In the present political and economic arrangements in Oyo State , Nigeria , Ogbomosho occupies a strategic position in the order of things. A predominant farming community which still largely retains the allure of the original Yoruba way of life. Life here is peaceful, beautiful and orderly.
Most urban cities in Yoruba-land  have their identity either tied to a craft or commodity; it could either be cloth weaving or the traditional tie and die. Some places are better known for producing particular musical instruments, while some towns are made popular by their special delicacies.
I was eager to find out that special distinguishing 'something' in Ogbomosho, to my disappointment, I could not find any, except, a special akara (Akara Ogbomosho ) which is not really peculiar to them.
I found something else though. One thing that I found common on several faces that I saw, which was obvious even beyond their faces, permeating other strata of their life is poverty.
Poverty will also not qualify as the special something in Ogbomosho because there is poverty all over the land.
By the time I got to Adedoyin sawmill, Olopemarun area of the city, where the office of Positive Action Committee (PAC), the main support group of people living with HIV/AIDS in the community is situated, it was already getting late.
I was surprised at the number of people that I met. Some had actually gone home when they could no longer wait. The large number that I still met was because of the expectation that my visit could probably yield 'something'. Here, the poverty is more pronounced. Even now that drugs are free for those on the government program; majority here will find it difficult to afford the cost of transportation to access their drugs in Ibadan . Even with the drugs, a good meal that goes hand in hand is definitely luxury to many.
I must also note that throughout my time with members of the support group, we had to talk with hushed voice.  We dare not raise our voice lest we incure the wrath of unfriendly neighbors. During the last ICASA conference in Abuja , the police were actually brought in to raid their office, because of their 'unholy gathering'. Most of the people who were arrested then actually denied being HIV positive when they saw the scorn on the faces of their accusers. That the police will arrest anyone because they openly confess to being HIV positive beats the imagination. But that was exactly what happened and at a time Nigeria was hosting a world meeting on HIV/AIDS. Save for the Baale (community head) near the police station who came to their rescue, some of them would probably be in detention still.
You will be surprised at what they have been able to achieve given the less to no resources and opportunities at their disposal. According to Wunmi who founded and now coordinates the support group, it has not been a pleasant journey. She shared the story of her life and how she has been able to nurture the organization to what it is now. Several people declined to be pictured because of the fear of stigmatization.
I decided to form a support  group after I personally experienced the impact it could have in one's life. I was almost on the brink of collapse before I was brought back to life. I was able to get my life back because of my eventual access to the Positive life Association of Nigeria (PLAN).
When I tested HIV positive in 1997 my husband fled home and went to marry another woman. I was eventually driven away from our residence. A friend came to my rescue by offering me shelter in a place that you had to crawl on your knees before you could get in. My father also had abandoned me to my fate, my child who was in a private school had to be withdrawn and sent to the village. I am glad he is HIV negative and now eleven years old. At eleven, he is just in primary three, someone who should have been in JSS3.
Since I have no job, and virtually been abandoned, I found it difficult to meet basic needs such as food. In spite of all these, a traditional doctor deceived us with claims of a cure. I sold the little belongings that I have for his miracle. My situation became worse.
Recently, someone came to our meeting that he has a cure for HIV/AIDS, I said great, but before we will belief him he will allow me to inject him with my blood, if he is able to cure himself I promise I will take him to NACA (National Action Committee on HIV/AIDS), he left without looking back.
As time went on, I came across one of my distant relations, his name is Dr. Gbadero. He stumbled upon my helpless state when he saw my father and inquired about me. My father told him I had been critically ill for three years and has had to be kept indoors. When he saw me I wept bitterly. He had always told me to focus on my education, and has always been very nice to me. Before long, he linked me with Oba Oladapo in Ibadan ; Oba heads the support group in Ibadan . Through Oba, I got to do the various baseline and confirmatory tests.
I also joined their support group and attended their monthly meeting for a year at which time I improved tremendously. Oba took care of me and was responsible for my transportation for meetings.
When I realize that I had regained back my health, I told Oba that I will like to help others in Ogbomosho who are positive and have no one to turn to. I then wrote the hospitals that they should always call on me whenever they have people who test positive to HIV. That was in 2000. Here, it is difficult to find anyone who will voluntary submit him or herself to test. The hospital is like a last resort to most people.
Initially I will go to the hospital myself when I realize that they were intentionally avoiding me. Before long however, they started sending PLWHA to me. When we became six in number, Oba then suggested that we start a support group in Ogbomosho .
We started our support group meeting in a church building {new covenant}. The pastor of the church supported us. After two months we decided to change venue and we moved to the Baptist hospital. We were holding our meeting at Dr. Gbadero's office. It was from there that we finally moved to our present location. Right now, we are sixty five in the group.
It is important to understand that so many people are positive but they do not have the courage to join us for fear of stigmatization. There are a lot of people that I will go to see secretly in their homes, who are afraid to come out. What we face are serious challenges of stigma and discrimination. During the last ICASA, imagine our neighbors mobilized policemen to come and arrest our members because they are HIV positive. Some of our members denied being HIV positive when it was becoming rowdy.
In most homes, they are coping with the challenges of HIV/AIDS but they prefer to keep it to themselves.  Some of our members were sent away from Lagos to go and die at home. Whenever people test positive and are neglected by their families, we take care of such people. We divide ourselves into shifts; some will go in the morning, some in the afternoon and others at night. Like that, we have saved several lives.
Our major problems remain discrimination and the lack of support. As we are here now, we must not raise our voice above this level, maybe the next thing we'll see is policemen ready to romp us into detention. The last time, if not for the Baale, we don't know what would have happened.
Most of our members find it difficult to feed. There are more than 25 widows in our midst, some with five children and whose only means of livelihood is petty trading. How do you expect such a woman to send her children to school when they can barely feed? Most times, it is usually a problem for some of our members to travel down to UCH in Ibadan to access their drugs. Some time ago, Mr. Dayo Lawal, the Chairman, Ogbomosho North, gave us N40, 000 to treat 10 of our members.
We have some of our members who have lost their lives who left children behind that we have to take care. Right now, I am perhaps the only person who is really openly positive about her status. You can see most of our members declining to be pictured.
Among the sixty five members of the support group, we have forty five women and twenty men including my former husband. Although the figure I gave you is of those who are open in one way or the other, there are several people that I know but are not part of the group.
It was in the course of my advocacy and campaigns that I learned that my former husband was seriously ill, that was after he had deserted me when I tested HIV positive. I decided to take him back and take care of him because it was my opinion that he ran away out of ignorance.
There are so many people even as we are talking now who still find it convenient to say that they are bewitched. In actual sense, they are HIV positive. At least people still respond better to such claims than say when you are positive.
I must also mention the support of Prof. Femi Soyinka who has been assisting us by making available a medical personnel to attend our support group meeting. Like that, any of our members who have any problem are attended to. This has helped a lot as it has reduced the burden of going to face the prying eyes of people at the hospital who treat you as if one is not a human being. You see, even some of our members will not greet me when they meet me outside, this is because people take anyone that deals with me as HIV positive even when you are not, and here it is not something you will want people know about if you don't have the mind.
Now we are having people becoming more committed and with the appropriate support we know we shall be on top.
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