Against All odds is an NTA program that tell the story of
People with Disabilities, their smile, their fear their challenges. It is aired
weekly every Tuesday on NTA by 9 :30am to 10 am and NTAI by 3am.
The program is being achored By Dochima Pius and Queen Janet
Mohammed who is a Deaf Lady working with NTA as A Producer.
In the couple of weeks, Against All Odds would be focusing
on the most important issue in the disability community which is the implementation
of Discrimination against Persons with disabilities (Prohibition) Act 2018. They
will be inviting seasoned advocates with disabilities who have good knowledge
about the content of the Act to educate the public. Tuesday episode talked
about the Disability bill that was recently passed into law. Discussion was
centred on way for implementation in Various sectors like hospital, education,
employment etc.
3 cluster members well experienced were present at the
studio and they did justice to the topic. Mr Lawrence Idemudia (a deaf) from
Ministry of Woman Affairs, Mr. Obinna Ekujereonye chairman National Association
of the Blind, Abuja Chapter and Mr. Misbau Lawal Didi (a polio survivor) APC
Disability leader FCT and Bukunmi the sign language interpreter who interpreted
to carry along Deaf viewers were those who made this last episode memorable.
We implore everyone to always watch the Show as it will
educate the general public about the Act and its expectations.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Zamfara, Bello Matawalle winner of the state’s governorship election.
INEC Chairman Professor Mahmood Yakubu who announced this during a press conference in Abuja on Saturday, said the opposition party won in all elective positions in the state.
Yakubu said the announcement followed the Supreme Court decision that sacked all candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the general election.
It would be recalled that the Supreme Court had ruled the party did not hold a valid primary election and subsequently voided its votes.
The PDP Governorship candidate Matawalle polled 189,452 to emerge second in the governorship election
Pastor Mrs Ololade Adamolekun, Founder Jesus Kids Home for the disabled
On 18th May, 2019, Jesus Kids (JKS) Orphanage
Home organized an interdenominational prayer meeting for parents, caregivers
and lovers of children with special needs at Gwarinpa, Abuja. The event was put
together to lift up the burdens of these parents and caregivers to God. Pastor
Mrs Ololade Adamolekun the founder of the orphanage home in her prayer, asked
God to lift the burden of these parents and caregivers. She prayed whatever
that it is the burden they may have as a result of taking care of their
children with special needs that the Lord will lift it. She assured that the Lord
knows their situation and no time, the Lord meet them at the points of their
needs. The hopeless situation will surely change. The Lord that made those
children will make them useful.
The event was characterized with prayers, praises from a
gospel band and there was a free medical check for all in attendance. The
parents and the caregivers were fulfilled with some words of encouragement and words
of God from the host Pastor Mrs Ololade Adamolekun.
The attendees were made of parents and caregivers of children with different kinds of disabilities, autism, cerebral palsy, physical disabilities etc and other NGOs like The Engraced Ones and Hayat Foundation.
Jesus Kids (JKS) Orphanage is located at 18, Ifelodun Street.,
Monantan, Iwo Road, Ibadan.OyoP.O. Box 18874 G.P.O Dugbe, Ibadan and 1,
Chief Abubakar Audu street, Byazhin Road by Sledge Lounge, Kubwa, Abuja.
Jesus Kids Home for the disabled is an evangelical non-profit, non-government organization and a missionary outreach. Their objective is helping abandoned children who are walking aimlessly around the street; children dumped because of disability; children who suffered rape and abuse. For over three years, and still counting, of active and corporate presence, they have remained unwavering in their commitment of giving hope and rehabilitating people with disabilities and less privileged.
Centre for Citizens with Disabilities(CCD) on 21st May, 2019 organized a One day Stakeholders Forum on the state of Persons with Disabilities in Abia State. This programme is in line with CCD activities on Strengthening Persons with Disabilities’ Advocacy Capacity in Nigeria which is supported by the government and good people of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The event was attended by former Senior Special Assistant and Special Assistants to the Governor of Abia State on Disability Affairs, Chairman and Executive members of the Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities, representatives of the Nigeria National Association of Deaf, National Association of Blind, the Albino Foundation, National Association of Persons with Physical Disabilities, the President of Para-Badminton, CCD staff among others. The programme was organized to build the capacity of organisations of persons with disabilities (OPDs) to be developed in the field of lobbying and advocacy, in order to contribute to a strong and lively civil society which holds the public and private sector accountable. It tends to improve OPDs capacity to create change in areas critical to the wellbeing of their constituency; improve collaboration between OPDs, CSOs and State actors on good governance and accountability; and raise awareness on advocacy/lobby activities of CSOs among state and non-state actors. Notable guests at the event were Mr. David O. Anyaele, Executive Director, Centre for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD), Mr. Felix Opara, Director, Rehabilitation, Abia State Ministry of Strategy and Social Development, Mr. Stanley Onyebuchi, Chairman, Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities and Ms. Uloma Uwadoka, Programme Assistant, Centre for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD). At the course of intensive discussions at the event, some vital observations were made. They were (a) The governor of Abia State was commended for appointing 8 persons with disabilities as Senior Special Assistants on Disability, and women with disability matters, (b)The governor was also commended for carrying out some empowerment programmes in favour of people with disabilities in all the 17 local government of Abia State.(C) The governor was applauded for recognizing sports as an important tool for integration and rehabilitation of persons with disabilities in Abia State especially the government effort in engaging people with disabilities in para sport.
Inspite of
these commendations, the participants raised some concerns which they expect
some improvement. These were some of the concerns raised; the inability of the
Abia State House of Assembly to pass Abia State Disability Bill even as their
tenure is almost coming an end, the forum
expressed their displeasure over discrimination and exclusion of SSA/ SA to the
Governor on Disability Matters during public function of the State government,
with little or no access for persons with disabilities at such events, the
forum were disappointed that Political Appointees with disabilities were not
supported with reasonable accommodation to aid their function as an appointee
to the Abia State Governor and they expressed concern that these political
appointees are not united to the extent that they are working at cross purposes
which has affected the delivery of dividends of democracy to Abians with Disabilities.
The forum going
forward made some salient recommendations to improve the lots of Abians with
disabilities:
The Governor should as a matter of necessity
support the passage of a law that would protect Abians with disabilities from
discrimination and other harmful practices
;
The forum demands that the State
Government should see Persons with Disabilities as equal stakeholders in the
society and therefore mainstream them in every sphere of the society, but not
to see issues concerning Persons with Disabilities from charity perspective.
The forum requested that the Governor should
ensure that all appointments and employment opportunities in the State complies
with the provision of Section 29 of the Discrimination against Persons with
Disabilities (Prohibition) Act, 2018 on the reservation of at least 10% of such
opportunities for Persons with Disabilities
All
political appointees with disabilities in the State should see their
appointments as a call to service towards ameliorating the conditions of
Persons with Disabilities in the State, but not to see their appointments as
personal to them.
All political appointees with disabilities in
the state must work in harmony and synergy towards improving the lot of the
disability community in the State, not to work at cross purposes.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) says it did not exclude people living with disability in its ongoing recruitment process.
Mr Ndu Ughamadu, NNPC Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency , in Abuja.
“We have a corporate policy here and we do employ many of the physically challenged persons in the corporation. We have one with us here at the corporate affairs division.
“We have them accommodated also in this ongoing recruitment and also under our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSO) we have help a lot of the physically challenged especially in the Niger Delta area,’’ he said.
Ughamadu further said that the Corporation had been fair to the group and would continue to do so even with the recruitment process.
Earlier, Mr Godstime Onyegbula, President of the Physically Challenged Applicants said the group has been protesting to express non inclusion in the ongoing NNPC recruitment.
“We are here to fight for minimum of five per cent employment opportunity to be given to people living with disability as provided by law.
“We have written to NNPC several times making them to understand that in the ongoing recruitment we were not included.
“This is because in their form there is no provision to indicate the nature of disabled to be employed.
“Several times we have written to them, no response, sometimes when we come here, we will be embarrassed by the security men. Sometime, they will chase us always, now we have come in our numbers from the 36 states and FCT,’’ he said.
He added that it has become imperative for NNPC to include them as the president has signed into law the Disability Act.
He further noted that most of its member are graduates and some with Masters degrees and could do any form of work with support of gadgets.
The Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities
(JONAPWD) has reminded the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), of
the letter written by Mr. Unini Emeka on the missing column for people with
disability on NNPC Organization employment website which has closed already.
This was contained in a letter dated the 2nd of
May, 2019, and signed by the vice president, Abdullahi Alieu. The letter which
was addressed to the Human Resource Director of the Corporation in which the
attention of the Group Managing Director, and the Director Public Relation was
drawn, informed the Corporation of the all disability competent to aid the
application process as stipulated by the newly signed Nigerian Disability law
which states “that all public organizations are to reserve at least 5% of
employment opportunities for those with disabilities” (Discrimination Against
Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act, 2018.
Speaking further, JONAPWD informed NNPC of the fact that it
is the only umbrella body of all associations (clusters) of Disabled People’s
organization (DPOs) as well as civil society organizations working on
disability issues in Nigeria recognized by governments at national, state and
local government area, and drew the Corporation’s attention to the concluded
online employment application process where it did not make provisions for
persons with disabilities to be fully included in the application process.
The letter also stated that people with disabilities will not
accept any attempt that is targeted towards the exclusion of persons with
disabilities based on employment as provided by both the Discrimination Against
Persons with disabilities (Prohibition) Act 2018 and the United Nations
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRRD) which Nigeria is
a signatory, thus urging the Corporation to call for a meeting within the
shortest possible time to provide a platform where people with disabilities can
make inputs on how to solve these issues and the inclusion of persons with Disabilities in the
Corporation’s employment process because the just concluded exercise has
non-existence of disability components in the process.
“The joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities
(JONAPWD) is the only umbrella body of all associations (clusters) of Disabled
People’s organization (DPOs) as well as civil society organizations working on
disability issues in Nigeria recognized by governments at national, state and
locals (JOAPWD) has existed for over one decade, promoting the rights of
persons with disabilities (PWDs) advocating for inclusive laws and policies,
and engaging with all sectors and stakeholders in the society to enhance social
inclusion of PWDs JONAPWD currently has affiliated chapters in all the 36
States and the FCT Abuja.
The Qualitative Magazine recalled that Mr. Unini Emeka had earlier written a letter on the 18th day of March, 2019, to the management of the NNPC titled, “Missing Column For People With Disability On NNPC Organization Employment Website”. We discovered that the Corporation never replied or acknowledged the mail Mr. Unini sent to them. This has angered the people with disabilities to remind the corporation of the grave omission and has called for a meeting to guide the corporation on how best they can be mainstreamed which is backed by the law.
The men’s team last won the World Team Cup title in 2015.
“The last couple of years have been tough for us,” said US Open champion Hewett.
“We have a great team and we have the potential to win it every single time, but we haven’t pulled through those finals in the last two years.
“We didn’t lose a singles match the whole week and that just shows how high our level has been. That first set for me today was probably the best set of tennis I’ve ever played.
“But it’s not just one performance that wins the title and it was a top performance from Gordon today and Dermot [Bailey]’s played some really good matches too.”
It could have been four medals but for a 2-1 defeat for the quad team of Andy Lapthorne, Antony Cotterill and James Shaw against South Africa on Friday.
The World Team Cup is the wheelchair tennis equivalent of the Fed Cup and Davis Cup competitions, with teams from 23 nations taking part in the finals in Ramat Hasharon, Israel.
Helen Beyioku-Alase on blue with some participants of the programme
The Deaf Women Association of
Nigeria (DWAN), Abuja on Wednesday advocated improved access to sexual and
reproductive rights to enable them be empowered and live better lives.
Mrs Helen Beyioku-Alase, the
Chairperson of the association, made the call during a workshop on Sexual
Reproductive Health Rights supported by the U.S. Embassy.
She said the society believed that deaf women are unfit to make their decisions
and leave it to family members, spouses or media personnel or government
officials to make them instead.
“The situation is aggravated by
non-availability of disability friendly health and specific sign language
information, low sensitisation and awareness creation on the issues of sexual
reproductive health rights of deaf women and their children.
“Also, it is aggravated by the
non-availability of sign language interpreters and limited leadership
skills recorded among deaf women and their community leaders to negotiate for
their full inclusion into sexual and reproductive health rights programmes.’’
Beyioku-Alase said the U.S. embassy approved and funded their proposal to
implement a 12-month project on sexual and reproductive health rights focused
on sensitisation of deaf women and girls.
It is also focused on the
training of health care providers on basic health sign language.
She said the project would
empower them enough to make informed decisions about their health, minimise the
communication gap between healthcare providers and deaf women.
Mrs Doris Ikepeze, the Policy
Consultant of IPAS, said women with disabilities frequently encountered
substandard care, including discrimination and abusive treatment when accessing
maternal and new born health services.
She said such negative treatment can deter them from seeking prenatal
healthcare.
“Deaf women need to have access
to information during pregnancy in order to have healthy pregnancy and informed
decision to determine the course of their lives.
“Accurate and unbiased,
non-directive and nondiscriminatory counselling about prenatal test results
were some of their challenges,’’Ikepeze said.
The representative of the U.S.
mission in Nigeria Public Affairs, Ms Sophie Savage, said the U.S. health
sector played an important role of ensuring the wellbeing of all citizens.
She said the U.S. mission had
also made it a priority to teach, educate and engage Nigerians to advocate that
Persons With Disabilities(PWD) are able to equitably access health facilities.
“Women and girls in particular
with disabilities should not be left out of the conversation; it is possible
only when we partner with service providers to ensure their inclusion in health
services.
“We encourage continued,
diverse partnership to explore opportunities and support this increased
accessibility to sexual and reproductive health and maternal service for deaf
women and girls throughout Nigeria,’’ she appealed. (NAN)
David Anyaele, Executive Director, CCD during the Struggle for Disability Act
The Centre for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) has
commended the leadership of the National Assembly for the Gazetting of the
Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act. With this,
the Disability Act regime has been announced by the government, as it now part
of laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and could be sited at the court of
law. Recalling that the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities
(Prohibition) Act was signed on the 23rd of January 2019 by President Mohammadu
Buhari after a protracted campaign by organisations of persons with
disabilities Nigeria. In a press release signed by CCD Executive Director,
David O. Anyaele, he appreciated the passage of the Disability Bill into an Act
is in fulfilment of Nigeria obligation to the international community and the
United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. He called
on government to ensure that the purpose of the Act is for the full integration
of persons with disabilities into the society and establishes the National
Commission for Persons with Disabilities; and vests the commission with the
responsibilities for their education, health care, social, economic and civil
rights is achieved: He urged the Federal Government to take urgent actions to
ensure implementation of the National Disability Act. The first step expected
from the government is the establishment of the National Commission for Persons
with Disabilities as provided in part 7, section 31 of the National Disability
Act. He singled out the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture to take
urgent action to ensure the full implementation of part 1, section 2 of the Act
which provides that the Ministry shall make provisions for promotion of
awareness regarding- the rights, respect and dignity of persons with
disabilities; capabilities, achievements and contributions of persons with
disabilities to the society.
In line with the office of Head of the Civil Service of federation in collaboration with Albino Foundation Baseline Survey of Persons Living with Disabilities in the Federal Service that was launched by Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita (The head of Service) which took place on Monday 3rd December, 2018 marked the 2018 International Day of Persons with Disabilities. The office of Head of Service through the Albino Foundation has trained and deployed 20 persons with disabilities to carry out in 10 working days the pilot stage of the baseline survey of persons with disabilities in the Federal Service in all the MDAs in Abuja. This exercise will commence on 16th May, 2019 and end on 30th of May, 2019. The persons with disabilities were trained and deployed for this assignment to ensure ownership of the process and as well as build their capacity in the area of researching.
The Perm Sec at the middle with some senior staff, and Trainer at the extreme left during one of the training workshops
The survey is providing data that will give government a better understanding of the challenges that are peculiar to PWDs and fine-tune ways of addressing them as Federal Government is developing a comprehensive policy and implementation guideline geared towards addressing the challenges of Persons Living With Disabilities (PWDs), their welfare and work environment in the Civil Service.
A cross section of the trainees with Jake Epelle and The Perm Sec of Office of The Head of Service of The Federation
It is expected that the outcome of the baseline survey of Persons Living With Disabilities will help in promoting inclusion in the Federal Civil Services’ policies, practices and procedures that will translate to a positive impact on the welfare of PWDs in the Service. The data from the baseline survey will also help in development of welfare packages for PWDs in Service.
