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Tag: Disability

  • Children’s centre calls for support for people with disability

    Children’s centre calls for support for people with disability

    The Children’s Development Centre (CDC) in Nigeria has reiterated the need for parents, communities and governments to provide better  support to people living with disabilities through the provision of care and services as well as policy directions.

    The CDC, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), dedicated to the care and support of people living with disabilities, made the call at a Parents’ Summit  in Lagos. It formed part of activities to mark the 20th anniversary of the organisation.

    The Summit, tagged: “Overriding Stigma with Compassion in the Community: Is this a Family’s Solution?”, addressed the need for communities to provide adequate support structures devoid of stigmatisation for the care and management of people, particularly children living with disabilities.

    Director, CDC, Dr Yinka Akindayomi, lamented that very little progress has been made in  addressing the challenges and needs of special people as families and the society largely live in denial and unwilling to provide the necessary support.

    According to him, it was the need to change the attitude and direct attention to this area of need that the Centre organised the Parents’ Summit. “For far too long, parents and families have worked in silos, trying to provide care and services to their children with special needs. For as long as parents do not get together to address these issues as a group, it would be difficult to get support from the government and policy makers,” Dr Akindayomi said.

    “It is indeed, disturbing that governments at both the state and federal levels are paying little attention to this area. For instance, only Lagos State has enacted a Disability Act, and that is not even comprehensive enough as it fails to address the issue of stigmatisation of special people,” Dr Akindayomi added.

    The  summit addressed issues such as early detection of disabilities in children and intervention, access to quality and timely information, family financial management and health insurance, nutrition and management of diets to reduce risk factors and child abuse, among others.

    Parents recounted their experiences and challenges, providing care and support for their children with disabilities, while experts in nutrition, insurance, family and behaviourial health services, financial planning and relationships provided the perspective. Parents were encouraged to work as a team to prevent burnout as well as ensure that governments provide the right infrastructure and support. It was resolved at the summit that  parents’ forum as a support group be instituted to gain the government’s attention.

    The CDC is a service oriented, not-for-profit organisation, dedicated to provide a broad range of educational and support services for children, young people and their families within the community. It is a place where children and young people with developmental disability have a “sense of belonging”. It was established 20 years ago. “It is a facility donated by the Lagos State Government, where we have begun to meet our children’s needs for the future and the present,”Akindayomi said.

  • Ability in disability

    History was made at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) when Demola Adeleke, a visually-impaired 200-Level Mass Communication student, was elected the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Mass Communication Students’ Association (MACSA). JAMES OJO (300- Level Mass Communication) and TEMITOPE ADIGUN (200-Level Mass Communication) report.

    During his days in high school, Demola Adeleke was seen as a young boy with brighter future. Sadly, before he finished secondary school six years ago, he lost his sight. But, the visual impairment did not diminish the larger picture he visualised about his future.

    Unlike many who suffer the same fate, Demola never stopped believing in his ability to achieve great things despite his condition. Not only did he gain admission into the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), the 200-Level Mass Communication student is one of the best in his class, with a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 4.45 in his first year.

    Last month, Demola’s exploit became a topic in his department, when he was elected the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Mass Communication Students’ Association (MACSA). To his colleagues’surprise, Demola garnered 189 votes to beat his opponent, Prince Obiefuna.

    Demola’s determination to turn his predicament into blessing is a lesson for other visually-impaired students on the campus.

    The Oluyole, Oyo State-born student, recounted how he was struck with the sad fate. “I lost my sight six years ago. I was in secondary school then and I felt I had been hit by a life-time disaster,” Demola explained.

    He continued: “I refused to go out and I remained indoors for four years. My parents tried to convince me to go back to school, but I refused. It was strange to me, because I thought the end had come. The blind people I used to see then were beggars on the street.”

    Demola said he relieved himself of the frustration that came with his new condition and made up his mind to pursue his dream. To him, his soul would only be defeated if he allowed his condition to abort his future plans.

    His words: “This kind of condition comes with its own stigma. Some people believe students with visual impairment just come to school to sit down in class, listen to lecturers and return to hostels without learning anything. We must convince people that we have some potential in us that could be beneficial to humanity. I have always had the mission to break barriers that can stand against achieving my dreams.”

    On what he intends to do when he is sworn in as PRO, Demola said he would turn around information management in the department to keep his colleagues abreast of developments in the school.

    He said: “It has been noticed that one of the most effective ways of getting information across to students is the social media. I can effectively use social media tools like everybody to properly disseminate information to students. Many would be surprised on how I would do it. I have necessary applications that will enable my phones to relate with me by reading out what is on the screen.

    “With these applications, I can access my phones and laptops without anyone helping me out. Going round to deliver messages or information won’t be a problem for me as well, because I have always moved around. So, I don’t see any challenge in the discharge of my duties.”

    He advised students living with disabilities not to allow their condition to limit their abilities. He said: “They must think beyond their physical limitations. They should not see themselves as those who cannot go beyond begging for alms on the streets. They should always see themselves as one who only cannot use their body parts effectively body, and not people who cannot achieve their dreams.

    “They may be blind and people may see them to be unfortunate, but if they could be so smart to overlook their challenges, they will defeat it and climb on it to getting to the top. The limit of their dream is not street begging, because the sky is still open for those who want to fly higher.”

  • Disability workshop to hold next January

    The Lagos State Office of Disability Affairs (LASODA) will hold a workshop next January to propose ways of dealing with employment issues among persons with disability (PWDs), LASODA’s General Manager Dr. Babatunde Awelenje has said. He addressed reporters at the Alausa secretariat in Lagos.

    His words: “We are partnering with some NGO’S affiliated with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to ensure that qualified people living with disability can gain easy employment.

    “The workshop will be focused on seeking ways to work with businesses to remove barriers to employing people living with disabilities. This office has been collaborating with the civil service commission to ensure that more people living with disabilities are easily employed into the civil service.

    “We will continue to intensify our advocacy that corporate organisations abide by the provision of the Lagos State Special People’s Law (LSSPL) of June 2011 which stipulates that one per cent of the total workforce be people living with disabilities.

    “The level of compliance is low for now. Mind you, LASODA commenced operations in 2013 and I believe we will achieve more with time. By the time we launch our disability fund next year, problems of sourcing for fund will be a thing of the past. As we speak, one in every six persons in this office has one form of disability or the other. If you go to any Lagos State institution, you will find people living with disabilities gainfully employed there. We are looking towards extending this to the private sector.”

  • People with disability seek welfare package

    Disabled persons under the aegis of The Niger Delta Coalition of Persons with Disability (NIDECOP) have lamented gross marginalisation by the governments and their agencies in the region, and called for inclusion in all governments’ welfare packages for the citizenry, including oversea scholarships.

    In a statement by their President/National Coordinator, David Enogho, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State ahead of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities’ celebration December 3, they demanded automatic employment for their graduate and qualified members and vocational training for others.

    They said this would assist in bringing their plights to the front burner. The PLWDs noted that poor infrastructural development of the region worsens their condition as the poor state of roads and the designs restricts them from having access to most public places.

    The statement reads: ”The Niger Delta region provides the resources that sustain the economy of our great country, Nigeria. However, it is sad to note that a very large proportion of the population of the region are living in extreme poverty, no good shelter, no employment and good roads.

    “The underdevelopment of the region has compounded the challenges faced by us as persons with Disabilities. We are forced to live in inappropriate conditions. We experience hell while on earth as a result of the unwillingness and neglect by those in positions of authority to evolve functional and sustainable mechanism to address both the human and infrastructural development of the people of the Niger Delta.

    “Existing facilities are not accessible to us and government at all levels is yet to develop a blueprint that will adequately correct these human imposed barriers to our development.

    “We are constrained to ask if we are budgeted for by any government. The society which ordinarily ought to care for us has placed us in a very handicapped and disadvantaged position.

    “It is a known fact that several interventionist agencies formed with the sole aim of developing the region, have in turn failed us, none has done any meaningful thing to improve on our welfare and well-being as persons with disability living in a peculiar terrain.”

  • Al-Makura, politics and living with disability

    Al-Makura, politics and living with disability

    People aspire to be wealthy and powerful; but what is the true measure of a man? Does race, intelligence or character make you superior to other men? Or are those who are able bodied better than people living with disabilities? These were the questions on my mind as I watched Governor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura deliver a thought-provoking keynote speech at the  International Conference on Disabilities which held recently in Lagos.

    As many are well aware, he entered the race to become Governor of Nasarawa State in 2011 as a person living with the disability of deafness in both ears. He contested at that time on the platform of Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), a political party newly formed by Muhammadu Buhari which was barely four months old in at the time of elections. The CPC had no template for electoral victory – since it had never ruled before; yet Al-makura defeated the sitting governor at that time and was re-elected for a second term in 2015 under the All Progressives Congress (APC). After four years of outstanding political stewardship, which goes by the moniker: “Buhari’s political laboratory”, Umaru Tanko Al-makura has successfully carved a niche for himself as one of Nigeria’s leading champions of government accountability and transparency, with Nasarawa State ranked among the top three states in the country with high fiscal discipline by Transparency International.

    Prior to the coming of Al-makura, the standard practice was for the government to borrow N800 million each month from banks to pay workers salary. He promptly halted this financial haemorrhage and rejected the option to take monthly bank loan but insisted on a stringent strategy of fiscal discipline and cost-cutting measures to pay the salary of workers.

    Today, as the saying goes; the rest is history. The governor was able to pay up the huge debt of N37 billion which he inherited within two years without taking a loan from any bank and his innate sense of sacrifice ensured that the state has not failed to pay workers’ salary for four years running since May 2011. Indeed by all indices of good governance, Governor Al-makura has proved to be a worthy ambassador of people living with disabilities. For anyone who is disabled, the turbulent terrain of politics is not the most ideal. First, disabled people cope with the consequences of negative attitude towards people with disabilities as a whole, and every day they must endure a certain measure of physical discomfort, even if it is wearing a hearing aid for almost 18 hours. Some people who lose their limb, eyes or their arms and are forced to crawl through life on bare hands or pushed from place to place on a wheelchair endure endless bodily pain and often exist in a state of mourning. It is like living your life in a bad dream where you constantly reach for your arms, only to suddenly remember that you no longer have hands!

    But how do we ascertain if our own society discriminates against the disabled? In a CCD report, it noted that: “If a deaf person comes to the Police Station in Nigeria to make a complaint there are no sign language interpreters, and he is asked to either write down his complaint or a family member will report on his behalf!” The Report then posed the question: “What then happens when the complaint is against the said family member, how do we ensure that this disabled person will get justice?” In the same vein, the Chairman of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Professor Chidi Odinkalu, who describes Nigeria as an “oral society” where we talk without keeping track of what we say or putting action to words, recently promised to summon financial institutions in Nigeria over discrimination of citizens with disabilities’ because they have no access to banking halls and no special platform to provide them with financial services. On his own part, Cosmas I.B. Okoli, Chairman, Mobility Aid and Appliances Research and Development Centre, Lagos notes; “It is obvious that the disabled people in Nigeria are living daily in an environment that is hostile to their yearnings and aspirations. The society has unknowingly denied them all forms of integration be it social, economic or political. They have been cast aside as non-issues and subjected to a heavily tensioned psychological trauma!”

    It is instructive to note that there is no denying the fact that we pay lip service to the care and integration of disabled persons in Nigeria. For instance, Uganda has no less than six different legislations covering different aspects of lives of persons living with disabilities, while Kenya enacted its own disability legislation as far back as 2003 and Ghana passed the “Person with Disabilities Act” in 2006! Without effective national disability legislation, some “compassionate” states in Nigeria have for long been left to sprinkle the milk of human kindness on the disabled in whatever way they deem fit.

    All the efforts of Al-makura and others like him are without doubt commendable, but the enactment of an active Disability law is wholesale, mandatory and has deeper long-term impact. According to President of the World Bank Group, Robert B. Zoelleck: “Addressing the health, education, employment, and other development need of people living with disabilities is fundamental to achieving the Millennium Development Goals. We need to help people with disabilities gain equitable access to opportunities to participate and contribute to their communities. They have much to offer if given a fair chance to do so!”

    My personal view is that even the way we talk or write about people living with disability is “unconsciously” tainted with some measure of detachment, isolation and discrimination. It is as if those of us who are able bodied see the disabled as “THEM”, very distinct and separate from “US”, meanwhile the fact is that “Disability is part of the human condition. Almost every one of us will be permanently or temporarily disabled at some point in our life!”  And that is the plain truth, at infancy we are yet to develop the ability to fend for ourselves and at later stages of life, accident or ill health and finally old age might leave us so incapacitated to the extent that we are unable to take care of ourselves.

    Without doubt, comprehensive care for persons living with disability and their inclusion into the economic centre and fabric of society can be institutionalized in laws and legal frameworks, but the deepest inclusion must come from our hearts. This is where I must quote one of my favourite aspects of the keynote speech by Governor Al-makura where he stated that: “It is only when we interface and transact rather than despise the disabled, show care rather than neglect, that together we can have an inclusive society. This must take place in government agencies, corporate concern; media etc., failing to do this will amount to what I can call institutional genocide against People Living with Disability!”

    The keynote speech by Governor Al-makura at the International Conference on Disabilities in Lagos had one central message. It asked all of us to take the first step and open our hearts to our friends, neighbours and fellow humans who are disabled in order for us to build an inclusive society.

    •Lamai is Senior Special Assistant, Public Affairs & Media Strategy to Governor Al-makura of Nasarawa State

     

  • Group urges Jonathan to ok Disability Bill

    Group urges Jonathan to ok Disability Bill

    President Goodluck Jonathan has not assented to the Disability Bill passed by the National Assembly 30 days ago, it has been learnt.

    •Director, Drac, Irene Patrick-Ogbogu
    •Director, Drac, Irene Patrick-Ogbogu

    Executive Director of Disability Rights Advocacy Centre (DRAC), Irene Patrick-Ogbogu who briefed reporters on the development, said: “It is also pertinent to note that it is approximately 14 years since the struggle for a legal framework to protect the rights of people with disabilities (PWDs) began in Nigeria. This is also the second time this bill is coming to President Goodluck Jonathan’s table and the third time persons with disabilities are pleading with him to sign it.

    “We hereby call on President Goodluck Jonathan to give his assent to the Bill recently passed by the National Assembly without delay so as to reduce the pain and exclusion suffered by Nigerians living with disabilities. We believe that President Jonathan, under whose watch the Health Bill and the Freedom of Information Bill became law will further cement his legacy as a humanitarian President if he makes the Disability Act a reality.

    “This is because the sad condition of the more than 19 million Nigerians who are living with different forms of disability is a blot on the collective conscience of the nation.

    “Over 60 per cent of Nigerians living with disabilities are 18 years and above with more than 80 per cent of them living in the rural areas with minimal access to social infrastructures. More than 50 per cent of Nigerians with disabilities are women with no access to health care, resulting in increases in maternal and child mortality in the community.

    “This bill provides for prohibition of discrimination against persons with disabilities, right to access to public premises, accessibility provisions in public buildings, provision for situation of risk and humanitarian emergencies, service at queues, prohibition of use of persons with disabilities in attendant penalties, freedom and movement, access to comprehensive health care, right to inclusive education, free education, special education, personnel, participation in politics, and establishment of a National Commission for Persons with Disabilities, among others.

    •Another disabled woman
    •Another disabled woman

    “If assented to, the bill will lead to marked improvements in the quality of life of PWDs and a departure from stereotypical and harmful ways of approaching disability issues, putting forms of institutional, attitudinal environmental barriers experienced by citizens with disabilities to rest.

    “Examples of anticipated improvements include: it will become illegal to erect buildings and structures that deny access to PWDs, those responsible for approving building codes will begin to ensure that a standard building plan is one that provides accessibility considerations, such as ramps, lifts, audio-visual signage and accessible restrooms, among other; thus enhancing access to buildings and the physical improvements in access to health care for PWDs generally; but especially for women with disabilities; a situation where disability needs will reflect in the planning of our health policies and programmes will be the order of the day. Service delivery will improve through the training and deployment of auxiliary personnel in health facilities.

    “Accessible equipment will also be provided. Sexual and reproductive health needs of young persons with disabilities will also be mainstreamed into programmes for adolescent.  It will become a crime to use PWDs to solicit for alms and for sexual and other forms of exploitation, making it an offense that attracts a stiff penalty. “This will lead to a marked reduction in crimes against PWDs and an increase in rehabilitation facilities to absorb the teeming population, inclusive and accessible education will guarantee children with disabilities to develop intellectually and socially at the same pace/level with their non-disabled counterparts, thus ensuring their effective integration into mainstream society and improving their social interactions and opportunities, including those for the job market.

    “It will become illegal for employers and would-be employers to discriminate against anyone on the basis of disability with regard to hiring, firing, pay and promotion, among others. It will also ensure that employers provide reasonable accommodation (workplace accessibility) for workers with disabilities.

    “Many more are some of the intrinsic benefits that will accrue to persons with disabilities, their caregivers and society as a whole when this Bill becomes law.

    DRAC is a non-governmental, non-profit making organisation that works to promote the human rights of persons with disabilities.

    It also facilitates development agenda and increase awareness about the situation of women with disabilities in Nigeria.

    “DRAC is borne out of the personal experience of the founder who lives with a disability as well as from an in-depth analysis of PWDs where environment, poverty, pervasive exclusion and social injustice pervade.

    “Our vision is a just world devoid of poverty and intolerant of all forms of injustice.

    DRAC is currently enjoying support from United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for advocacy and civic engagement for social inclusion of persons with disabilities and access to health for women with disabilities in Nigeria,” she said.

  • Don’t hide children with disability, Oladunjoye advises parents

    Don’t hide children with disability, Oladunjoye advises parents

    The Lagos State Commissioner for Education, Mrs Olayinka Oladunjoye, has appealed to parents with children with disability not to hide them as government has in package goodies for them.

    She said research works carried out over the years show that most children with disability are talented, adding that an exposure especially to technology would further unleash their God-given potentials.

    “Show them (disabled children) love as their parents, bring them to us, we are here to take care of them,” she said.

    Oladunjoye who spoke at the eight International Day for persons living with disabilities organised by the Lagos State Ministry of Education, called for support from individuals and corporate bodies.

    Speaking at the event themed: ‘Sustainable development, the promise of technology’, the wife of the Lagos State Governor, Mrs Abimbola Fashola, said technology is one way to make life easier for people living with disability.

    She called on the Federal Government to ensure there is no discrimination between people with disabilities and their able bodied counterparts.

    Represented by the wife of the Commissioner of Physical Planning, Mrs Rhoda Abimbola, she told the ‘special children’ from over 30 schools in Lagos that they are wonderfully created by God and therefore are in no way different from otherS.

    “You are people with abilities not disability. God has a purpose for you in life. The limitations you have are in your mind. Only you can limit yourselves. God has given you potentials,” she told the happy children.

    On his part, the president Nigeria Association of Special Education Teachers, NASET, Mr Adeleke Phillips, said although the government is doing well for their schools, some things are still needed.

    “We need transport, more teachers, instructional materials, and we want our teachers too to be more motivated. Our special allowances that were taken away should also be returned,” he noted.

    Master Akeem Akande of Modupe Cole Memorial Child Care and Treatment Home School who spoke on behalf of other children, praised government for making life more meaningful for persons like him.

    He said: “It is a good thing that Lagos State is the first to embark on inclusive education in Nigeria in order to make sure that we are educated to the best of our abilities and needs with a view of making us relevant to ourselves and the society in general.”

  • Nigeria lacks focus on disability, says minister

    Nigeria lacks focus on disability, says minister

    INADEQUATE focus on disability issues and its attendant consequences has remained a major challenge for the nation’s development, the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Zainab Maina, has said.

    She made this known in Abuja yesterday, in an address as part of activities marking the celebration of the International Day of Person With Disabilities with the theme: “Sustainable Development: The Promise of Technology.”

    The minister said the situation had led to the renewed efforts globally to draw attention of everyone towards matters affecting persons with disabilities, most especially through the United Nations Declarations, treaties, instruments, conventions and their optional protocols.

    Hajiya Maina, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr. Ezekiel Oyemomi, said:  “Unfortunately, in spite of the glorious picture painted and the beauty of technology, not all people benefit from advances of technology and the attendant higher standard of living.

    “This is mainly because not everyone has access to the new technologies and not all can afford them.”

    According to her, over one billion people were living with disability around the world – majority in developing countries.

    “Persons With Disabilities not only face physical barriers, but also social, economic and attitudinal barriers. Furthermore, disability is associated with 20 per cent of global poverty, of which the majority live in developing countries.

    “In spite of being the world largest minority group, persons with disabilities and the issues of disability have remained largely invisible in the mainstream development framework and its protocols.”

  • We’ll not beg even in disability, says couple

    Though they are physically-challenged, they remained undaunted. Adewale Olukayode and his wife Olufunmilayo are Akure-based fashion designers. They seem to be joined by fate. Both are hearing impaired and dumb. Interestingly, both are engaged in the same profession-fashion designing.

    It is a common feature among some physically-challenged to take to the streets and solicit people’s assistance. Some would hang “I am deaf and dumb. Please help me” on their necks like garlands.

    Whether genuine or fake, many have used this method to beg for alms from members of the public.

    Olukayode’s situation is excitingly different because he did not take advantage of his disability to go to the streets begging.

    He did not allow his disability to weigh him down. Ade, as he is popularly called by his admirers, is a trained tailor/fashion designer.

    Every day, Ade, a native of Akure, treks from his house along Oda Road in the Akure metropolis to his shop.

    The 45-year-old Ade is not just an ordinary tailor as you may think. He sews for the rich and the not-so-rich in the society. His clientele cuts across all social strata.

    One of his numerous and prominent customers is the former Deputy Speaker of Ondo State House of Assembly, Samuel Aderoboye.

    But how does a hearing impaired man understand customers’ specifications in terms of style?

    Aderoboye said he simply brings sketches or drawings of any style he wants to Ade.

    Others, who also patronise Ade, said they have never regretted patronising him as their designer, as his expertise has continued to attract more customers to him.

    Like Ade, his wife, Olufunmilayo who is also hearing impaired and dumb designs and sew for women. The union of the two physically-challenged couple is blessed with two kids.

  • Commission recruits 170 persons with disability

    Commission recruits 170 persons with disability

    The Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC) has recruited 170 persons living with disability into the federal civil service this year.

    Its chairperson, Mrs Joan Ayo who spoke while receiving the new Head of Service of the Federation (HoSF), Mr. Danladi Kifasi to her office, said the disabled persons have been given appointments, adding that a place must be created for them to utilise their skills.

    Ayo said: “They have been given appointments; some of them regrettably cannot fit into the system. But we try to ensure that anyone given a job has something to do otherwise it will be frustrating to the commission and the affected person.”

    She assured Kifasi that the commission will continue to work harmoniously with HoSF to ensure that government’s policies are implemented successfully and that productivity is enhanced, stressing that only qualified candidates will be recruited into the civil service.

    Kifasi stressed the need for collaboration between his office and the Civil Service Commission, adding that civil service rules would soon be reviewed and that training would be given priority to boost the capacity of the workers.