At just 13 years old, Bilyaminu’s world fractured. In quick succession, he lost his father and suffered a severe spinal cord injury that resulted in a physical impairment. Growing up in the small community of Gidam-Maitibi in Katsina State was very challenging in many ways.
“People drop out of school easily in the North, and it’s even more difficult when you are living with a disability,” Bilyaminu speaks these words softly, reflecting on a journey that, by all conventional measures, should have ended years ago.
Access to basic education was a steep slope for many students, and a sudden disability usually meant one thing: the end of all ambition. As the eldest of three children, Bilyaminu didn’t have the luxury of giving up. He carried the weight of his own dreams alongside the quiet hopes of a grieving family. He became courageous and focused on his pursuit of freedom.
Navigating financial hardship and a society completely unequipped to support persons with disabilities, he refused to let his circumstances dictate his ceiling. He pushed through the pain, the physical barriers, and the systemic neglect to complete his secondary education. Yet, the next step felt entirely out of reach. In underserved communities across Northern Nigeria, higher education is a rare privilege; for a young man in a wheelchair, it felt like an impossibility.
Everything shifted the day Bilyaminu applied for the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at Pan-Atlantic University (PAU). It was a shot in the dark. He admits now that he never truly believed the opportunity would find its way to him.
Then came the unexpected. A recruitment team from Pan-Atlantic University (PAU) travelled over a thousand kilometres from Lagos to Kano, entirely for the purpose of interviewing him.
“That was the moment I realised that someone believed in my future,” Bilyaminu recalls.
The interview was a success. Bilyaminu was awarded a scholarship through the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program, which provided comprehensive support covering his tuition, accommodation, and living expenses. But beyond financial support, the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program gave him something even more valuable: a renewed sense of possibility.
Today, the quiet streets of Katsina have been replaced by the vibrant campus of Pan-Atlantic University. He moves independently with the aid of an electric motorised wheelchair provided through the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program. He attends classes, participates in tech conferences, and is steadily pursuing his dream of becoming an engineer.
The most profound transformation, however, isn’t just what the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program did for Bilyaminu; it is what Bilyaminu is now doing for others. Back home in Katsina, the boy who refused to drop out is now a pillar of strength. He supports his mother financially and stands as a living blueprint of success for his younger siblings. To other young people living with disabilities in his community, he is proof that their dreams are valid.
Fueled by his mother’s unwavering belief that he is “destined for greatness,” Bilyaminu’s story is a fierce reminder that disability is never a limitation on human potential. With the right access, opportunity, and support, the very barriers meant to hold people back can become the bridges to their transformation.