Discrimination: What hope for people living with disabilities?
In Nigeria on a daily basis, people with disabilities (PWDS) are discriminated against – be they the deaf, crippled, blind or deformed. And with the world gearing up to celebrate the international day of PWDs, PAUL OKAH asks if this class of people can ever heave a sigh of relief.
On Thursday next week, December 3 to be precise, Nigeria will join other countries of the world to celebrate the 2020 People With Disabilities (PWDs) Day, with the theme: “Building back better towards a disability-inclusive accessible and sustainable post-Covid 19.”
While many were born with deformities, others grew up to become deformed, while many are likely to sustain deformities in the cause of wading through life.
Different cases
For instance, investigations by Blueprint Weekend revealed that several airlines are yet to make provisions for lame passengers, who depend on assistants for mobility, as they are made to pass through the same process as other passengers while boarding a flight.
Similarly, the blind, deaf, crippled and deformed have to pass through the same process in boarding public vehicles as others, with many often pushed aside during struggles or stampede and even knocked down or killed by speeding vehicles.
Also, on education, discrimination, stigma and neglect have led to many being denied opportunities to study in tertiary institutions, with parents withdrawing their wards from schools as they get bullied by classmates.
A disabled’s ordeal
Speaking with this reporter from his base in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi state capital, an IT expert, Obinna Nkama Patrick, who has spent many years of his life on a wheelchair, said he has been discriminated against by private and public individuals, but that the lack of empowerment opportunities remains the greatest challenge of PWDs in the state.
He said: “There are no provisions for PWDs in Ebonyi state. No job opportunities, insurance or payment of health support for disables. I am a testament to the fact that the Ebonyi state government makes empty promises to PWDs.
How many times have I gone to the Pastoral Centre in Abakaliki for empowerment, only to sit under the sun for almost 13 hours, alongside hundreds of PWDs from the 13 local government areas, with deep wounds on my buttocks?
“All they did on each occasion was to share a sachet of hot water, buns and N1, 000 to each of the disabled, with their usual empty promises of ‘we will, we shall and we must’.
Imagine giving N1, 000 to PWDs, whereas they spent more than that to get to government offices, including their assistants. I have more than 50 PWDs in Ebonyi who can testify to what I am saying.
Go check what other countries do for their disabled citizens, but a lot of us that are extremely talented are left to wallow struggle here in Nigeria.
“I can tell you more than 200 PWDs who I have associated with and learnt their grievances about discrimination. I have details of over 500 PWDs, who are going through hell.
There are PWDs, who are highly qualified to be commissioners, SAs, TAs, among others, but government prefers using them only during elections. My demand is for government to pass a bill that will also favour the disabled. Pick 30 PWDs every two months from each LGA and empower them for life.”
CSOs’s charge to govts
In a chat with Blueprint Weekend, the executive director of Rights Enforcement and Public Law Centre (REPLACE), Barrister Felicitas Aigbogun-Brai, said PWDs are greatly marginalised in Nigeria and called on the government for urgent intervention.
She said: “Out of Nigeria’s estimated population of 200 million, approximately 27 million people live with disabilities.
A 2005 study by the Leprosy Mission Nigeria found that, of its 1,093 respondents, 37 percent struggled with visual impairments, 32 percent had limited mobility, 15 percent had reduced hearing and the majority of people surveyed – 61 per cent – were unemployed because of their disability.
“People with disabilities in Nigeria typically receive little support from the government and instead rely on family members, nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) and religious groups.
One of their biggest obstacles is the stigma surrounding their disabilities, which excludes them socially, economically and politically.
The challenges posed by the above for access to justice cannot be overemphasised; hence, the need to bridge, to a considerable extent, identified gaps by devising guidelines consistent with the best global practices identified earlier, including social, spatial, political, economic and other factors.
“In January 2019, President Muhammadu Buhari signed it into law the Nigeria Disability Act. As this law comes into force, activist and organisations now have a significant legal basis for calling on Nigeria to do more for PWDs, in line with relevant norms and standards.
While Nigeria has a way to go to give people with disabilities equal opportunity, the passage of this law is a great start. By increasing access and protection, people with disabilities in Nigeria can have a greater voice in politics, education and the economy.”
Also, on September 24, this year, during an awareness campaign in Abuja, as part of events to commemorate the 2020 International Week of the Deaf, the Rotary Club of Nigeria, Abuja-Jabi, Rotary Club of Nigeria, Abuja-Gwarinpa, the Deaf Resource Centre (DRC), the Association of Sign Language Interpreters of Nigeria (ASLIN) and the Nigerian National Association of the Deaf (NNAD), appealed to the federal government to, as a matter of urgency, facilitate the inclusion of sign language in the education syllabus of the country.
Addressing reporters at the event, President Abuja-Jabi Rotary Club of Nigeria, Mr. Richard Asuquo, said the awareness campaign was to draw attention of the public to the plight of deaf people in Nigeria, adding that the club is working on presenting a bill to the National Assembly for the inclusion of sign language in the nation’s education syllabus.
He said: “We want to ensure that sign language is made official language in Nigeria. There is need for sign language interpreters to be employed in hospitals; in order to facilitate access to healthcare by deaf patients. As you are probably aware, deaf people start school very late.
“Unlike hearing people, who start Nursery school at the age of two or primary school at the age of four, deaf people are enrolled in primary schools sometimes at the age of eight.
Worse still, deaf people are taken away from their parents to enrol in boarding schools. Therefore, we are advocating for early years childhood education for the deaf children and for them to learn close to their homes.
We are going to present a bill to the National Assembly in this regard and we need the media and well meaning Nigerians to support us in achieving this objective.”
FG’s interventions
In an interaction with this reporter, the deputy director of information in the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Mrs. Rhoda Ishaku Iliya, said the government has been doing everything possible to make sure that the plight of PWDs in Nigeria are ameliorated.
She said: “As part of efforts to eradicate poverty and reduce the sufferings among PWDs, the federal government, through the Special Needs Department in the ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, has been supporting PWDS with various assistive devices and economic empowerment materials such as wheelchairs, tricycles, Braille machines, guide canes, crutches, grinding machines, hair-dryers, barbing clippers, sewing machines, vulcanising machines, among others. Over 750 PWDs and disability-focused NGOs were provided with the aforementioned assistive devices and empowerment materials.
“As you are aware, the ministry saw to the establishment of the National Commission of Persons With disabilities, with appointment of members of its Governing Council as well as the executive secretary.
The Special Needs Department carried out step-down training for caregivers of children with special needs in Adamawa, Kaduna, Lagos, Imo, Oyo and Delta states. This enhanced the capacities of 71 teachers, parents/caregivers of these categories of children to effectively care for them.
“The department successfully trained and graduated 48 trainees at the Nigeria Farmcraft Centre for the Blind in Lagos, with payment of their resettlement allowances. They acquired skills in such areas like crafts and arts, agriculture-farm crops and animal husbandry, basic computer skills as well as recreational activities.
“The department also held stakeholders meeting with representatives of PWDs on impact of Covid-19 on PWDs and distributed Covid-19 palliatives to Karmajiji PWDs in FCT. We marked the 2020 International Day of Sign Languages and also the White Cane Safety Awareness Day in Abuja on September 23 and October 15, respectively.
The purpose of the marking of these days is to raise more public awareness on the significance of the days and highlight what government is doing towards addressing issues affecting PWDs.”
