The Inclusive Friends Associations (IFA) has called on the Minister of Communications Dr. Bosun Tijani, to give attention to the inclusion of Persons with Disabilities (PWD’s) in the plans for a prosperous digital economy in Nigeria.
Its Executive Director Grace Jerry in a statement issued on Monday in Abuja, expressed some concerns on the word “inclusive” stating that often, it usually means youth inclusion or women inclusion, but most often, disability inclusion is neglected or glossed over.
Jerry was reacting to the post made on X (Twitter) by the Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani regarding the ongoing United Nations General Assembly (UNGA )2023.
The post reads, “As I head to the New York this week for UNGA, … I look forward to engagements that will help us secure partnerships ad support for our plans to deliver a more inclusive and prosperous economy for Nigeria, in line with Mr. president’s @officalABAT agenda”.
The statement recalled that Covid-19 accelerated the rapid pace of digital transformation, whereby the most vulnerable people at the margins of society with no digital skills and access to the internet are at risk of being left behind.
According to the statement, Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) who have less access to basic technology/internet (ILO, 2022), as 864 million people in Africa, a large percentage of who are PWDs, are unconnected to the internet (Statista, 2023), adding that Yet, “Leaving no one behind also means leaving no one offline” (UNDESA, 2021).
It noted further that as of 2022 in Nigeria, an estimated 155 million people had access to the internet (NBS, 2023). And about 22 – 48 million people, that is 11% – 24% of the population (a large percentage of who are PWDs) is without any access to the internet. In fact, 24% of the over 30 million PWDs in Nigeria are not aware of the internet (Vanguard, 2023).
