3rd November, 2015
Funsho Arogundade
He is a regular at celebrity hangout, O’jez inside the National Stadium premises, Surulere, Lagos where he entertains with deft dance steps every Friday and Sunday shows.
Vershima Mende but popularly called Crazy Legs, is a talented fella, physically challenged with both legs amputated at the knees and also has issues with his right hand. Despite walking on two stumps, the handsome young man in his early 20s would rather not sit at the road side and beg for alms like most of his mates with lesser disability.
“I will rather dance and make money than to go and sit at the roadside and beg for alms like most disabled people do. In fact, I always feel embarrassed when people give me money at the bus stop while I wait for the bus,” he said.
According to the young man, he always tells them politely, “sorry, I am waiting for the bus like you, and I am not here to beg. But many would rather insist I took the money and sometimes I do because you know human beings, they will begin to say I am a proud person.”
But is he a proud person? “Yes, I am a proud Nigerian who believes that I must work hard to make a living and not constitute a nuisance to the society by begging for alms,” he stated.
Aside dancing, Crazy Legs is also an athlete. He represented Nigeria at the recently concluded All Africa Games held in Congo. Even though he did not win any medal in the sports for physically challenged athletes, he got to the final in weightlifting in the 170kg category.
Crazy legs is also into Short Putt, Javelin, Discus (class 57) and Lawn Tennis. He also plays football. All these started in 2010 when he realized that people living with disability can still participate in sports.
“I have never allowed my condition to limit me, so most times I choose to play football with able bodied men just to prove that what they can do, I can do it too. Although, I noticed that they treat me with caution in the field of play, something I am really not comfortable with anyway. Of a truth, I don’t often think about my disability because everything I have wanted to do, I have done,” the Benue State native said.
He is however gaining more popularity through dancing in which he picked interest in 2003.
“I rehearse a lot because I truly love dancing. I watch dance videos a lot too but I started getting popular some couple of years ago and people began inviting me to perform at shows in Port Harcourt, Calabar, Abuja, Enugu, regularly. I meet a lot of people at O’jez who will extend invitations for shows after they have seen my performance every Friday and Sunday here (O’jez). I make enough money from dancing to keep me from begging,” the proud man affirmed.
Crazy Legs called on government to assist physically challenged people to stop them from begging on the streets.
“Not everybody has the talents God has given me, I dance, and I am an athlete and make some little money. There are so many people like me without one talent or skill, so let government open skills acquisition centres to train physically challenged people so that they can become useful to themselves, family and the society. For instance, I want to open a dance studio to train physically challenged people, but where is the money?” he queried.