The Nation Newspaper

Tag: disabilities

  • Discrimination against people with disabilities

    SIR: As attractive as most buildings in Nigeria are, they are discriminatory.  I have had the occasion of venerating the Almighty in beautiful constructions and amazingly all of these outstanding structures do not have provisions for physically challenged people.

    Have you seen any physically-challenged person wheel themselves into your local places of worship lately? How can they, without being carried?

    It is ironic that the ‘establishment,’ discriminates against those who are still alive and, those coming after now – who may be physically challenged.

    How many places of worship (churches/mosques), have access-ramp into their buildings for the incapacitated? The few disabled faithful who must come to seek the face of the Almighty no doubt would have to be helped-up and these persons hate to be helped. They take delight in doing things all by themselves, but the state makes them look helpless and subjects them to leaning on persons for help.

    Aren’t handicapped priests and Imams also called for service of the Almighty, and how do they then negotiate the mosque and altar?

    How about public buildings and our schools? Not even our university edifices take cognizance of this defect. Take a walk to the bank and conjure up how a disabled person will ever access these buildings. I do not see access-ramps provided for them. How about our residential buildings, with no access-ramps for visitors that may be disabled?

    How about our hotels? No access-ramps with handrails as well. Aren’t there people on wheel chairs who may want to go to the hotel for refreshment and leisure with their kinfolks? And when they do, should they fret and see their condition as a curse or a blessing?

    How many of these hotels even have raised chamber-pots for the disabled to use in their hotels?

    Government needs to sensitize all stakeholders on the needful which are many: there is the need to find ways to increase the size of carriage lift in public buildings; this will help people who use the wheelchair; our transportation system, rail, road and air should have comfortable sections for people with disabilities (I am yet to see public buses designed with these people in mind); there should be special outdoor play area with good designs that will accommodate their interest (a lower basketball court etc);and even though we have sports for the disabled coordinated by government, how have we integrated these into our homes and in public areas?

    Construction companies should be thoughtful enough to include an all-inclusive design concept in their designs even if they are not suggested by clients and government planners and supervisors need to supervise buildings for these defects.

    On occasions when I see high-step-risers on entrances, dangerous for the elderly and children in public places I wonder which architect designed such buildings.

    When I do not see bigger spaces in public places in between pews for the disabled or sections reserved for them and their wheels, I wonder which planner approved such buildings.

    When I visit an eatery for rest and relaxation and do not see ramps for the disabled who are keen also of having treats, I wonder how insensitive owners of these places can be.

    We need to get it right for everyone, after all; nobody knows what will happen tomorrow; young now and old tomorrow, if not handicapped.

     

    • Simon Abah,

    Port Harcourt.

     

  • Seadogs lifts kids with disabilities in Calabar

    Seadogs lifts kids with disabilities in Calabar

    Raising awareness and support for children with disabilities was the objective as members of the National Association of Seadogs (NAS) convened at the fifth National Association of Seadogs (NAS) Charity Ball in Calabar, the Cross River State capital.

    The NAS Charity Ball is an annual event organised by the association to raise funds for humanitarian causes, taking into consideration the prevalent issues of society at the time.

    NAS Capone Prince Ifeanyi Onochie said the gesture was a quest to keep the dilemma and challenges confronting children with various learning disabilities on the front burner of people’s preoccupations and consciences.

    According to him, the association are forsworn not to let off steam on this path, not just because of the huge legal and legislative challenges of protecting the rights of the child or the daunting logistical requirements or knowledge gaps but because of the high propensity there is for the faint voice of the weak and vulnerable, to be drowned out in the hustle and bustle that have characterized human existence.

    Onochie said the NAS Charity Red Ball was conceived in 2005, for the purposes of interfacing with and further enlighten the general public on the aspect of NAS Charity/ Advocacy Work, to conduct peer review exercises with the aim of arriving at improved ways and means of collaborating with like-minded individuals and corporate organizations in articulating and implementing humanitarian and social advocacy programmes; and to raise funds for NAS Charity projects and to create a forum for social interaction between members and non-members.

    He said this year’s edition of the NAS Charity Red Ball was the first reloaded version in the series, and its theme, Championing the Cause, Supporting Children with Disabilities aims to broaden the theme of their focus in the United States to include issues of mental health, special education and vocation/rehabilitation of children with learning difficulties.

    “Against this background it becomes even more imperative to keep abreast of current developments, especially for the purpose of closing knowledge gaps for families of these special children and the society in general. The power and benefits of knowledge in making informed choices cannot be overemphasized. This is the core objective of the NAS Charity Red Ball. We in NAS believe that both humanitarianism and rights to self-determination are given wings to take flight upon the moral significance of the dignity of the individual being.

    NAS members also known as Seadogs or Pyrates are passionate about community services, development and voluntary work that there is no deck/chapter of the organisation that is not involved in more than one humanitarian project to uplift and improve the quality of lives in communities we live and work.

    “NAS usually will work closely with the selected beneficiaries to identify areas of priorities and the intervention needed. Upon an agreed line of action, informed by the budget, engage in direct execution of projects from start to finish, ensure judicious and purposed application of every kobo raised by your kind benevolence and generosity.

    “NAS will focus on these selected beneficiaries for one year, commencing from the date of the Charity Red Ball and lead collaborative efforts at making the public aware of the outstanding work these orgzations are doing to help the children and provide them with the necessary assistance and support.

    “The three selected beneficiaries for 2015 NAS Charity Red Ball are Project Comfort (School for Children with Learning Disability), Amaudo Itumbauzor, Abia State; Special Education Centre, Nursery/Primary Schools, Calabar, Cross River State; and Vocational rehabilitation Centre, Ememe, Enugu State.

    “As a people we must improve our knowledge about the inherent abilities in all humans. No more should we allow any child be thrown away because he or she is born with a disability. No more should we look away while children born with disability are treated as scums, demons or worse. The milk of kindness every human deserves must not be denied any child because of disability. The ability of the human mind to raise itself above any situation cannot be underestimated,” he said.

     

  • Coping with children with disabilities

    Coping with children with disabilities

    As a way of commemorating this year’s Children’s Day celebration, Yetunde Oladeinde draws attention to the plight of children with disabilities, while also calling for special considerations for them.

    Few days ago, it was time to roll out the drums for children as they marked this year’s edition of Children’s Day. It was a great opportunity to appreciate those who would be the nation’s future leaders. Like a sore thumb, children with disabilities stood out, but somehow, not much was said about them. If it takes some effort to take care of a normal child, then you would have to do much more caring for a child with disability.

    Children, adolescents and youths with disabilities need care and support from their loved ones, as well as the society in general. So, what does it take to care for this category of children? Parents who have experienced it or are still experiencing it would certainly know better.

    For Lydia Obafemi, a simple domestic accident caused her and the family trauma for years. “It happened in February 2001, when he was about three years old. On that fateful day, I went for a course and when I came back; his clothes were soaked with rain water. That night, he was not breathing properly and I was very disturbed.”

    Dutifully, she boiled water first thing the next morning to take care of her son’s discomfort. “When it was ready, I carried the bucket towards the bathroom. Suddenly, the handle of the bucket cut and the content poured all over my son. We rushed him to the Gbagada General Hospital where the doctor discovered the degree of burn was 75 per cent.”

    They were then referred to the Igbobi Orthopedic Hospital, where the doctors tried to fight the contraction. “It was a traumatic period in my life and we were not allowed to sleep in the hospital. Every day, I would be in the hospital till about 11pm and was always back as early as 7am. I did this for three months.”

    Crystal and husband, Zubby Chigbu discovered that their daughter had a missing tibia and patella in her right leg six days after birth. “About six years ago, I went into labour and had my child. Along the line, we found that she had a funny thing with her leg and we were referred to the National Orthopedic Hospital, Enugu where it was detected that she had congenital absence of her tibia and patella.”

    They made a number of medical consultations and they were given a lot of options like fusion of the tibia. “But we wanted to seek a better option or a second opinion. It is not easy to amputate your child’s leg. We even travelled abroad but everything pointed towards amputation. At a point, we just had to take a decision that was best for the child. She was in school and was the only one crawling in her class at the age of two”, she recollects sadly.

    Eventually they gave in. Beulah’s leg was amputated, but the good thing is, she is doing very well. “I believe that the worst kind of disability is in the mind and it is important to be positive at all times. So I am driven to share with all kids with limb loss, their families and care-givers ways to manage limb loss with the right outlook.”

    This challenge ultimately gave birth to a passion called The Irede Foundation (TIF). The foundation provides prosthesis and other helpful aide to indigent children between 0-18 years. Our focus is on children who are living with limb loss, either congenital or acquired”.

    According to Crystal, the aim is to encourage children living with limb loss to live a life of fulfillment. “Our desire is for their families to rise to the challenge with an attitude and behaviour that says to both the child and the family, ‘I can’t’ is not an option, and that with unwavering hope and faith, we can and we will rise to the occasion that is life and give full expression to our potentials.”

    For Lawrence Edeyokun, coping with a son who had renal failure and sickle cell was a nightmare.

    He recalls that “It was very tough and when it got so bad about five years ago, we needed N6 million for a transplant but there was no help. My son had done dialysis for about 7 times and nothing was working again.”

    Sadly, he takes you into their world: “He had been going to the General Hospital since he was four years old and it was then diagnosed at the Daily Times Clinic. We lost his mother the year the diagnosis came. When he was five years old, we spent three months at the General Hospital. He had pneumonia and Dr Elizabeth Disu attended to us then. All his life, he has been taking drugs.”

    Like the Edeyokun’s, Stella, mother of a child who eventually died of a hole in the heart ailment, said she went through hell and back. “When it started, he was a year plus but could not sit properly not to talk of stand upright. I usually gave him sleeping drugs to calm him because, he was usually restless.”

    Having a job was out of the question because the child demanded her attention every second and every minute of the day. “A month after his delivery, he fell sick and started breathing very badly. The doctor carried out the diagnosis and I was told that he had bronchial pneumonia. His breathing was not steady at all. It was either very high or very low.”

    Things grew from bad to worse. “When he was about two months old, I discovered that he was not adding weight. His legs were so tiny and he looked very frail. Every night, he woke up restless, breathing badly. At three months, he became very sick again. After three consecutive admissions, it was obvious that something was really wrong.

    However, in spite of the odds, some children with disability have proved their mettle and Mariam Temitope Balogun is one of such children. She was born normal like every other child. Her disability started when she fell sick and the doctor diagnosed poliomyelitis.

    Said Balogun: “I went through series of tests and operations, but they weren’t successful. At a point, my parents went spiritual, going from one church to the other.”

    Balogun recalls that “I could not start school in time because of my condition. At a point, I actually thought I wasn’t going to go to school at all. It was terrible and I had to be carried about all the time.”

    So who did the carrying about, you wonder?

    “My mum, the best mother any child can ask for. She means the whole world to me. She has always been on my side, even till date.”

    What about Mariam’s father you ask?

    “He is also trying his best. I am the first of four kids. They have two boys and two girls.”

    Continuing, she said, “When I was in primary school, the place was far from the house. Paying for the school bus was quite expensive but my parents tried their best for me. There was a time, they couldn’t pay for it and then money was a big challenge in the family. So, I had no option than to walk to and from school, sweating on a daily basis.”

    When Balogun finished primary school, she got admission to so many schools; one of them was the Federal Government College in Kogi State. “I couldn’t go with my condition. Instead I went to African Church Model College, Ifako, Ijaiye. It was tough, there was no school bus and I had to go via public transport. I had a lot of scars falling off buses in those days.”

    She adds that: “In JSS1, my classroom was on the last floor and it was a three-storey building. Every day, I struggled up and down the staircase panting. My friends were sympathetic and they helped to carry my bag.”

    The grand prize Balogun gave her parents was hard work, dedication and excellence. “In primary school, I came first and second and usually passed my examination in flying colours. In my WAEC examination, I had five A’s, which was a very good result. However, it took me four years to gain admission into the university. At first money was a challenge but I kept trying.”

    Sadly, it is not every child with disability that gets support and care from parents and loved ones. Some parents actually die because of the trauma or just abandon their children when the odds get really unbearable.

     Ubong Anthony who lives with her step mother fits perfectly into this category, having been knocked down by cancer and impregnated by a man, who took advantage of her dilemma.

     “It started like a boil on the right side of my buttocks, which was treated as such. Two weeks later, another surfaced at the same spot. The boil grew bigger and the pains unbearable until it got to the stage that I could no longer walk. It was at the Lagos State General Hospital that it was confirmed that I have cancer.”

    Patience Ogolo, National coordinator for Advocacy for Women with Disabilities was also very lucky because she got support from her parents and family. “I came from a very large family but in spite this, my parents were always ready to help and support me. Investing in a girl-child with disability is not a waste of resources but a way of preparing her for the future, like every other person in society, a positive future where she can contribute to herself, her family and her community.”

    She adds that: “I was motivated to help others and show love to others too.  This is the beginning of creating an enabling environment, which is the main goal of Advocacy for Women with Disabilities Initiative for an inclusive society”,

  • Persons with disabilities seek govt recognition

    Members of the Niger Delta Coalition of Persons with Disabilities have urged government corporations and the private sector to include them in their programmes.

    Their President, David Enogho, spoke at an interactive session with the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDCC,) Mr. Bassey Dan-Abia, at the commission’s headquarters in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.

    Enogho said NDCC had carried along persons with disabilities in the Niger Delta region.

    The coalition’s leader noted that if other government agencies and the private sector emulated the NDDC’s lifestyle, the neglect of their association would become history.

    Enogho expressed appreciation to the NDDC chief for buying a 32-seater Coaster bus for the association.

    The coalition’s chief hailed President Goodluck Jonathan for sustaining the commission and running “a detribalised and all-inclusive government”.

    He said: “Our visit had always ended at the commission’s gate until recently, when we were able to see the managing director. The man advised us to engage in peaceful and constructive dialogue.”

    Dan-Abia said the NDDC included persons with disabilities in its programmes to give them a sense of belonging in the Jonathan administration’s Transformation Agenda.

  • How Nigeria lets down its army of 22 million people with disabilities

    How Nigeria lets down its army of 22 million people with disabilities

    The bulk of the estimated 22 million Nigerians with one form of disability or the other still hold the short end of the stick, suffering in silence. From banking, insurance, health, employment, sports and even worship, persons with disabilities are abandoned despite the avalanche of conventions to protect their rights and dignity, writes COLLINS NWEZE

    Daniel Onwe, a Lagos litigation lawyer, knows the pains that come with disabilities.  He has been living with one almost all his life. At less than two years old, he suffered poliomyelitis, a highly infectious viral disease which left him with partial paralysis and deformity of the lower limbs. He depends on crutches for movement.

    As one of the estimated 22 million Nigerians living with disabilities as stated in the World Disability Report, he knows where the shoe pinches.  Today, whenever he speaks on such disabilities, the world listens.

    “From lack of recognition before the law, access to justices, right to education and health, protection of personal integrity, respect for the family, employment, adequate standard of living and right to vote, persons with disabilities are daily deprived of their rights to contribute to economic development,” he said.

    The lawyer said nationwide, none of the structures in the court environment, which is a temple of justice, has ramp to aid movement for persons with disabilities.

    “I pass through lots of hassles to be in the court. No consideration is given to us in the society which we are stakeholders in. But it should not be so. Everything should be done, bearing in mind that we are citizens of this country,” he lamented.

    Continuing, he said the restrictions in entering into the banking halls due to hi-tech doors and negligence when one manages to gain entrance make banking difficult for them. The visually impaired, he said, also rely on third parties for their transactions.

    Besides, Onwe, who is the Lead Partner, Daniel & Sophina, regretted the absence of insurance cover or products for persons with disabilities, as operators see them as high-risk segment of the society. The churches and mosques, he added, are not built with their interest at heart.

    “When we manage to be in such worship places, we are seen as people seeking miracles and healings. Churches and mosques are very dangerous for us because of the way they are built. We do not even have access to go to altar for prayers. Still we want to be part of the fellowship. We are not looking for miracles but to worship God.

    “Same thing applies when we want to marry or even secure accommodation. Most times, policy makers see us as objects of charity. But many of us have gone beyond that. It is not every person with disability that needs rice or N5, 000 to survive,” he narrated.

    The National Coach of Nigerian Wheelchair Racers, Aliyu Adebayo, agreed with Onwe. He spoke on his experience with a Lagos-based commercial bank.

    “While working with Rivers State government, I needed to withdraw N10 million from the bank to pay my athletes during a major competition. The pain of that experience still lingers. The irony of it was that I could not enter the banking hall because my wheelchair could not pass the electric entrance door. I was paid the money in front of the bank branch.  It was Ecobank Nigeria. I just gave them the cheque; they went inside and brought the money outside. I was so scared for my life and of losing the money. It was the branch manager that came to my rescue. He took his official car and drove me out of the place,” he said.

    But the banking system, the wheelchair racer said, is just a section of the society as they face more severe challenges when dealing with larger sections of the society.

    “Some have successfully passed interviews, but later excluded because of their conditions. Some employers can even be more polite saying: ‘You see, you cannot cope with this type of job because of your condition’,” he said.

     What the National Disability Bill says

    The National Disability Bill, which is already passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate, is awaiting presidential assent. The Bill seeks to establish a National Commission for persons with disabilities; prohibit discrimination against them; mandates Federal Ministry of Information to create awareness on disability issues; makes it mandatory for public buildings, roads and transportation system to be accessible to persons with disabilities and reservation for persons with disabilities at car parks.

    It stipulates that in all emergency situations, or disasters, persons with disabilities should be given special consideration based their peculiarities; makes it illegal to use persons with disabilities in begging; compulsory and free education to secondary school level for persons with disabilities; public schools at level shall be run to be inclusive of persons with disabilities and five per cent of employment in the public sector shall be reserved for persons with disabilities.

    Banking Vs the blind

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has continued to urge banks on the need to employ assistive technology to make banking more accessible to customers with disabilities, including the blind. This has brought about reactions from persons with disabilities.

    “Bank visits can be challenging for wheelchair users. Blind customers cannot read standard statements. I want banks to addresses such logistical challenges with accessible web, communications technologies and specially-trained workforce. But their response is coming too slow,” Abiodun Erugbaju, a blind customer of one of the commercial banks, said.

    He spoke on the sideline at a one-day public policy dialogue on inclusion of persons with disabilities in government policies and programmes organised by Nigeria Association of the Blind (NAB) in partnership with Disability Policy and Advocacy Initiative (DPAI), in Lagos.

    He said a combination of bad staff attitude and poor technology has made banking difficult for the blind and other persons with disabilities. He shared a personal experience during one of his visits to his bank: “How would you feel when you discover that there are no voice guidance and tactile keyboards on the Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) your bank expects you to use. Or hearing a customer service officer ask a colleague: ‘who will be operating the bank account for him?’”

    These, he said, were some of his experiences in banks, almost daily. The most disturbing part of it, he said, was that the customer service officer was not even asking him directly, but was asking a colleague.

    “When I heard it, I felt bad, and quickly told her that the question was ridiculous. If you want to ask this type of question, you should ask me. Not a third party that does not know about me. She is not my brother or someone that knows me. Asking a stranger who will be operating my account for me is derogatory. Which means I can’t do that even as a Masters Degree holder? I brought out four different ATM cards and told her that the card she has just given me will make it the fifth that I have at the moment. Then, I told her that she had just insulted me by that question,” Erugbaju narrated.

    The Coordinator, Nigeria Association of the Blind (NAB), Ejiro Okotie, called for financial sector advocacy that would prompt lenders to be more attentive to the plights of persons with disabilities. She said her experiences with her banks were equally disturbing. For her, not completing her pay slip before going to the bank means that getting someone to do it for her would be a challenge, adding that access to the banking halls is equally a major challenge for the blind.

    “Some of us move with the guide canes which cannot pass the electric doors installed at the entrance of the banking halls. Sometimes, I had to drop my cane behind, or talk to the security personnel to disable the entrance door before I can go in with the cane. This is because many of the banks do not have alternative doors for the blind to go into the banking halls without inconveniencing others.”

    The NAB Coordinator suggested that at least a customer care person be responsible for attending to persons with disabilities and other illiterate persons.

    “I always need someone to help me type my Personal Identification Number (PIN) when using ATMs. We need ATMs that can talk as such would give the blind confidentiality,” she said.

    She advised banks to train their staff to render disability-friendly services, especially for the blind.

    “If you give me all my bank statements in prints, I have to get someone to read it to me. But if they have the necessary facilities in place to make sure that information are put in accessible format like Braille, life will be made a little easier for me,” she said.

    The Executive Secretary, Disability Policy and Advocacy Initiative (DPAI), Dr. Adebukola Adebayo, who is also blind, supported Erugbayi’s argument insisting that the ATMs are not well equipped for the blind.

    “The ATMs are not equipped to give me my account balances, buy air airtime, pay utility bills among other services. The bank notes are also not recognisable,” he said.

    Such inadequacies, he said, have discouraged him from banking.

    He said that making the banknotes recognisable to the blind would solve half of the financial handling challenges they face.

    “If the CBN wants to create the needed features, it can do it. But the bitter truth is that they do not even think that some people are disabled. We are the ones affected, but some of them may be disabled one day. Challenges can visit anybody just like rain can fall at any time without announcements,” he said.

    Adebayo, who banks with Zenith, Access and Diamond banks, said he has not noticed any improvements on the attention and services the lenders give to him or some of his blind friends.

    Mrs Rita Boyo wants banks to improve on their ATM services by reducing difficulties that come with accessing the keys. She also wants lenders to put signs on the ATMs that identify the numbers on the keypad.

    “I was at Wema Bank the other time, and I had to call the security man to assist me with my account number. And you know the account number is supposed to be private but I have to disclose it just to get the transaction done. I also do same with my ATM PIN, which is not supposed to be. Even the cheque books can be done in a way that it becomes easier for us to use. We also need to identify the notes,” she said.

    A lecturer at the Adekunle Ajasin University, Ondo, Olubodede Emmanuel, told The Nation that Access Bank’s token is not accessible to the blind. He said despite complaining to the lender about such deficiency, nothing has been done.

    “I have complained to the bank several times, but it has failed to address the challenge. FirstBank’s token is accessible to the blind but it is not talking. Skye Bank’s token is not accessible at all to the blind. These are some of the challenges we face when trying to do internet banking,” he said.

    Emmanuel said some of the banks’ branches are not customer-friendly, adding that sometimes, they refuse to issue ATM cards for the blind.

    The Executive Director, African Union of the Blind (AFUB), Julius Kamya, also recounted his experience with Barclays Bank, Uganda when his request for a $7,000 salary advance loan was declined.

    “I applied for a loan and they said your organisation did not qualify when we did the qualification sampling. Then I said no problem, I am not qualified, but one of my staff who is not disabled applied for the loan and got it. I am the chief executive officer of the organisation where she works, how come I was not qualified? What is the problem so that I rectify it and not make other staff lose when they apply?

    “They said I was just not qualified. Then I said can you put what you are telling me in writing? The bank said no. Then, I contacted my lawyer who wrote them. They sensed there was big trouble when I kept writing them, up to three times. They gave me the loan. I was contemplating dragging them to court, before they responded. They just sensed I was on the move,” he said.

    Kamya, who spoke while attending a conference in Lagos, said there was need for continuous advocacy for persons with disability, especially the blind. He said challenges faced by the blind differ from bank to bank, but the issues have to do with discrimination, poor customer services and outright denial of banking services.

    “Some banks don’t think that I am eligible to have a bank account. Some banks do not accept thumb prints thereby excluding the blind that may not be able to sign with a pen. Sometimes, it may have to do with ignorance by the staff of the banking institution. Some banks even think that as a visually impaired person, one is not entitled to a loan. There are also issues around bank notes not being accessible to blind users who will not be able to differentiate one currency from another. I have seen these practices in Lagos, Kenya and Uganda,” he said.

    The AFUB boss said other marginalised group of persons with disabilities, such as persons with albinism, persons with intellectual disabilities, and persons with epilepsy, face life threatening violence and deprivation of liberty due to societal  beliefs and harmful cultural practices.

    He advised that stakeholders ensure that persons with disabilities, including youths and older persons, as well as children and their families, should be closely consulted and actively involved through their representative organisations in the design, implementation, and monitoring of all programmes and policies that impact on their lives.

    The convener of the policy dialogue, Olufunke Osindele, said banks are not doing enough to ensure that people with disabilities are included in the financial system. She wants lenders to make messages about their products and services available in a manner they can understand them. Stakeholders, she said, should ensure effective inclusion of people with disabilities in empowerment programmes that would have positive behavioural change on their relationship with the society.

    “Exclusion of persons with disabilities from the design, planning, implementation; monitoring and evaluation of government policies on key issues that affect their lives are highly disturbing. They need to be included in national and state strategic plans; other relevant policy documents on banking operations, telecom and reproductive health, which constitute major concerns to stakeholders,” she said.

    From the world of Sports

    Daniel Ezekiel, a sportsman and power lifter, said Nigerian government does not appreciate what it has, as it has abandoned persons with disabilities.

    “It is when we have suffered, and improved on themselves, and win medals that government will then recognise us. Government does not even pay us any salaries until we win medals in major competitions. So, without medals, no help, no employment or any form of support from the government; the only thing they know is go and win us medals. But there is no support at all to make that happen. Like me I sing. I write songs very well. I just want government to support us discover our talents and achieve our goals in life. Let them recognise us and assist us financially,” he said.

    On banking, he said: “For me, banking has not been easy. Many times, when I go to the banks, the machine will request that I remove the metal object, which is the wheel chair. In many cases, they have to switch off the electric door to enable me pass. Again, when I get inside the banking hall, the next challenge is the large crowd, and before they will attend to me, a lot of time would have passed. I want banks to have a special route for the physically challenged people to pass, because if they are talking about financial inclusion, I believe no one should be left behind”.

    He described wheelchair racing as flamboyant but very expensive sports. He said Nigerian racers only rely on standard wheelchair which is less sophisticated than the customised ones used in advanced countries.

    “In Nigeria, the customised one is not even available and that has put us behind during international competitions. Still, we are trying our best that is even why we pick up some medals when we go for international competitions. If government should try and acquire the customised race chairs for us, I believe we will rule the world. It is the technology that is inside those customised chairs that make other racers from advanced countries to beat us. But when you talk of human resources and manpower, we have everything thing,” he said.

    Speaking further, he said: “Government is the parental body that everyone cries to for help. Government needs to pass all the bills, including one that requires that companies employ a number of us from where we will earn our living, but that is not happening”.

    Facts from insurance

    A Lagos-based insurance consultant, Abiodun Lasaki, regretted that operators do not have products targeting Persons with disabilities. The available products, he said, can only insure persons without disabilities in workplaces.

    “For instance, the Employer’s Liability (Group Life) Insurance requires that all employers of labour with more than four employees key into it. The law requires the employers to have insurance that will provide for compensation in the event of death, disappearance, disability, or critical illness suffered by staff while in service and to subsidise pension provision in the event of mental or physical disability.

    “This law applies to both public and private sector employees. This means that employees (and their families) have the right to demand compensation and payment from their employers in the event of injury or death. The penalty for non-compliance with this law is N250,000, Record of conviction, and in addition the place of business may be sealed up. It is recognised under the Pension Reform Act 2004,” Lasaki said.

    The deaf and their health

    Findings also showed that the deaf are also denied proper health care in the society. Take the case of 43-years-old Mrs. Tinuke Odumosu, who has been deaf since birth. She lost her husband, Seye and child under sympathetic and terrifying circumstances.

    Speaking through a sign language interpreter, Wole Ekundayo, she said that when her late husband was sick and taken to a hospital in Ibadan, Oyo State, it was difficult for doctors to accurately diagnose his ailment due to communication gap. That she said, led to his death.

    Months later, she also lost one of her three children under similar circumstance. “The cause of both deaths is similar. In all the cases, doctors could not understand how they felt and the health challenges they faced. So, it was difficult to administer the right drugs and treatments,” she said.

    The Odumosus are not the only family of the deaf that suffers from this dilemma. Take the case of Kenneth Osuligwe, from Owerri. He had two children, but one died after a brief illness.

    “The baby suddenly got sick and was rushed to a hospital where he died because no one could tell the doctor what was wrong,” he lamented.

    Mrs Ademosu said she needs government’s backing and support, especially in making interpreters available at government hospitals to avert preventable deaths.

    The president of Deaf Supporters Group, Afolabi Dahunsi, said challenges facing the group are many and that, ideally, the group is against its members begging, but one has to be realistic. “How do we stop people from begging when there is nothing for them to do? We have always advised them to start small businesses because there is dignity in labour. But starting a small business also requires money,” he said.

    Conventions to the rescue

    Kamya said the United Nations conventions on persons with disabilities instituted in 2006 has enabled the group to engage stakeholders with the policy instrument. One of the provisions of that document, he explained, is that national governments should domesticate the policy through an act of parliament and set up agencies, on disabilities that will look into these issues.

    “The convention on the rights of persons with disabilities is an international human rights treaty of the United Nations intended to protect their rights and dignity. Parties to the convention like Nigeria are required to promote, protect, and ensure the full enjoyment of human rights by persons with disabilities and ensure that they enjoy full equality under the law”.

    “The convention has served as the major catalyst in the global movement from viewing persons with disabilities as objects of charity, medical treatment and social protection towards viewing them as full and equal members of society, with human rights. It is also the only United Nations human rights instrument with an explicit sustainable development dimension. The convention was the first human rights treaty of the third millennium,” he said but regretted that many countries are not implementing it.

    Battle goes to court

    The fight to get persons with disabilities recognised has also moved to the law court. The Federal High Court in Lagos is hearing a case instituted by Onwe against President Goodluck Jonathan and the National Assembly (NASS) for allegedly failing to enact a law to protect the rights of persons with disabilities.

    The plaintiff  is seeking an order mandating the respondents to enact, forthwith, the necessary laws to protect persons with disabilities, thereby stopping the violation of their fundamental rights.”It will be in the interest of justice and the nation to grant this application,” Onwe prayed the court.

    He is seeking a declaration that the absence of a federal legislation for the protection of persons with disabilities violates their fundamental rights as guaranteed by Sections 33, 34, 39, 40, 41 and 42 of 1999 Constitution and articles 4, 5, 9, 12(1), 13(3), 18(4) and 24 of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights.

    Regulators, banks speak

    CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele explained during the lunching of the N100 centenary banknote that it is embedded with features that makes it recognisable to the blind. Emefiele said banks should do businesses that balance economic profit, social responsibility and environmental issues. He the CBN has been making steady progress on how to get more people into the financial system, including people with disabilities.

    Also, Special Adviser to the Managing Director, Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Yakubu Mohammed, said sustainable banking is about guaranteeing human rights and a life in dignity, free from want and poverty for all.

    “It is about providing specialised products for women, youths, disabled, widows to ensure that 34.9 million out of the 87.9 million adult Nigerian excluded from the financial system have access to finance,” he said.

    FirstBank’s spokesperson and Head of Marketing and Corporate Communication, Mrs. Folake Ani-Mumuney, said the bank has demonstrated its commitment to providing inclusion, advocacy and public enlightenment for blind and visually impaired persons through support for the Nigeria Association of the Blind (NAB) White Cane and Safety Day, which it has been doing since 2011.

    She said the bank’s partnership with NAB is implemented on the platform of the lender’s “Hope Rising” initiatives aimed at providing health and welfare support for indigent persons and persons with disabilities.

    “Through the years, the bank has been committed to supporting persons with disabilities. We have started building wheelchair-friendly branches and will continue to take steps to get more people, including the blind, into the financial system,” she said.

    The Head of Media, United Bank for Africa Plc, Ramon Olanrewaju, said the lender is taking steps to ensure that every of its branches have facilities for the disabled.

    “I can tell you that those on wheel chair or blind are well taken care of. There are security gates which they have to pass through. We try as much as we can to ensure that they get adequate attention,” he said.

    But Emefiele’s position on the new banknote was faulted by the NAB’s President, David Okon who insisted that the new N100 note does not have features that make it recognisable to the blind.

    “It does not have the features that make it recognisable to the blind. For us, there is nothing that differentiates the new note from others. The challenges we face today are enormous and need policy backup for the CBN and banks to address them. We have written severally to them on these issues but got no response,” he told The Nation.

    Other stakeholders have also called for a federal legislation to specifically protect persons with disabilities. They want public buildings, sidewalks and other architectural structures equipped with lifts and ramps to make life easier for the group. The use of sign language and Braille for the deaf and blind persons respectively, they said, should also be promoted.

    Like Onwe, Okon wants the world to not just listen to the plights of persons with disabilities but act to make the desired change happen.

  • Firm to assess 150,000 Kebbi pupils for learning disabilities

    Firm to assess 150,000 Kebbi pupils for learning disabilities

    A firm, Education/Electronics Data Management Company, E2DMC, has signed a deal with the Kebbi State government to assess 150,000 secondary school pupils for learning difficulties.

    The exercise, which will be carried out using The Profiler, a tool for assessing literacy and numeracy learning capabilities, will enable the state design an intervention programme to address the peculiar learning needs of each pupil.

    Gabriel Swatzell of Microlink, the company partnering with E2DMC to localise and popularise the assessment tool in Nigeria told The Nation that The Profiler would help states, schools and parents to discover covert learning disabilities that could affect academic performance ahead of time and recommend the solutions to reverse poor performance.

    He said research has shown that 10 per cent of learners in an average classroom setting suffer from learning disabilities that are not so obvious which affect their performance.

    “Ten per cent of a classroom of students has learning disabilities so with the Profiler the students are identified and helped. The real Holy Grail for us is the mainstream government education because that is where the future of the country is.

    “To use the profiler, the students take an assessment test on a computer and once he submits, the tool generates a report so we know problems before they appear. The report doesn’t just show problems but solutions. It gives teachers the tool set they need to care for the children,” he said.

    Apart from Kebbi, Swatzell said the firm is speaking with the governments of Delta and Ekiti states for likely partnership and has got the endorsement of British Council for the project, which has received funding from the DFID.

    “We have signed an MOU with Kebbi State where we are going to assess 150,000 students. We are speaking with Delta and Ekiti States as well. We have partnered with the British Council which has agreed to train teachers to use the tool,” he said.

    Swatzell explained that 10 years of research have gone into localising the tool for use in Nigeria. He added that they have uploaded The Profiler software on tablets to address the challenges of ICT and internet connectivity in Nigeria.

    “For the past 10 years we have been putting this together. Top educational psychologists came up with the individualised test for the Nigerian child. We thought we could use computers in the schools to run the tests but we found many have problems of viruses or their technology being too old. What we did is to create a version of The Profiler on tablet PCs which we take the schools and use to administer the tests,” he said.

    Swatzell advocated regular mathematics and English Language assessments in school, like is done in the United States, United Kingdom, and others.

    Ahead of a scheduled pilot phase in 10 private schools in three months, Swatzell said the firm had used the Profiler to assess some pupils in Grange and Avicenna Schools in Ikeja and the Supreme Education Foundation (SEF), Magodo, among others.

     

  • ‘Provide for persons with disabilities’

    ‘Provide for persons with disabilities’

    A Professor of Neurophysiotherapy at the University of Ibadan (UI), Talhatu Hamzat, has urged governments to provide facilities to make it easy for persons living with disabilities to access public buildings.

    He spoke at UI’s Trenchard Hall at the weekend while delivering his inaugural lecture as the first professor of Neurophysiotherapy in West Africa.

    The lecture was titled: “From Ward to Ward: The Neurophysiotherapist as a Returning Officer”.

    Hamzat regretted that persons with mobility disabilities were not considered in the plan of most public buildings, an oversight he described as injustice.

    He said: “Nigerian governments at every level, as well as institutions, should promulgate laws/edicts/regulations and enforce compliance with the enacted laws on the accessibility of public buildings and utilities to people with disabilities, most especially of mobility type. We should all remember that injustice to one is injustice to all.

    “Everyone is prone to one form of disability or another. We should all think of our old age, when arthritis or even neurological disorders may prevent independent walking, when walking stick becomes the third leg and wheelchair becomes a customised ‘chair-car’.”

    He pushed for the inclusion of Neurophysiotherapy in Nigeria’s primary health care system, urging health policy makers and administrators to examine the scope of physiotherapy to improve health care delivery.

    The 44-year-old scholar described Neurophysiothe-rapy as a branch of physiotherapy that deals with neurological disorders, which are an important cause of disability affecting all age groups.

    He said neurological deficits impact greatly on the country’s socioeconomic life as well as the psychology of citizens afflicted or indirectly affected.

    Urging stakeholders in the health and education sectors to intensify efforts to increase the number of neurophy-siotherapy experts, the professor said the role of experts in this field were too important to be ignored.

    He said: “Neurophy-siotherapists deal with a variety of patients and clinical conditions, ranging from the pregnant woman down motor nerve disorder to the newborn who has some form of paralysis at birth to the middle-aged man afflicted with stroke or spinal cord injury to the geriatric patient who has Parkinson disease or dementia.”

  • Persons with disabilities need help, says beauty queen

    Persons with disabilities need help, says beauty queen

    Miss Nigeria in Florida Awoyemi Matanrareje has urged Nigerians to assist people with disabilities.

    She said it is one of the ways to give back to society .

    Miss Matanrareje described the rising number of persons with disabilities on the streets as evidence that the society had forgotten them.

    She spoke with reporters at the weekend on her arrival at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, aboard United Airlines.

    Miss Matanrareje is in Nigeria for a two-week cultural/ beauty tour and the inauguration of her pet project, targeted at caring for people with disabilities.

    The nursing graduate said she will visit the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan; and the Governor of her home state (Ondo), Dr. Olusegun Mimiko.

    Miss Matanrareje said she is talking to some organisations and individuals in Florida to assist with funds to care for people with disabilities.

    She said: “I am home for the take off of my pet project, which is opening a home for people with physical, mental and emotional disabilities. The home will also target women with emotional and other challenges .

    “Part of my mission in Nigeria is to meet Dame Jonathan to discuss the project and ways to uplift the conditions of women living with many challenges.

    “In the course of my tour, I will meet with Governor Mimiko and Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole to discuss many humanitarian activities.

    “Part of the reasons I am embarking on this cultural tour is to project the culture of our people, because a lot of people who live in the United States (U.S.) hear a lot about Nigeria but do not know much about our culture. I am here to get enough information to educate such people.

    “I am also visiting some people to solicit financial assistance for my project because I cannot do it alone.”

    On why her pet project is target at people with disabilities, Miss Matanrareje said her educational background in nursing stands her in good stead to attend to people’s mental and emotional challenges.

    She said: “I decided to focus on this area because it is compatible with my professional training. In addition, I am focussing on this because my little brother had challenges in a related area.

    “He had a disability growing up and did not walk until age five. He was diagnosed of a certain syndrome, but I am happy he is victorious and now doing well.

    I also have a relative who walks with crutches and I am touched to offer such assistance to people in that category.

    “When you walk the streets of Nigeria, there are a lot people with disabilities and we need to come to their rescue. This is because the whole community has forgotten about them. We need to show them love. Such people need a home, a place where they can feel loved and cared for and not continue to think that the whole community has forgotten them .”

  • ‘There is ability in our disabilities’

    Your recent public lecture tagged Behold My Ability was touching; what was the motive behind it?

    My passion for the welfare of the disabled remains the driving force. I observed that they face a lot of challenges to compete with their able colleagues. They are challenged in terms of meeting deadlines for the submission of assignments, carrying out researches on the Internet and also looking for helpers to take them around in wheel chairs. We, therefore, needed facilities like computers, printers and other gadgets that will help them. This was the reason we thought of organising a public lecture to source for funds.

    Were you born blind?

    No! I was born as a complete human being. My sight problem started when I was in Primary 4 and all efforts to restore it proved abortive. This halted my education for four years. Then, I summoned the courage to go to the school of the blind at Owo. I had to start all over again. It was there I was taught how to use Braille. Through the use of this, I learnt how to read and write with fingers and also how to work on computers with Job Access With Speech (JAWS).

    What other things can you do aside that?

    I can also sing. Students fellowships within and outside the campus always invite me to sing for them.

    Do you see your condition as a limitation for you?

    Absolutely not! However, it is a challenge. I only see it as a chance for me to prove my worth to complete men, of what I am capable of doing without eyes.

    How do you cope with academic challenges?

    God has been helping me. With my previous knowledge on how to use Braille, type-writer and computers, I have been coping.

    Why did you contest for the post of the physically-challenged student representative?

    Ever since I gained admission into this school, I have been nursing the ambition to have a platform to represent my fellow disabled students and give them voice to table their yearnings.

    What do you think the authorities can do to help the disabled?

    They should take matters pertaining to the disabled very serious by giving attention. We need them to create a special unit in the hostel service that will cater solely for the needs of the disabled. In the hostel, we need potable water supply and they should provide more computers for us to complement the ones that have been donated. We will be glad if the government increases the scholarship opportunities for us.

    What is your advice for disabled youths in the society?

    We have seen disabled men and women who have added values to their world. I will advise my fellow disabled that their predicament is not the end of the world. Life must continue. Our predicament is not in any way a limitation against our dreams. We must see it as a challenge to prove to the world of able men that we are capable of achieving greatness despite our disabilities. Being physically challenged does not make us to be mentally weak.