Mary Daniels; The Amputee Hawker's Story and how her lies were unleashed

Real-life stories with lessons - Be honest

Mary Daniel narrated that when she was 10 years, she and her parents decided to travel to their hometown (Ayingba in Kogi State) to spend the Christmas holiday. As a child, her ambition was to become a lawyer when she grew up. She was in Primary four when her beautiful hopes were dashed in December 2006 on the highway.

During the journey, the driver drove with a suicidal speed and brought the journey to a fatal end. Mary’s parents died in the accident. She was the only one who survived the accident. She survived with a badly broken right leg that had to be eventually chopped off.

"Doctors said I would die if it was not cut,” she remarked.

A dark feeling of uselessness may have enfolded her but she had a grandmother to hold on to. Her grandmother took her to the village in Kogi State. Months after her leg healed, Daniel reawakened her dying dreams. She returned to school. But just when she thought she was on the right track to success, another bombshell dropped.

“I dropped out at JSS 3,” she said. “I was going to school on a government scholarship but they stopped paying my fees. That was 2014.”

Thereon, she sought solace in hawking, moving from Anambra to Delta and then Lagos.

When Mary turned 20 the grandmother gave her away in marriage to a man who said he loved her. It was as if she received a favour but that didn’t happen. She got pregnant with this man and when the baby was born he denied being responsible for the pregnancy. This left Mary in a dilemma.

Out of shame, she relocated to Asaba (Delta State) and continued hawking sachet water. She squatted with a woman in her village for some months before she rented an apartment.

“A car brushed my arm while I was hawking in traffic. I was heavily pregnant then. A man saw me bleeding and gave me N100,000. I used the money to rent a small apartment and bought some baby things. I gave birth in 2019.” she said

She only had a two-week ‘maternity leave’ before she returned to the streets, manoeuvring the traffic to sell water with her baby strapped to the back.

She decided to move to Lagos afterwards because she was not selling well in Asaba. She sold her home appliances to raise the fare. Her daughter is with the woman she lived with in Asaba. She is now in Ayingba with her baby. Her grandmother didn’t know she has moved to Lagos.

“I hawk in traffic around Terminal 1, Bolade and markets around Oshodi, l wait for traffic to be standstill and dash to the road to sell to passengers, I will recede to the roadside once the traffic eases off and returns immediately there is another standstill. It is stressful but I use drugs in the evening to kill pains,” she said.

She sleeps on the balcony and passage of a house, a storey building on Suwebatu Street. She hardly sleeps at night because of mosquitoes.

As she was doing this quick business of selling bottled water from street to street in the Oshodi area. Fortune found her. A man called Mr Ibitoye Ayodele Adeniyi met her in Oshodi, took her picture and posted it on his Facebook page. Her story, the pathetic story of an amputated orphan with a two-year-old baby and an aged grandmother to take care of that ekes out a living by pounding the streets of Lagos daily and selling bottled water went viral.

There are lots of beggars in most cities in Nigeria shooting their hands out with begging bowls to passers-by soliciting for alms. Mary Daniels didn’t want to be one of them.

“I don’t like begging because I believe I have the strength to work and cater for myself. I know I am not lazy and I took the decision not to beg. Some people out of pity will give me N1,000 or N2,000 after buying water from me,” she said.

Nigerians with the gift of human kindness are donating money to her generously.

The Lagos State Government through the Office of Civic Engagement has offered her accommodation and other forms of assistance.

Mary Daniels; the amputee hawker's story appeared to be false. 

Following her painful stories that went viral on social media, Nigerians started donating money through her bank account made public with about N25m raised.

This spurred the state government to immediately protect her to avoid criminals from taking advantage of her sudden fortune.

After few days, a celebrity birthday party was held in her honour featuring many cakes, fanfare, photoshoots, among others.

All was going well for the young lady until the state government discovered that her father was alive. Although her mother is dead but it wasn't through an auto crash. It was also detected she was amputated from birth.

The Lagos state governor; Babajide Sanwo-Olu immediately handed her over to officials of social welfare for investigation following revelations that her case was staged.

Mary Daniels was receiving strange calls from those who staged her story with threats to reveal the truth unless she gave them their share of the money.

It was learnt Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu handed her over to officials of welfare in the presence of the police and some Kogi leaders, who attested her father was alive.

Mary daniels was put in the custody of officials of Social Welfare. The police were there but she was not handed over to them. There were irregularities and lies in the account of her life she gave.

It was discovered that contrary to her claim that her parents died during an accident that left her amputated, it was discovered that her father is very much alive and that she was amputated from birth.

It was also discovered that her presence in Oshodi was staged. Those working with her played on the intelligence of Nigerians to get donations for her.

The truth was unleashed when the people started threatening her. She promised some 500,000 Naira, others different amounts and was planning to return to her home state when the information leaked.

Some days later, The cat was let out of the bag when it was discovered that the story must have been fabricated following strange calls that she had continued receiving from a team who were instrumental to her fortune in Lagos.

It was revealed that the amputee was not telling a true story about herself and the life she had been living before donations from the public and help from the state government came her way.

The governor of Lagos State. Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has directed the relevant ministry to hand over the matter to the state Police Command for further investigation.

Lessons from the story

1. Do not deceive people

2. The truth can never be hidden

3. Be honest, no matter your condition.

A  Yiddish proverb says “A half-truth is a whole lie.”

“Honesty is more than not lying. It is truth-telling, truth speaking, truth living, and truth loving.” ___James E Faust

Trying to scale through life through manipulation or dishonesty is a bad thing. No matter how late it is, the truth will someday be revealed. The great leader Martin Luther King Jr. Says " A lie cannot live." Yes! A lie cannot stand the test of time. 

Lies can be in a different form. It can be in a story form, a product, a service or even an agreement or promise. But if you ever want to live a peaceful life. Live a life of integrity.