 1958, he also became the first blind teenager to be admitted into the Boys' Secondary School, Gindiri.
Between 1963 to 1967, Gani-Ikilama was a student in the School of Physiotherapy at the Royal National Institute for the Blind, School of Physiotherapy, London, United Kingdom. Upon graduating, he returned to Nigeria and became a registered Member of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy. He faced challenges with potential employers who doubted his abilities as a blind man. However, in 1967, he was employed first at the University of Lagos Teaching Hospital where he began working as a physiotherapist for six years. In 1973, he moved to the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital (ABUTH) as an employee.
In 1976, Gani-Ikilama played a key role in producing the first tape recording services for the Nigerian blind. It became a success story. The organization grew larger as lot of people flocked in to ask for services. Braille production, guidance and counseling, consultancy, and vocational training were added to the services in 1979. The organization got renamed to Hope for the Blind Foundation. [3] [4]
At ABUTH, he rose to become the Chief Physiotherapist and Head of the Department and retired in 2009.
While he lived, Gani-Ikilama took the Gospel of Jesus Christ to mostly Moslem-dominated areas of northern Nigeria through evangelism.[5]
In 1973, Gani-Ikilama married Omoze Aigbe, a doctor, who died a few years later. He then married Taiwo Olufunto (nee Akinluyi), also a doctor, on April 9, 1983. Together, they had six children of which only three survived.[6] As of 2017, his son, Andrew Gani-Ikilama, was the Executive Director of Knowledge for the Blind Initiative (KBI), a non-governmental organisation working to alleviate the suffering of blind people.[7]
Gani-Ikilama was a recipient of many awards like Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON), Fellow of the Nigerian Society of Physiotherapists (NSP), and the Nigerian Government Icon of Hope (2002).[8] [3]
During his lifetime, Gani-Ikilama made over 10 publications,[3] including:
Gani-Ikilama died on February 20, 2011, five days to his 67th birthday.[3] [10]