Festus Fajemilo Foundation and Joint National Association Of Persons With Disabilities (JONAPWD) Osun State has urged Osun State Lawmakers to fast track the slow pace in the adoption and passage of Disability Bill by Osun State House of Assembly.
The group expressed this position during their advocacy visit to the Speaker, Adewale Egbedun where they demanded fast tracking of the process in bid to make life more abundant for persons with disabilities.
The group appreciated The House of Assembly Members under for their good work in terms of legislative and oversight.
They also expressed their profound gratitude to the house for conducting public hearing on Osun State Disability Bill.
They also appreciated Hon. Adeyemi (Irekandu) representing Obokun Local Government for his financial support of One thousand naira.
Osun JONAPWD Chairman, Stephen Oluwafemi, flanked by Afolabi Fajemilo, founder, Festus Fajemilo Foundation, who facilitated the visit, urged the Speaker to influence other members in a bid to make passage of the bill faster.
Emphasizing the importance of the bill, he added that The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated over 1 billion with disability globally. This corresponds to about 15% of the world’s population, with up to 190 million (3.8%) people aged 15 years and older having significant difficulties in functioning, often requiring health care services.
WHO in 2018 which was cited in the world bank rapid assessment report on disability Inclusion in Nigeria (2020) indicated about 29 million of the 195 million people who comprise Nigeria’s national population were living with a disability, Data from the 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey reveal that an estimated 7 percent of household members above the age of five (as well as 9 percent of those 60 or older) have some level of difficulty in at least one functional domain, seeing, hearing, communication, cognition, walking, or self-care; and 1 percent either have a lot of difficulty or cannot function at all in at least one domain. These estimated rates, while significant, are probably even higher because currently available data likely underestimate the prevalence.
“Disability is a human rights issue, with people with disability being subject to multiple violations of their rights, including acts of violence, abuse, prejudice and disrespect because of their disability, which intersects with other forms of discrimination based on age and gender, among other factors. People with disability also face barriers, stigmatization and discrimination when accessing health and health-related services and strategies”.
“In Nigeria, findings indicate that persons with disabilities lack access to basic services and that attitudinal barriers represent a major impediment to their socioeconomic inclusion. Inclusive policies are either non-existent, weak, or inadequately implemented.
“However, with the signing of Discrimination of Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act 2018 into law by President Muhammadu Buhari in January 2019 there have been increased awareness of disability issues and enforcement of their rights in the Nigerian society to some extent.
In December 2021, Centre for Citizens with Disabilities confirmed 13 states in Nigeria to have domesticated the National Disability Act which includes: Lagos, Anambra, Ekiti, Ondo, Plateau, Bauchi, Kano, Kaduna, Jigawa, Kogi, Niger, Kwara and Kaduna.
The group informed that the implication of non-domestication of National Disability Act are Non inclusion of Persons With Diaa, Lack of participation of persons with disabilities in governance and development programs as “nothing for us, without us”, Denial and violence abuse of rights, Discrimination, Lack of inclusive policies or weak implementation where it exists, Poor awareness of disability issues, The society is denied of the shared values and contributions of persons with disabilities in the developmental process.
He said that “Why Osun State Needs Disability law:
A survey conducted by Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities (JONAPWD) Osun State chapter in 2012 indicated an estimated 57,000 persons with disabilities in the state. The survey also revealed that majority of them are unemployed while those who are self-employed lack financial capability to thrive in terms of capital. Many find it difficult to access public facilities including hospitals, banks, shopping mall with those in school lacking access to equipment to aid learning.
With an estimation of 4.7Million population in the State as at 2016, the number of persons with disabilities could be more than 700,000 going by 15% disability per population of WHO.
If the bill is passed into law and fully implemented, Persons with Disabilities in Osun would enjoy all, but not limited to, these benefits:
Address the multi-dimensional discrimination that PWDs encounter
Improve the rights, privileges and access of PWDs to services
Provide a clear and comprehensive legal protection and security for PWDs in the state.
The group then made the following Appeal:
We commend the ongoing efforts on the disability bill in Osun State.
The specific proposition of women and children with disabilities in the bill is highly commendable, as it strategically addresses the specific challenges that they encounter, even within the disability space.
We strongly appeal that the State’s House of Assembly invite the State’s JONAPWD for committee-level meeting update on disability bill.
We also appeal that the House speed up on the conduct of Third Reading of the bill on the floor of the House and consequent passage into law.
That the law be immediately transmitted to Mr. Governor for his ascent with the aim of advancing the rights of persons with disabilities in the state.
Set up an implementation framework to facilitate the implementation of the law.
Addressing members of the group, Egbedun, who was represented by the Clerk, Mr Akinwale Amusan assured the house commitment to passing the bill with a view to domesticating it.
He added that the lawmakers commitment to the ongoing process on appropriation bill 2024 was the reason the bill has not been passed, saying the bill is next on the lawmakers agenda.
He add, “One thing about this disability bill is that we want to do a through job, we don’t want a bill that will pass today and within few months we will be thinking of amendment.
“This is not the only bill we are conducting a public hearing on, but because of its importance the process is being fast tracked to ensure that we do a clean job that may not require amendment very soon. We want to be very thorough on it.
“I want to assure you that all the problem of not being included will be a thing of the past once the bill is passed.”
The Speaker Osun State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Timothy Owoeye on 4th of December 2023 during the celebration of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities 2020 said that “When the Bill is passed into law, people with disabilities will be safeguarded against any form of discrimination and have equal access to an environment conducive to social and economic development.
“The Bill when passed into law will criminalise all forms of discrimination against people with disabilities and enforces their rights and privileges to education, healthcare and attention during emergencies”.
JONAPWD members converged at the Freedom Park from where they were moved to the House of Assembly with the support of The Leprosy Mission Nigeria and Liliane Foundation, Netherlands.
