The Albino Foundation Public Notice
Omale Samuel
In Nigeria today, it is difficult for people living with disabilities to fully participate in public activities and enjoy the same way other persons without disability do. There are a lot of barriers in almost everything, and accessibility is difficult, especially in three critical pillars of our existence, such as information, services, and products.
Someone may ask, what is accessibility? Ulster University (2025) described accessibility as removing barriers that enable users to engage and participate in everyday activities without difficulties. These accessibility issues could be outdoor and indoor, offline and online, tangible or intangible. It means reducing and overcoming the barriers that might limit people with disabilities, which include digital and physical interactions in everyday life. It cuts across transportation, information, communications, and the physical environment, ensuring that people with disabilities can access them. For example, the challenges of crossing the roads, and bridges without pedestrian access, using the public address system, and facilities where wheelchairs cannot enter are big challenges for people living with disabilities in Nigeria.
Across the world, the government plays a significant role in achieving accessibility for the disabled population, while trying everything possible to prevent it from happening to a certain percentage of the population. From 2018 to date, the Nigerian government has shown significant commitment in this regard, by passing the Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Bill into law in 2018, and the official gazetting of the Person with Disability (Accessibility) Regulations, 2023. These achievements sound good, but the law and regulations on paper alone cannot solve the suffering of those living with a disability if not implemented. It must be implemented to give a sense of belonging and honest commitment to their course. The letter and spirit of the law must be tested to ascertain the sincerity of the legislation and to achieve the intended objectives of the law and regulations. This required political will and true compassion for the disability communities.
A peep into the Person with Disability (Accessibility) Regulations, 2023 revealed the intention of the crafters of the regulations to see an inclusive society. Some of the provisions state, “These regulations provide guidelines to ensure effective collaboration with relevant agencies in ensuring easy and unimpeded access to services in the Nigerian built environment by persons with disabilities; provide specifications for policymakers, regulators, implementers, and service providers to ensure quality and non-discriminatory services in the Nigeria built environment.”
Part of the regulations also states the standards and codes for the design and construction of an accessible built environment must be observed, including roads, and transportation facilities, and provide tools for measurement or auditing of universal accessibility in the built environment. The developers, designers, and other bodies in Nigeria must realise that there is no laisser-faire in their activities and are guided by this law and regulations in incorporating accessibility principles in the planning, design, and execution of building work. The MDAs, international organisations, civil society organisations, the owners of structures and facilities accessible to members of the public, and every other person undertaking activities that relate to the built environment, such as facility managers, public officials, developers, engineers, architects, and audit teams must align themselves with this regulation.
Sensitisation and awareness creation on accessibility standards and the need for a barrier-free design in the built environment are also key to achieving the objectives.
The formation of the Association of Accessibility Professionals in Nigeria is not only timely but necessary to advocate and address the multiple challenges facing the disability communities in Nigeria. The legislators, especially the relevant committees of the National Assembly, must ensure that the beautiful provisions in the Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act, 2018, and the Person with Disability (Accessibility) Regulations, 2023 will not end up in the bookshelf, but acted upon and call the relevant ministries, departments and agencies of government to account in implementations and give the necessary backing and support required to succeed.
The National Commission for Persons with Disability must also wake up to its responsibility of ensuring effective collaboration with the relevant government agencies and professional bodies to enforce compliance with public building codes, impose necessary sanctions, and make orders where required. And the time to act is now.
Omale Samuel writes from Abuja via Oma_omasam@yahoo.co.uk
Credit: Punch Nigeria
