by Chris Agbo
NAB FCT Chairman, Mr. Obinna Ekujereonye
Nigerian Association of the Blind FCT Chapter (NAB FCT) on Thursday, 30th January, 2020 organized a One Day Sensitization Meeting for OPDs and PWDs on Access to Public Infrastructure for PWDs.
The Chairman of NAB FCT Mr. Obinna Ekujereonye in his speech said that when it comes to accessibility of public infrastructures, article 9 of United Nations Convention on the Rights Person with Disabilities(UNCRPD) talks about it, Section 2 of Discrimination Against Persons With Disabilities( Prohibition) Act 2019 provided for it and Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs) talks about Leave No One Behind, therefore persons with disabilities must be carried along in all sphere of life. When we looked around our community, all public infrastructures are not accessible for PWDs, the church, Mosques, Plazas, Shopping malls, Government Offices, Bus and Railway terminals etc. Accessibility audit, we carried out in 2019 in all these places indicates that almost the entire buildings in FCT are not accessible to PWDs and this has created a lot of sufferings for PWDs in FCT. This is why this meeting was convened to brainstorm and come up with ways it can be tackle using the instant laws on disability both international and local laws.
The facilitator Tunde Salman, a gender mainstreaming and social inclusion consultant took the participants through some international treaties like UNCRPD and SDGs that Nigeria is a signatory to that will serve as an advocacy tool for OPDs especially some articles on access to public infrastructures.
There was a group work which the participants were divided into four group to point out the barriers faced by persons with disabilities and proffer solutions to the barriers.
The representatives of these four group made presentations and pointed some barriers like inaccessibility of public buildings, inaccessibility of toilets in public buildings, some lifts lacks buttons with braille, some roads were built without pedestrian ways, even where they pedestrian ways exist, they have been taking over by parked cars, and some pedestrian ways, all the drainage channels are open, the workers don’t close them after clearing the drains, it is often very dangerous for the blind. They pointed some other barriers such Noise pollution which the use of noisy generator sets distracted the blind in public places, Lack of inscriptions in buses which is a challenge for the deaf finding their way when they are on transit, lack of accessible pedestrian bridges, lack of accessible buses, and the bus and railway terminals not accessible.
They also identified some solutions to these barriers. Few of the solutions are taking advocacy to facilities owners, professional bodies like COREN, associations like NURTW, transport owners, state and federal government to ensure the following: 1. Provide sound proof device and equipment in the facilities, 2. Ensure that they provide buses that are disability friendly, 3. Ensure that they design, approve and provide ramps, lifts and elevators with braille on the buttons in all public facilities, 4. Ensure that there are inscriptions in all buses and also provide screens in all terminals to show the arrival and departure time of all buses to carry along the deaf, 5. Ensure that all public facilities must have spacious toilets, 6. All roads should be designed with pedestrian ways and the existing ones should be made free from parked cars and the drainage channel holes should be properly covered, 6. There will be directions inscriptions in public buildings with braille dots and 7. All agencies and organizations should be made to know about Discrimination against persons with disabilities(Prohibition) Act 2018 and what is expected of them in the implementation of the law.
Qualitative Magazine learnt that this is part of NAB FCT project supported by Disability Rights Fund (DRF) to advocate for access of public infrastructures by persons with disabilities in the FCT. Sometimes in 2019, they embark on the accessibility audit of public infrastructure in the FCT, it is based on their findings that they decided to train and equip OPDs and PWDs to advocate for implementation of the laws that will ensure access to public infrastructures by persons with disabilities.
The participants are members of NAB FCT, NAPWPD FCT, NNAD FCT, and The Albino Foundation FCT.
SOME PICTURES ON THE MEETING:
