Exclusive: Visually-impaired Ghanaian survives Sierra Leone mudslide

A Ghanaian is one of the survivors of the deadly mudslide in Sierra Leone Monday, that left about 400 dead and thousands displaced.

Nana Osei Kwabena said, he was pulled out of his flooded home by neighbours at about 3am that fateful day.

Super Morning Show host, Kojo Yankson leading Joy News coverage of the Sierra Leonean tragedy, met  Nana Osei Kwabena who left Ghana some 30 years ago.

“I came as a coach,” he said, after spending four years in Togo and two years in Ivory Coast all taking coaching jobs.

He said he found the game in Sierra Leone lacking in quality and went to work with his coaching skills.

Nana said he gathered some teens and after two years of training, unleashed them to conquer football in the West African country.

“We go and beat big, big teams”, he recalled the days of his unrivalled conquest in football. He won several championships.

With glory came calling the lure of bigger clubs. Nana moved on to join a top team in Sierra Leone, Black Pool to replicate his tactical successes.

“They give me a good price” and from 1986 to 1988 he won the championship for Black Pool.

“From there I resigned to Prison [a girls football club] which give me a good price and seven bags of rice every month,” he said.

He said after winning several trophies, he returned briefly to Ghana in 1999. He retired from football when he came back to Sierra Leone and started having problems with his sight.

“My eye no dey see proper”, Nana said in pidgin and vowed, “as soon as I see small, I dey go home”.

But Nana nearly went away with the floods last week. He said while sleeping he heard neighbours shouting “Nana open the door, open the door”.

The flood waters immediately roe to his chest after unwelcome floods washed away everything in his home.

“Everything is gone” including items his children in America and Holland sent to him.

Nana admitted he had been advised several times to move from his home because it was too close to a river.

Living in a disaster zone did not use to be his life. He revealed he built a house in much safer and comfortable place in the city where he lived with his wife who bore him a son.

But he lost the house to his wife who filed for divorce accusing him of threatening her.

Nana Agyeman says he no longer wants to live with anybody. He prefers a very private life and certainly one without another woman.

But he made an exception to this rule saying he only lives with a grandchild.

The mudslide has reinforced his desire to retun home permanently.

Source: Ghana|myjoyonline.com