The Albino Foundation Public Notice
By Ruby Leo
Many may not know the struggles that took place before the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities Prohibition Act was assented to by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Executive Secretary of the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities (NCPWD), Mr James Lalu, said it took twenty years of unrelenting efforts by various stakeholders, some who died in the course of the struggles and unable to reap the fruits of their labour.
To the minds of most Nigerians, President Buhari would always be remembered as the man who changed the narrative for Persons with Disabilities, leaving a legacy that would be cherished by this unique set of persons.
He went a step forward to establish the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities to give flesh to the act and ensure prompt implementation to improve the welfare and lives of persons with disabilities.
Unfortunately, the act in itself is only three years old, trying to change an already 61-year-old Nigeria, with years of endless struggles to better the lives of its citizenry.
All aspects of the society, according to the prohibition act, must be seen to accommodate persons with disabilities or face the wrath of the law.
Financial Empowerment/ Data Collation
The government of Nigeria has so far collated 100,000 names of persons with disabilities from across the 774 local government areas of the federation for a token to be credited to their account to cushion the effects of the economy.
The process is ongoing, while 40,000 persons have been included in the N- Power scheme of the federal government.
Some stakeholders and persons with disabilities have opinioned that the figures are quite ridiculous in the face of the about 30 million persons with disabilities.
At the FRCN/Albinism Foundation annual dialogue, which held recently in Abuja, a gross concern of this unique group was the fact that they are not empowered and unable to make the right decision to aid their development or be part of the national discourse.
The Ekiti State General Secretary of The Albinism Foundation, Mr Ade Daniel puts his thoughts adequately when he said, “How do you make informed decisions when you are not empowered? We need a sustainable structure that would ensure that the livelihood of our members are secured.
“We are always being used to occupy space and make up the numbers, but these have to change, there can be no we without us”.
This plea, the Minister of Information and Culture, Mr Lai Mohammad noted, was being addressed by the federal government. “Paying a token to PWDs is an initiative started by this government, it was not there before, we should be commended and encouraged so we can do much more.”
Education
Though education is free from the primary school to the secondary, one of the country’s greatest challenges is getting children with disabilities to enroll into special schools close to them.
Statistics reveal that Nigeria has over three million out of school children with disabilities.
Madam Ekaete Umoh, the country director of CBM, said Nigeria, in principle, has an inclusive education policy, but that it hardly addresses the issues of children which include quality, accessibility and availability as the system tends to institutionalize the education standards.
“Creating separate institutions to educate children with disabilities already defeat the inclusive policy, and most of these schools are grossly under-funded and located out of the city centres.
“As a country, we are not ready to accommodate this unique group, we need to restructure these mainstream schools and make them accessible so that children with or without disabilities can study together”.
Meanwhile concrete plans have already been put in place to replicate inclusive and accessible quality education for children with disabilities and address these anomalies.
The Modeling Accessible and Inclusive School Environment (MAISE) is to commence in the FCT, Kwara and Akwa Ibom.
Infrastructure/Services
With the coming of the Act, a lot of public and private facilities need to amend their building plans to accommodate persons with disabilities or they will be liable to pay a fine of N1,000,000 or more depending on the level of discrimination.
Once a notice of discrimination has been served, the organization is liable to pay N10, 000 beginning from the day the petition was served, to when the issue is corrected, while individuals are to pay N5000.
This aspect is rather challenging as it involves a spectrum of issues, from amending building plans to have ramps, elevators and side road walks to aid movement of persons with disabilities.
Public or private institutions that provide services must, as a sense of responsibility, employ the services of sign language interpreters, especially in essential places like hospitals, banks, schools, religious establishments, etc.
Domestication Of The Law Across States
So far, a few states are debating the act at their assemblies; these include Zamfara, Kebbi, Enugu, Kano, Cross River, and Adamawa with some visibility given to the plight of persons with disabilities.
Prosecution Of Offenders/ Justice
This area is a major concern for PWDs as many have lamented that discrimination against their members hardly see the interiors of the court rooms.
“We need to see offenders prosecuted and charged to court to serve as a deterrent to others. But tell me, have you heard of anyone who was charged to court? Most likely the families settle out of court”, a human rights activists noted.
Daniel Ameachi Onwe, President of the Association with Disabilities (ALDIN), said the association is already handling cases of discrimination across states to ensure that their members do not get victimized or cheated out of their rights.
But there is light at the end of the tunnel as the narrative is about to change with the commission revealing that desk would be set up to handle cases of persons with disabilities in all police formations across the country.
The irony, however, is that the desk will only function if cases are reported to the police. This prompted the Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission, Mr Anthony Ojukwu, to urge Nigerians to be vigilant and report any case of discrimination in their community.
Mr Jakes Epelle, the Founder of the Albinism Foundation, says, “The law might have some gaps but we need to test the law, so grey areas can be corrected within the five-year window we have to amend it.”
Cultural Practices and Perceptions
Most children with disabilities are hardly given their pride of place in the family, as Umoh puts it, “If a family has six children and one has a disability, it is most likely that all the others will go to school while the child with disability languishes at home”.
Killing of physically challenged, hunch backs, albino persons, visually impaired and hard of hearing for ritual purposes is a major concern.
Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Disability Matters, Dr Samuel Ankeli, calls for aggressive sensitization of Nigerians to change the narrative.
“We need to commence campaigns to disabuse the minds of Nigerians so that they see persons with disabilities as part of the society. Law enforcement agencies must begin to prosecute offenders, and parents must take responsibility for the upkeep of all their children”.
Self-confidence starts from the family, sustained in the society, and throughout one’s life, depending on one’s determination and the support one gets.
Health Insurance/Trust Fund
Health is wealth, but many persons with disabilities battle with various health challenges. From skin cancer complications of albinos, to degrees of health issues that the disabilities present.
Mrs Ene Ede, Executive Director/Editor in Chief of Equity Advocates Gender Advisor at Search for Common Ground Nigeria, advocates for a health fund to accommodate the health challenges of persons with disabilities.
“Government and the private sector should in their corporate social responsibility put in place a fund to ease the health burden of persons with disabilities because they suffer more, and the financial implication in most cases is beyond them,” she said.
“Hospitals must be equipped with sign language interpreters, counsellor’s, equipment that can examine any physically challenged person without undermining the person’s dignity.
“These out of pocket expenditure is not helping, the standard of health care is quite expensive especially for a person with disability.”
The Disabilities Trust Fund is another initiative which will aid the full integration of persons with disabilities into the society, through provisions for their education, health care, social, economic and civil rights. The Bill is currently awaiting second reading at the House.
Political Participation
The rigorous activities of election processes make it quite difficult for persons with disabilities to actively participate in election process.
From the campaigns to the voting process, all constitute a challenge for Nigerians, but discouraging for one already challenged to traverse through.
The commission is already collaborating with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and relevant bodies to take reasonable steps to ensure that voters with disabilities are assisted at the polling units by the provision of suitable means of communication, such as Braille ballot guides, Tactile voting system, magnifying glasses, Election Day written instructions, Large embossed print or electronic devices or sign language interpretation, or off-site voting in appropriate cases.
“All registered voters with disabilities shall be allowed priority voting upon arrival at their polling units with their permanent voter cards.”
Section 66 further improves the inclusion of voters with disabilities by providing for sign language and interpretation at collection and counting centers.
“Sign language interpretation must be used simultaneously when final election results are being declared in different elections”, a committee already working with INEC has proposed.
