Lagos — In Nigeria persons living with disabilities have long been, erroneously, associated with 'street begging'. This prejudice might be due to the fact that our society has 'disabled' or 'crippled' such persons with discriminations which have resulted into poverty, a shift in career foci, a seeming social irrelevance occasioned by staunch stigmatisations by family, 'supposed' friends and the society at large.

Recently, a leading Anglo-Nigerian artist ,Yinka Shonibare, was featured on Focus on Africa, a CNN television programme that glamorises the accomplished African artist. Shonibare was named as the first black British artist whose work would grace the Fourth Plinth in the north-west of Trafalgar Square. Remarkably, Shonibare was made Member of the Order of the British Empire in 2005. Interestingly though, he lives with disability. Shonibare, who grew up between Lagos and London, suffered a tragic occurrence that would have rendered anyone useless. Aged 19, he returned to London after spending his childhood in Lagos. A few weeks later, he became seriously ill. With a rare viral infection which attacked his spine, he was left temporarily paralyzed. He spent years in physiotherapy learning how to perform basic movements again. He is now paralyzed down one side and walks using a stick. The event impacted his professional and personal life beyond recognition as he had to develop his own way of doing things. This paid off in a magnanimous way with his artistic statements that has earned him world recognition. This is possible in a society that 'enables' rather than 'disables'.

At a press conference held in Lagos by the Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities (JONAPWD) on June 24, 2010, the nagging problems besieging the community of these individuals were brought to the fore by the press statement issued by the association that serves as the umbrella body for all persons living with all kinds of disabilities - intellectual, visual, auditory, oratory, etc. Chief amongst their demands was the call upon the National Assembly to expedite action on the ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities which other African countries have complied with. They demanded for the inclusion of "disability" as a ground of discrimination along with gender, ethnic group, religion in the Section 42 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

They also condemned the poor state of public and private owned structures that are inaccessible for some persons with disabilities. For instance, most banking facilities are not conducive for the physically challenged, especially wheelchair users. Not only are the metal doors a deterrent to mobility but the slippery floors in most banks make it almost impossible for users of crutches and calipers to maneuver easily in the banks without the fear of accidental slips. They noted that women and children with disabilities often suffer discrimination and marginalisation especially in the healthcare sector. Hospital facilities are ill-equipped to provide adequate healthcare to people with disabilities, especially women and deaf persons many of whom leave the hospitals frustrated for lack of care.

Thus, the association thus strongly recommends the stationing of sign language interpreters at every place of public use like banks, hospitals and government Ministries, Departments and Agencies. They opined that sign language interpretation should be made part of the core national curriculum from primary to tertiary level. In the same vein, they stressed the need for the Senate to include persons with disabilities in the on-going Social Security Bill before it as many of the concerned persons would benefit immensely, particularly in alleviation of poverty. They urged government to give persons with disabilities the opportunity to be fully included in the electoral reform process especially through creating a conducive environment for persons with disabilities to participate effectively in the elections by providing polling materials that can be used by persons with disabilities like visual impairment.

In this Press Statement, the association, headed by Danlami Basharu, a visually impaired Nigerian lawyer, recalled the promise made by the Minister of Information and Communications to immediately commence sign language interpretation on National Television Authority network news as at February 2009 a courtesy visit to the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja wherein she reiterated the promise to a group of persons with disabilities in March 2010. Of course the celebrated rebranding campaign would be reduced to mere lip-service if it is not geared towards providing equal opportunities for all Nigerians to have access to information that would enable them contribute meaningfully to the development of the nation as we have seen in the case of Shonibare, a Nigerian artist who refused to be crippled by his ill-health and the handicapping socio-economic problems that saddle this nation.

It is ridiculous that in a country with about 19 million disabled persons in Nigeria, there is no functional law in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that protects the disabled. The country seems to be in dark oblivion of the reality that anyone can become a victim of disabilities by virtue of fatal accidents, serious illness or a mysterious natural cause that defies any logical explanation.

Therefore, this is a call on the Nigerian government at all levels to proffer tenable solutions to these problems by being more sensitive to the citizenry while tailoring efforts to the welfare of these growing number of Nigerians who have been 'disabled' by the nature of the Nigerian society rather than their individual afflictions.