The Albino Foundation Public Notice
BY AYUBA AHMED
There are about two million Nigerian albinos which, therefore, make them one of the largest blocks among the entire population of an estimated twenty nine million citizens with disabilities. It is needless to say that albinos, by their number, also suffer a proportionate degree of the neglect and other vagaries generally faced by people with disabilities in our clime.
Albinism is a disease that results from generic mutation leading to deficiency or total lack of melanin which is responsible for the pigmentation or coloring of the skin mostly of humans and, in rare cases, of some other mammals. Inherited from the DNA of parents, it is found in one out of every 20,000 people of all races worldwide.
A debilitating disease that has so far defied medical solution by way of prevention or cure, the physical symptoms in persons with albinism are pale or light or brown skins; light blond or white hair and light, blue or red eyes. Due to their condition, albinos suffer a number of health challenges.
The lack of pigmentation in the eyes leads to vision impairment such as difficulty in focusing both eyes on the same objects, poor close range or distance vision, rapid uncontrollable back and forth movements of the eyes and sensitivity to lights. While medically and legally a large number of albinos are classified as blind on account of their poor vision, instances of total loss of sights are common among them.
Consequent on the effects of ultraviolet rays of the sun, the paucity or complete absence of melanin also makes albinos to be highly susceptible to varying degrees and forms of skin cancer.
There are about two million Nigerian albinos which, therefore, make them one of the largest blocks among the entire population of an estimated twenty nine million citizens with disabilities. It is needless to say that albinos, by their number, also suffer a proportionate degree of the neglect and other vagaries generally faced by people with disabilities in our clime.
The travails begin from the homes where some parents, out of scant resources, illiteracy or superstition, subject the albino child to discriminatory treatment such as being the least likely among the other siblings to be enrolled for formal basic education. Invariably, a good number end up in the streets to fend for themselves as child beggars or menial workers.
The traumatic experience at the home level is exacerbated by the stigma and even harsher discrimination in the wider community where, in some, albinism is regarded as a curse or punishment from God for the sins of parents or ancestors. In the days of yore, albinos, known among the Igbo as, “Anyali” or “Anyabeke” were ostracized to live perpetually in the “evil forest”.
Given the fact that, if properly managed, albinism does not affect life spans, albinos in developed countries live the average life expectancy as the healthy members of their societies. The scenario is very different in Nigeria due to a combination of several negative factors.
To ameliorate effects of ultraviolet (UV) rays, albinos require some special body ointments. For the same purpose, they must wear high- SPF, broad spectrum sunscreen with protective hats and clothing in addition to the use of sun glasses that provide UV protection. This is beside the need for annual eye and skin examinations for early detection of problems. All of these come with inhibitive costs beyond financial capacities of greater majority of albinos in Nigeria.
Due to their peculiar disabilities, albinos should ideally engage in indoor places of employment. But, with little education and discrimination by employers against those of them with requisite educational qualifications, albinos in Nigeria are mostly left with little options than to engage in outdoor, often, arduous and menial employments. Deterioration in their physical and mental health and, in the circumstance, short life span become the inevitable repercussions. Statistics put the life expectancy of average albinos in Nigeria at forty years!
To compound the harrowing life of the albinos in Nigeria, there are the horrendous activities of headhunters and ritualists who murder and mutilate them in cold blood for body parts such as heads, hearts, legs, genitals and hair, among others. This primitive, satanic and bestial, bloodcurdling practice is built on the weird, mythical belief that albino blood, skin and hair have magical powers.
We in the INCLUSIVE Magazine have decided to, once again, highlight the precarious plight of albinos because of our strong conviction and position that the time is long overdue for government and the society to frontally take on the myriads of challenges of albinism and albinos in Nigeria.
We believe and we are stridently advocating a fundamental paradigm shift in the society’s and institutional approach to the challenges of the over two million citizens with albinism.
Firstly, we are calling on the mass media, civil society organisations and government agencies to step up a campaign aimed at enthroning a positive change in the perception and response of the society towards albinism and albinos. It is time our homes and communities embraced them as ordinary humans deserving equal treatments and rights like everyone else.
We however believe that the government holds the ultimate ace in the efforts of addressing the plight of the albinos. We recommend a special focus on them as people with disabilities in the government’s overall execution of the provisions of the Disabilities Act, especially regarding discrimination and stigmatization.
The federal and state governments should, as a matter of national exigency, devise strategies for the affirmative inclusion of albinos in the health and educational schemes. While government should consider methods of reducing the costs of protective gears and medication needed to ease living conditions of albinos, it is equally imperative that educational and learning aids, such as magnifiers, be made available and accessible to albino school age children.
We are of course, very perturbed that the security agencies and the justice system have not been doing enough in tackling the heinous crimes of ritual killings of albinos. It is time all the evil perpetrators of the demonic acts are hunted down and uprooted from society. We are for goodness sake living in the 21st century.
