For 10-year-old Gbonjubola Habibat, life had been a world of silence since birth. For a decade, the little girl lived with hearing impairment, a condition that brought worry, emotional pain and uncertainty to her family.
But what had been years of anxiety and helplessness has now given way to hope, joy and renewed possibilities, following an intervention by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, through the Olusegun Obasanjo Foundation, which provided her with hearing aids worth about N4 million at no cost to her family.
Mr. Kehinde Akinyemi, media aide to the former President and elder statesman Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, disclosed this on Wednesday evening.
The intervention, which has brought immense relief to Habibat and her parents, Mr. Akinyemi stated, took place during a free medical outreach organised by the Foundation in partnership with the Tunde Fanomokun Foundation in Iseyin, Oyo State, last week.
The Director of the Olusegun Obasanjo Foundation, Dr. Olalekan Makinde, disclosed this on Wednesday during the flag-off of the 2026 World Diabetes Day activities at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL), Abeokuta, Ogun State.
According to Makinde, the provision of the hearing aids for both ears was part of the Foundation’s commitment to improving access to healthcare, particularly for vulnerable individuals who might otherwise be unable to afford essential medical interventions.
Beyond Habibat’s story, the outreach also provided hundreds of eyeglasses and other free medical services to beneficiaries drawn from Iseyin and neighbouring communities.
For Habibat’s mother, Mogbonjubola Yetunde, however, the intervention was more than a medical intervention; it was the restoration of hope and dignity to a family that had endured a decade of emotional distress.
Overwhelmed with gratitude, she described the gesture as a turning point in their lives, saying it had lifted the burden of shame and helplessness she had carried since her daughter’s birth.
“He has removed shame from my family and replaced it with joy and happiness. I have been in this predicament for the last 10 years, since she was born. But see how God, through Baba Obasanjo, has removed this shame and humiliation free of charge. No kobo was paid. I can’t believe this,” she said.
In an emotional expression of gratitude, the mother prayed for God’s continued strength and blessings upon the former President and his household.
For Habibat, the hearing aids represent more than an expensive medical device. They offer an opportunity to experience the world differently, communicate more easily and embrace possibilities that had remained beyond her reach for much of her young life.
Makinde said the Foundation hoped to record more life-changing interventions as the 2026 World Diabetes Day activities progressed.
He disclosed that no fewer than 2,000 participants had so far been recorded for the week-long programme, which commenced on Tuesday, with free medical services covering hearing and visual impairments, alongside other health challenges.
The activities are expected to climax on Saturday with a public lecture at the main auditorium of the OOPL, with Obasanjo expected to attend.
While the annual health programme focuses on raising awareness about diabetes, Habibat’s story has emerged as a powerful reminder that access to healthcare can do more than treat medical conditions; it can restore confidence, ease the burdens of families and open new doors for children whose challenges have remained unattended for years.
For her family, 10 years of worry have given way to gratitude. And for little Habibat, a new world of sound and possibilities has begun.
