Often, the society treats people with disability as “one-dimensional charity cases” rather than empower them with their own needs. In this report, MARGARET COFFIE 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 were living with a disability. Data from the 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey reveal that an estimated seven per cent of household members above the age of five (as well as nine per cent 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 January 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.
Justice is a term that means different things to different people, cultures and institutions. However, a universal understanding of the term- justice- generally includes notions of fairness, accountability and equity of outcome.
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 Disabilities (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 reiterated 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, nongovernmental organizations (NGOS) and religious groups. One of their biggest obstacles is the stigma surrounding 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 minimum, 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 barriers 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 surrounding 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 challenges, also reinforces barriers for persons with disabilities in accessing 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 becomes apparent that procedures and activities that are regular features of the judicial process such as frequent court appearances and physical accessibility of designated court spaces 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. He told Bright Magazine, “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.”
Representation and participation in the judicial system of Nigeria excludes and presents barriers to PWDs; a case in point for participation is that of Tobiloba Ajayi, a lawyer and cerebral palsy activist born with CP, who regularly faces questions and judgments about her mental faculties. She told Bright Magazine that, in a university pre- admission interview, “They said, ‘Really, I don’t think you’ll survive the semester.’ I remember 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 disabilities and required that state-owned buildings and large buses be wheelchair 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 participation in politics for PWDS has made very slow progress as it was only recently during the 2019 general elections in Nigeria that considerable efforts were made in terms of policy 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 mainstreamed 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 persons with disabilities among families and communities.
In order to forge a disability-inclusive recovery from COVID-19, support for existing disability inclusion 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 entrepreneurship 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 socioeconomic 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 inclusion of persons with disabilities.
