Tomi Waziri, a visually-impaired Nigerian who moved to Winnipeg, Canada, with his wife and two children in 2023, is currently unable to commence his career as a massage therapist.

Since Waziri relocated from Lagos, he and his wife have been on a daycare wait-list for their two children and this has forced him to become a stay-at-home dad.

“Unfortunately, I didn’t plan to come to Canada to be a babysitter but to add my bit to the Canadian society, community and economy at large,” Waziri said in an interview with Canadian Broadcasting Corporation on October 1.

Before migrating to Canada, Waziri had obtained a certification in massage therapy in Nigeria. When he arrived in his new country of residence, however, he was told he needed a Canadian certification as well to be able to practice.

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“I did my research about colleges here in Winnipeg that give massage therapy certification, but it turns out that I’m not able to do that because there’s a long wait for childcare and I have to babysit the kids,” said Waziri.

After years of overcoming depression, Waziri attempted acquiring several developmental skills that included learning how to use a screen reader so he could become employable in Canada.

When Waziri commenced learning how to use a laptop through Visual Loss Manitoba, a rehabilitation service that caters for the needs of visually impaired people, he could not maintain an appointment because of child care for his three-year-old son and two-year-old daughter.

“Nigeria wasn’t really friendly for persons with disabilities in terms of welfare, mental support, physical support. So I did my research and chose Canada,” Waziri said.

As a result of his inability to work at the moment, he receives some benefits through Employment and Income Assistance (EIA), a programme that provides financial help to Manitoba residents who have no other way to support themselves or their families.

Since December, Waziri and his wife have applied to almost 10 daycare centres. They have, however, not received any response from the centres till date.

READ ALSO: Tomi Waziri Lost Both Eyes When He Was Shot by Robbers. Now, His Life Goal is to ‘Make People Happy’

Waziri said getting a daycare for his little children would change his life.

“At least I’ll know that I’m there to support my wife and I’ll be able to get the things that my children are pointing at the grocery store and I cannot afford them,” he said.

In May 2021, FIJ published a story on how Waziri, while working as a Bolt driver, was shot in the face by traffic robbers on September 12, 2019 at Apongbon Bridge in Lagos.

The incident altered all his life plans, and he lost his sight in the process.
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