Windstorm Renders 80-Year Old Farmer Homeless

... Octogenarian Cries For Help

By Uyime BASSEY

An 80-year old man named Okon Kpenisip from Ati-Abang Village in Okobo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, a peasant farmer and poor father of three has been deprived of his shelter after a fierce windstorm tore down his hut, following a heavy rainfall.

According to eyewitnesses, the octogenarian who has lived a content life with his aged wife in the mini-hut, is a noble old man who believes in the dignity of labour.

"He and his wife work on people's farmlands and survive on the proceeds gotten from their toilsome labour. They are known for that," a member of Ati-Abang Community said.

On meeting with the visibly distraught Kpenisip, one could sense that he was devastated.

"I have no where to go, no family or help," he wept in vernacular, adding that "This place (pointing at the collapsed hut) was our shelter in rain and sunshine. My wife and I have managed this hut for years, and it shielded us.