About 20M PWDs live in Nigeria, UK envoy
By Olasunkanmi Akoni,
Sightsavers organisation, the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management, CIPM and stakeholders have stressed the need for employers of labour in Nigeria to engage the services of Persons With Disabilities, PWDs in the workplace inorder to further tap inherent potentials and bridge economic shortfall.
The International Labour Organisation, ILO, had stated in it’s report that three to seven per cent of Gross Domestic Product, GDP, is lost within middle and low-income-countries as persons with disabilities are excluded from the job market.
The stakeholders comprising of corporate giants, high-profile private companies, international development organisations and government, envoys, professional bodies, Human Resources, HR, outfits, among others, made the call at a webinar, titled, “Launching ceremony of Nigeria Business Disability Network, NBDN,” organised by Sightsavers organisation, a private-sector network that champions disability inclusion in the workplace.
The British Deputy High Commission in Nigeria and country director of the ILO and Nigeria’s biggest companies including Access Bank, Mobil and Dangote Group, attended the webinar launch as network members.
NBDN was organised to afford employers tap into the pool of diverse skills that people with disabilities can offer the workplace and their supply chain.
Sightsavers Nigeria, with the support of the UK AID initiative-Inclusive Futures, is partnering with CIPM who serves as the coordinating body for the network in Nigeria. CIPM is the Nigeria’s apex HR body with over 12,000 members.
Dr. Sunday Isiyaku, Country Director Sightsavers Nigeria and Ghana, explained, “We know that employers in Nigeria and beyond want to hire people with disabilities, many are unsure where to start or how to make their company truly inclusive.”
According to Isiyaku,” Employing persons with disabilities has clear benefits not only for the people employed, but also for businesses. One estimate suggests that there’s a spending power of $8 trillion waiting for businesses who recognise this, and it starts with hiring inclusively.”
Ms Busola Alofe, Chief Executive Officer, CEO, Chartered Institute of Personnel Management and partner, added, the NBDN, an off shoot of the ILO Global Business Disability Network, is an employer-led platform which aims to: Foster disability inclusion practices and policies in the workplace, build disability confidence of employers,build job readiness of people with disabilities.
According to Alofe, “Our message to employers will be to make it top priority but the bottom line is that most of them require guidance to make workplace conducive for PWDs. “Its sad that a lot of organizations and government are yet to imbibe inclusiveness in employment. ‘I urge all employers to go out there, identify PWDs, identify their strength area for improving their businesses and revenue base. “Even, people will not just see you as making money but also contributing to development of the society. “PWDs have equal or better competence and skills than persons without disabilities.”
Through webinars, Alofe added, resources, working groups and peer learning, members could gain from experts’ advice and tailored support from disability rights groups to become a disability confident at work environment. “One of these resources is a practical ‘disability toolkit’ which is already available to all as an open-source for business leaders, HR managers and property developers. “The toolkit gives guidance on how to hire and develop employees with disabilities as well as how to make supply chain inclusive,” she stated.
Deputy British High Commissioner, Mr. Ben Jones, delivered a keynote address on the occasion, titled, “The Roles of Private Sector, organisation s and Donor Agencies in driving a sustainable disabilities inclusion agenda in workplace.” Speaking via virtual platform, Jones stated, “1 billion people globally are living with disabilities. Most of them are invisible and living in developing countries while 20 million are in Nigeria.” While decrying the exclusion of PWDs in workplace, the British envoy, urged Nigeria government to convene a Disabilities Summit to address challenges facing the group. Jones continued: “UK is empowering its PWDs.
In 2018 it organised a Disabilities Summit where challenges facing them and the action plans for improved inclusion in workplace were addressed. ‘I think Nigeria government should organise a Disabilities Summit with the view for action plans.”
