Succinct and poignant, the theme for the commemoration of this year’s World Braille Day, ‘Let the blind read’ aptly captures a serious challenge faced by the visually impaired across the world. This is talking about the inadequate opportunities for those who have lost their sight to access reading materials; a problem that is particularly acute in developing countries such as Nigeria.
Commemorated annually on January 4, the World Braille Day utilises this significant invention, that aids literacy and education among the blind, for global reflection on ways to continue to deepen the reading culture within this important category of citizens.
Giving an insight into the dimensions of the problem in Nigeria, the Director-General of the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC), Dr John Asein, noted that less than one per cent of published materials in the country are produced in formats accessible to the blind such as Braille, audio or digital texts equipped with screen-reading facilities.
Decrying what he described as a serious “book famine” among the blind, Dr Asein emphasised that “the cost of inaccessibility is not merely social exclusion, but long-term harm to education, employment prospects, and the inclusion of the print-disabled in the larger national development agenda”.
We agree with him that guaranteeing the visually challenged access to reading through the provision of the requisite facilities should not be an act of charity but should be treated as a fundamental right of affected persons.
In the final analysis, it is the society as a whole that benefits when all categories of citizens are able to read, attain literacy, obtain an education and continuously improve their minds through reading. The mind, it has been graphically stated, is a terrible thing to waste and this certainly does not exclude the minds of the visually challenged. It is thus commendable that Section 26 of the Copyright Act, 2022, has enabled Nigeria to domesticate the Marrakesh Treaty, “expressly permitting the reproduction, distribution, and cross-border exchange of works in accessible formats for persons with print disabilities”.
To ensure the effectiveness of its statutory mandate in this regard, the NCC’s new guidelines “provide much-needed clarity, transparency, and safeguards for the production and dissemination of accessible format copies” which are designed to “encourage broader institutional participation, rebuild confidence among rights holders and intermediaries, and substantially increase the availability of books in Braille and other accessible formats”.
This is surely the right way to go even though the NCC must more effectively publicise its activities in this regard so that visually impaired persons will be aware of their rights and thus be in a better position to pursue and protect them.
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In her message to mark the day, the First Lady, Mrs Oluremi Tinubu, stressed the need for all authorities at all levels in the country to deepen policies and partnerships that will “empower blind and visually-impaired citizens to live full, independent lives and participate confidently in national development”.
In particular, Mrs Tinubu made the crucial point that as the process of digitalisation deepens across the world, the question of accessibility to reading materials by the blind and visually-impaired in a digital age must be accorded the right priority. Her admonition that the integration of Braille with modern technology is critical to guaranteeing equal access to information, education, and economic opportunities for persons living with visual impairments must be taken seriously by policy makers at all levels.
Available data indicate that there are about 24 million people who suffer vision loss in Nigeria, about 1.3 million blind people and another 4.25 million adults above 40 years with moderate to severe experiences of impairments.
Beyond the problem of access to reading materials in the requisite formats by the visually impaired, other difficulties faced by physically challenged people in Nigeria include limited job opportunities, poor economic prospects, inadequate access to qualitative healthcare and lack of safety and facilities to aid convenience of mobility in public buildings, among others.
The adequacy of care and support given to all categories of physically challenged persons is a key indicator of the degree of compassion, civility and indeed civilisation in any society.
