By Kehinde Akintola – Abuja

The Federal Government, on Sunday, donated items to the vulnerable and persons with Disabilities in the church to mark the 2020 International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPDs).

The items were presented to the Church by the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq, in Abuja.

The Minister through her Representative, Director Special Needs of the Ministry, Mrs Onwukwue Florence, said IDPDs is marked December 3 every year and the Federal Government, stakeholders and the church are doing so much to remember Persons with Disabilities.

Continuing, the Minister said the church service was organised to pray for the vulnerable in the society and the Ministry and its Agencies for God’s grace to achieve the mandate of the Ministry.

The items include; 5 bags of 50kg of rice, 5 cartons of peak milk, clothes and 20 pieces of wrappers.

Earlier, the Vicar of Saint Mathew Anglican Church, Ven Andrus Ukaejiofo, who appreciated the Ministry for the items given to the vulnerable in the Church, offered prayers for the vulnerable as well as the Management and staff of the Ministry.

The IDPDs is an annual global event marked every December 3rd, to promote the rights and well-being of the Persons with Disabilities.

To commemorate the 2020 IDPDs, the activities earmarked to celebrate the Day include; Jumat Prayers and Sunday Service, press briefing by the Honourable Minister and the Grand Finale.

Media organisations and practitioners have been urged to increase disability-inclusive content in their reportage, due to their vital roles in mirroring society and shaping its culture. 

The appeal was made at a virtual disability-inclusive reporting training organised by Project Enable Africa in partnership with the United States Consulate, Lagos. 

Speaking at the webinar, Public Affairs Officer, the United States Consulate, Lagos, Stephen Ibelli, said the society is defined mainly by how it treats its poorest populace and those in need of help. 

According to him: “Disability right is an important part of human right and the United States Government is committed to promoting it.”

He dwelt on the need for accessibility to public facilities as an integral part of promoting inclusion. 
 
“The Nigerian Disability Act is a great base to build on, however, there is so much work to be done, towards having an inclusive society,” Ibelli said. 

Executive Director, Centre for Citizens With Disabilities, David Anyaele, stressed the need for accurate reporting of disability issues in the media. 

He noted that over the years, wrong words, which tend to increase discrimination and stereotypes, have flooded the media spaces.

He urged reporters to be mindful of the usage of words when reporting. 

“It is better to refer to us as Persons With Disabilities as opposed to saying disabled or crippled,” he said.
 
Anyaele also drew the attention of the media organisations to the Nigerian Disability Act and the need for implementation.
 
Executive Director, Project Enable Africa, Olusola Owonikoko, said “the ultimate goal of the project is to build the capacity of media organisations across Nigeria in disability-inclusive reporting. Ultimately, we will create a Media for Disability-inclusive Reporting Network (DIREN), comprising of traditional, print, and new media practitioners who will champion disability mainstreaming in the media sector.”

Often, the society treats people with disability as “one-dimensional charity cases” rather than empower them with their own needs. In this report, BLESSING BATURE-AKPAKPAN writes on how stigmatisation poses a major impediment to their socio-economic inclusion.

According to World Health Organisation, in 2018, about 29 million of Nigeria’s national population have a disability. Data from the 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey reveal that an estimated seven percent of household members above the age of five (as well as nine 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 one per cent 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.

In the light of all these, several right campaign groups worked to ensure that the National Assembly passed the Nigeria Disability Bill into law.

This came to fruition in Jan- uary 2019 when President Muhammadu Buhari signed the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act, 2018 into law, after nine years of relentless advocacy by disability rights groups and activists.

As this law comes into force, activists and organisations now have a legal basis for calling on Nigeria to do more for People with disabilities (PWDs) in line with her treaty obligations as contained in the Convention on Rights of Persons with disabilities, the Banjul Declaration and other relevant legal instruments.

While Nigeria has a long way to go to give people with disabilities equal opportunity, the passage of this law is a great start. By increasing access and protection, people with disabilities in Nigeria can have a greater voice in politics, education and the economy.

The Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended; the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (ACHPR); UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Dis- abilities (UNCRPD); the International Human Rights Law (IHRL), and the United Nations Human Right Council (UNHRC) have provisions for the protection of fundamental human rights, including justice for citizens with no exceptions.

The term “Access to justice” is a broad concept, encompassing people’s ability to attain to the formal and informal systems, procedures, information, and locations used in the administration of justice Further to access to justice becomes a the declaration of the UN High-level Meeting on the Rule of Law which reiter- ated the importance of the right of equal access to justice for all, including members of vulnerable groups, and reaffirmed the commitment of Member States to taking all necessary steps to provide fair, transparent, effective, non-discriminatory and accountable services that promote access to justice for all. Specifically, it holds that the delivery of justice should be impartial and non-discriminatory. The demography and statistics of disability in Nigeria is significant and may be daunting not just for concerned persons but
for persons of concern as well.

In Nigeria, people with disabilities typically receive little support from the government and instead rely on family members, non- governmental organizations (NGOS) and religious groups. One of their biggest obstacles is the stigma surround- ing their disabilities, which excludes them socially, economically and politically.

The challenges posed by stigmatization in their quest to access justice cannot be overemphasised. There is a need to bridge to a considerable min- imum, the identified gaps by devising guidelines consistent with the best global practices identified earlier.

However, a prerequisite would be to identify the barriers encountered by Persons with Disabilities in their quest to access justice. Broadly speaking the barriers encountered by PWDs may be categorised as social stigmatisation which is a significant social barrier affecting them and by extension their access to justice.

Stigmatisation poses cognitive and institutional obstacles to PWDs as the low self-worth occasioned by discrimination apart from mentally creating a barrier for the individual also affects their adaptation and support of a vital socialisation institution like the family.

Persons with disabilities in Nigeria persistently face stigma, discrimination  and barriers to accessing basic social services and economic opportunities. Today, they face greater bar- riers brought about by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Nigeria Rapid Assessment on Disability Inclusion identified a number of these salient barriers.

For one, persons with disabilities may experience negative attitudes at family and community levels, including name-calling, negative beliefs, and misconceptions surround- ing the causes of disabilities (usually associated with religious or cultural norms, and beliefs).

As one woman with a physical disability in Jos puts it – “Some people say the reason why I am visually impaired is because I committed a sin.”

These negative attitudes manifest in rejection, neglect, loss of respect, denial of identity or self-worth, and often result in low self-esteem, depression and isolation.

This, along with structural limitations and chal- lenges, also reinforces barriers for persons with disabilities in access- ing basic services such as education, health, public transport, and social safety nets.

Also, the physical access needs of PWDs in going about normal life is very significant when considering the applicability of this challenge to access to justice.

It immediately be comes apparent that procedures and activities that are regular features of the judicial process such as frequent court appearances and physical accessibility of designated court spac- es present a significant degree of exclusion to PWDs.

Cobhams Asuquo, a blind singer, song writer and producer, often struggled with finding braille reading material. In college, the braille textbooks were expensive and hard to come by.

“As a nation we’re missing out on the value (people with disabilities) can add, just because we’re not creating an enabling environment for them to thrive.” he said.

Representation and participation in the judicial system of Nige- ria excludes and presents barriers to PWDs; a case in point for participa- tion is that of Tobiloba Ajayi, a lawyer and cerebral palsy activist born with CP, who regularly faces questions and judgments about her mental facul- ties.

She told Bright Magazine that, in a university preadmission inter view, “They said, ‘Really, I don’t think you’ll survive the semester.’ I remem- ber looking [them] in the face and saying, ‘Watch me.”

She graduated five years later with a law degree. Ajayi helped make history by being one of the lawyers to draft the state of Lagos’ Special Peoples Law, which criminalised discrimination against people with disabil- ities and required that state-owned buildings and large buses be wheel- chair accessible. When enacted in 2011, Lagos became the first state in Nigeria to pass a disability protection law. While this law helps increase accessibility for people with disabilities in Nigeria, inaccessibility still leaves many out.

The considerable length of time and perceived reluctance to pass the disability bill and the delay in assenting it into law by the president is an indictment on the political class that represents a significant barrier to confronting the challenges faced by PWDs.

Representation and participa- tion in politics for PWDs has made very slow progress as it was only re- cently during the 2019 general elec- tions in Nigeria that considerable efforts were made in terms of poli- cy and practical implementation for PWDs to be allowed the exercise of their franchise by providing necessary aids and support.

The political will to translate this effort to the access to justice needs of PWDs still lags. Till date, only nine states in the Federation have enacted disability laws to safeguard the rights of persons with disabilities to varying degrees of implementation.

In demonstration of commitment to the universal norm of guaranteeing and strengthening the rule of law and access to justice, best practices have evolved and are being main- streamed in institutions, systems and procedures globally.

It is important that government officials, policymakers, and decision makers are aware of the importance of disability as a development issue and enhance data collection on disability. A concerted effort to raise awareness surrounding disability issues would serve to shift negative perceptions and stigma against per- sons with disabilities among families and communities.

In order to forge a disability-in- clusive recovery from COVID-19, support for existing disability in- clusion legislation in Nigeria is imperative. This means promoting the implementation of the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act 2018 and strengthening the institutional landscape for disability inclusion through the Disability Commission.

Furthermore, investments in inclusive employment and livelihood interventions are critical to addressing unemployment challenges among persons with disabilities. These could include entrepreneur- ship training and business advisory services, as well as the promotion of locally produced assistive devices and accessible workplaces.

Disability focused organizations in Nigeria should be empowered to support this process and provide services to persons with disabilities and caregivers.

Persons with disabilities are more likely to experience adverse socio- economic outcomes and face higher rates of multidimensional poverty than the general population. President Muhammadu Buhari’s goal of lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty by 2029, in addition to achieving inclusive economic growth, will be challenging without the inclu- sion of persons with disabilities.

Zamfara State House of Assembly will soon promulgate a law that safeguards People with Disabilities against all forms of discrimination while providing them with equal opportunities in all aspects of human endeavor.

by TQM reports,

The Albino Foundation( TAF) on Friday in Abuja organized a One-Day dialogue series on Change in Professional Career path of young men and women with disabilities.

This is part of TAF’s inclusion works project supported by Sightsavers, it geared towards assisting young men and women with disabilities who are secondary school graduates to have a sense of direction in their career path.

The founder/CEO, The Albino Foundation, and Convener, Disability Inclusion, Jake Epelle in his opening remark said that the focus of TAF in this project is to bring core professionals that will guide the participants to make the right choice of career while they go into institutional of learning. He advised them to seek God’s guidance in their choice of a career. He gave an analogy when he explains that every manufacturer have a purpose in mind in creating his product and it is only the manufacturer that can explain the purpose of creating a product. The product itself can not explain its purpose of creating, he said that God is our manufacturer and he is the only one that can explain the purpose of creating each one of us.

He believes that hubby can also lead us to our core purpose in life. He gave example of Williams sisters whom their father discovered their hubby of playing long tennis at tender age of 8, he encouraged them and today, they are superstars. A woman who loves to cook, can excel in operating a food joint. Someone who loves to write, can become a good author. Therefore following your hubby often times can help you discover your career path, make you fulfilled and enable you touch other people lives positively. He urged the participants to maximize the opportunity provided for them through this project.

While discovering the participants were using the wrong terminology in referring to themselves during introduction, he guided them on the use of right terminologies, putting themselves first before their disability, stop using “Living with” because their disability is only a condition not a disease.

The founder and Executive Director of The Qualitative Magazine (TQM) Mr. Chris Agbo Obiora while advising the participants told them that they are the ones that will determine what they will be in life. When they choose a career path, it is hardwork and dedication that they need to excel. Giving an example, he said that he become a good writer today through dedication, determination and hardwork. He urged them to do same when they choose a career path and they would be celebrated.

Abdulmumuni Ujah, National Coordinator, IDA and JONAPWD FCT, Chairman, in his speech urged the participants to listen attentively to their instructors. Speaking further, he told that the disability should not be a hindrance to what they want to be, saying that the barriers are the only problems they are facing and the barriers are removed, it would become easier for them excel in any of their chosen career. He wished them the best and urged them make effective use of the opportunity and put in practice what they learnt.

Damian Ivom, the program officer, TAF while explaining the essence of the project said that it is common seeing PWDs going into special education courses in the higher institutions, they will prefer to see PWDs going into some other professional courses. He told the participants that TAF have made arrangement for different professionals, doctors, lawyers, educationist etc to come and speak to them to enable understand and make a well informed career choice. By the time they are writing JAMB, they will choose courses of the choice not the ones their parents and relations thinks that it is best for them. Therefore, the whole essence of the programme is to have these professionals to help make well informed career choice they would be proud of and go to the higher institutions to study what we want and come out successfully.

Prof J. Y Maisamari, a professor of Counselling Psychology of University of Abuja to the participant Choosing a career path, he emphasized on the important of Guidance and Counselling in choice of career of young people. Saying that every school should have at least one guidance and counsellor but it is good to have as many as possible because their important can not be underestimated. He also informed that lack of proper guidance and counselling have lead to some students being confused in the higher institutions, changing from one courses to the other and some of them have spent so many years in school without graduating.

TQM learnt that the participants were drawn from different clusters of disability, persons with albinism, persons with physical disabilities, the Deaf etc and different professionals are expected to guide them to choose a career path as they prepare to write entrance examinations to higher institutions.

A Portal that will enable Exited N-Power Beneficiaries to apply for Central Bank of Nigeria Empowerment Options has been launched by the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development.

The platform which was developed in collaboration with the CBN will enable Exited N-Power Beneficiaries to log on and apply for the various economic, empowerment and entrepreneurship options provided by the CBN.

In a statement signed by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry Bashir Nura Alkali, the Honourable Minister Sadiya Umar Farouq urged and encouraged interested Exited Beneficiaries of N- Power to log on to the portal and provide the required additional information for possible placements into the various CBN intervention options.

The Minister also emphasized that the NEXIT PORTAL will determine the suitability of the beneficiaries for the CBN affiliated programs.

“The NEXIT portal is to determine the suitability of the beneficiaries for the CBN affiliated programs and is dependent on meeting the criteria and conditions set by the CBN for the said programs”.

The Minister expressed her deep appreciation to the CBN Governor Mr Godwin Emefiele CON for his support adding that the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs remained committed to the vision of Mr President to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in the next 10 years.

Minister Umar Farouq pledged the Ministry’s willingness to collaborate with relevant agencies of government and other stakeholders towards the realization of that vision and congratulated the exited beneficiaries while wishing them well in their future endeavours.

“The Federal Government of Nigeria is very proud of the milestones you have achieved during your period of service to the nation.

As we prepare to exit into prospective endeavors, we are confident that you will be able to channel all you have learnt over the years into successful ventures that will improve the economy of the country and create further opportunities for you and other citizens.

“Chasing a dream requires effort, passion and hard work which you are now halfway through. I congratulate you and wish you a very successful future”.

NNEKA IKEM ANIBEZESA MEDIA

27-11-2020

The Centre for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) says it will sue the Abia State Independent Electoral Commission (ABSIEC), should persons with disabilities (PWDs) be excluded from the upcoming local government elections.

Mr David Anyaele, the Executive Director of the centre, said this in Umuahia on Friday during a programme organised to sensitise PWDs on Equal Voting Access ahead of the Dec. 18 poll.

Anyaele, who is the convener of the programme, said that they could not fold their arms and watch ABSIEC discriminate against PWDs.

He threatened that the centre would take the commission to court should it observe that the electoral process did not protect the concerns of PWDs.

He said: “PWDs in Abia constitute more than 15 per cent of the population.

“And for them to conduct election at their exclusion is abuse of their fundamental rights.

“We have already sent the terms of reference to our lawyer for him to look at the extant laws to identify gaps.

“Where we find that there is flagrant abuse of the rights of PWDs over their participation in this election, we will not hestitate to stop the election using the court of law.”

Anyaele said that the centre had reached out to ABSIEC to seek a collaboration in order to promote equal voting access for PWDs.
“We want to use this opportunity to call on ABSIEC Chairman, Prof. Agu Mkpa, to review his electoral process to ensure that the 600,000 and more PWDs in Abia are carried along.

In a remark, Mr Stanley Onyebuchi, the Chairman, Joint National Association of Persons With Disabilities in Abia, commended CCD for doing a lot to protect the interest of PWDs.

Onyebuchi assured the CCD of support from the association, saying, “All of us have agreed that the best option is to get court injunction to stop the election.”

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that no ABSIEC official was at the programme to respond to the groups’ concern.

Mr Kingsley Onyechukwu, who represented the Independent National Electoral Commission said the commission was disability friendly.
Onyechukwu, who is the Head of Unit, Civil Society Organisations/PWDs, said that INEC always considered the interest of PWDs in the electioneering process.

Some members of PWDs, who spoke at the event, alleged harmful practices against them, including discrimination and sigmitisation in the state.

They called on the Abia House of Assembly to quickly pass the disability bill into law in order to mitigate some of the challenges facing them. (NAN)

TQM report,

Women and girls with disabilities who represent one-fifth of the global female population and 60% of the population of persons with disabilities in Nigeria, face significant barriers in living violence-free and independent lives across the world especially in Nigeria.

The rights of women and girls with disabilities are human rights that are protected in numerous International human rights treaties which Nigeria is a signatory to, including the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Each of these international human rights treaties impose specific legal obligations on States that have ratified the treaty.

Nigeria also has laws and policies which prohibit all forms of violence and discrimination against women and girls with disabilities such as the Child Rights Act, the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act and the Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act.

DRAC has also facilitated the development of the National Policy on the Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights of Persons with Disabilities with emphasis on Women and Girls. The issue however remains that even with the ratification of international treaties and the enactment of these local laws by the Nigerian government, violence against women and girls with disabilities remains a major problem in the country.

In a statement signed by Executive Director, Disability Rights Advocacy Center (DRAC), Dr. Irene Ojiugo Patrick-Ogbogu, women and girls with disabilities often do not receive critical services for all victims and survivors of gender-based violence (GBV) which include health services, justice and policing services, social services and coordination at both the national and local level. This is because these prevention efforts and services, in both design and implementation are often inaccessible to them. Service providers regularly demonstrate a lack of knowledge, sensitivity, and expertise about how to serve women and young persons with disabilities, which results in a failure to identify survivors with disabilities who have experienced or are experiencing GBV, conduct outreach, or offer key services.

Furthermore, women and girls with disabilities whose rights are violated often lack recourse because of exclusion from access to justice mechanisms. Such exclusion further perpetuates violence because it permits abusers to continue with impunity. To further compound the problem, there is a dearth of accurate and comprehensive research and data on violence against women and girls with disabilities to guide the development and provision of appropriate and responsive GBV services.

This situation has been further worsened in light of the recent Covid-19 pandemic which ravaged the whole world. Women and girls with disabilities who are usually on the lowest rungs of the economic ladder are worst hit in the aftermath of the pandemic which has left them unable to afford basic provisions such as portable water, food, clothing, shelter, sanitation etc. The absence of these, coupled with the already existing cycle of violence further reduces the dignity of this group of people whose voices are unheard and as a result forced to remain invisible in a patriarchal society such as Nigeria.

The 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence is an annual international campaign that kicks off on 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and runs until 10 December, Human Rights Day. The theme for this year’s observance is Orange the World: Fund, Respond, Prevent, Collect.

As the world commemorate this year’s 16 days of activism, DRAC, the foremost Organization Persons with disabillity (OPD) working on SGBV issues called on the attention of relevant authorities and stakeholders to the current plight of women and girls with disabilities in Nigeria. We call on state and non-state actors to channel significant amount of resources towards funding disability-inclusive SGBV interventions, ensure the availability of essential and inclusive response services for SGBV survivors, focus on developing and strengthening SGBV prevention initiatives and dedicate resources towards collecting SGBV data that is disaggregated by disability in order to improve life-saving services for women and girls.

The group believed that only collaborative efforts can create an inclusive society where women and girls with disabilities would be free from all forms of violence and discrimination on the basis of their gender and disability.

Disability Rights Advocacy Center (DRAC) is a registered, non-profit organization that works to promote the rights of Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) especially women and girls and facilitate their inclusion in the Development Agenda.

OrangeTheWorld #16Days #InclusiveResponse

Some pictures of the awareness creation on SGBV to mark the day.

Eleanora Oluwamayowa Boyo is a fashion designer, commercial model, a social media manager, and a contestant of Project Next Model season 2.

Although visually impaired, Eleanora has consistently shown that being a person with disability isn’t a limitation unless you make it one. Even with a rough childhood, she stood against all odds and didn’t let her challenge stop her from pursuing her passion as a model.

While still being an undergraduate, Eleanora is popularly known on campus as a former unilag’s Miss Moremi’s special.

Earlier on this year, she was a fellow at Project Enable Africa, a community-based organisation that advocates for the rights and empowerment of persons with disability, where she learnt digital marketing and was certified at the end of her training. And at only 20 years, she is currently competing against 24 other models as the only differently abled in the race to emerge as winner of project next model season 2

Eleanora’s vision has always been to become a renowned model so as to change the face of modelling in Africa and also pave the way for international recognition of Nigerian models. This passion led her to enter as a contestant for project next model season 2 and she believes a professional platform like this will help her in making her dreams a reality.

“My main aim for coming to Project Next Model season 2 is to learn modelling on a professional platform, and meet other models of like mind, who share the same vision like myself which is to Become a renowned model.” said Eleanora.

And now, Eleanora ernestly needs your vote to stay in the house for the next 40 days. Her voting number is PNM0113

You have the power in your hands to help Eleanora achieve her dreams as a renowned model.

Vote for Eleanora withe her number PNM0113.

She’s counting on you

projectenableafrica #projectnextmodel #queenscollege #unilagbabes #pnm0113

To vote for her, visit the link below

https://www.instagram.com/p/CHszv2GJBfC/?igshid=13trpq2xjg0sz

Eviction is today. Please watch WAPtv dstv channel 262 and GOtv channel 102 at 8pm to help Eleanora’s dream. She is a fearless and ingenious blind young woman with big dreams.