Well, that is figurative. In fact he sits on a wheelchair courtesy of polio, which made him crawl until he was 12. Today, Mr Okoli, 48, heads the Mobility Aid and Appliances Research and Development Centre, which is pioneering the pageant, the first of its kind in African said to be patterned after such initiative in the United States begun since 1972.
At the event were House Committee Chairman in the Diaspora Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa and Senator Effing Bob unveiled the pageant, scheduled for mid-December, several other politicians and captains
of industry were given awards for supporting the disabled said to number about 1.7million people although there are contentions that the figure may well be close to 20 million.
Amongst the dignitaries honoured at the event was Senator Osita Izunaso of Orlu zone in Imo state whose Kpakpando Foundation is specifically targeted at disabled people. Cosmos Okoli said that but for the MTN Foundation, no other organisation has done better than Izunaso's foundation in supporting the disabled.
Okoli, who said disabled need support not pity noted that said the pageant, whose winner will drive home a brand new car, was aimed at changing public attitude to disabled people who, he lamented, have virtually been shut out of the society.
'No provisions are made for us on sideways, high-rise buildings, banks and just everywhere. We do not need your pity, just integrate us into the society,' Okoli told the audience.
In response Hon. Dabiri-Erewa said the Bill on People with Disability that she sponsored at the House of Representatives in collaboration with Hono. Benny Lar[Plateau] and Senator Bode Olajumoke in the upper house, is ready for accent by the President.
'I am very hopeful that Mr President will sign that bill before the end of this current tenure. When that happens, it will now be compulsory for the every public building to have a provision for disabled' she said, amid applause from scores of physically-challenged who attended the event. Movie stars Chindu-Ikedieze and Osita Iheme [aka ] Aki and Paw Paw, who motivated the challenged people to rise above their physical disposition.
Amonsgt those honoured include Deputy Senate president Ike Ekweremadu, Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa, Amina Salihu ,Prophet T. B Joshua represented by Ambassador John Fashanu
