By Our Reporter
A Senior Lecturer at the Department of Social Works, University of Nigeria Nsukka, (UNN), Prof Uzoma Odera Okoye has said that most public facilities in Nigeria are not built to accommodate persons with disabilities (PWDs), even as she called on both the private and public sectors of the economy to be disabled-friendly.
Speaking during the Southeast stakeholders’ meeting of Persons with Disability (PWDs) held in Umuahia, Okoye solicited for the support and demanded for the domestication of the Disability Act, describing it as very necessary.
According to her the domestication of the Act would not only benefit PWDs but would solve the issue of stigmatization against them, warning that anybody can be a victim of circumstance that could lead to disability.
The university don, therefore, called on architects whom she believes are part of the stakeholders to offer professional advice to their clients in ensuring that PWDs are properly captured in their architectural plans irrespective of the facility.
She opined that old age can come with some disabilities. Prof Okoye used the opportunity to make a case for basic sign languages to be captured in the curriculum of every school in Nigeria as a way of having inclusive education and eradicating stigmatization amongst them.
Similarly, a Senior Research Fellow at the Africa Polling Institute, Okonkwo Ekene called on stakeholders from the Southeast geopolitical zone to ensure that the Persons with Disability Act is domesticated in the zone.
Okonkwo, said during the Southeast stakeholders’ workshop held in Umuahia, that the domestication of the Act has become important because of the need to enhance the welfare of those with disabilities.
In her lecture, Ngozi Okechukwu of the Department of Social Works UNN condemned the difficulty in accessing public facility by persons with disabilities and described such anomaly as discriminatory.
Earlier, the chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria, Abia State chapter, Apostle Emmanuel Agomuo urged the Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities to unite in order to pursue a common goal.