Saturday, August 20, 2011
The persistent rainfall worsens the typical hustle and bustle of the Monday morning commuter rush. Along comes Monsuru crawling as usual on his two hands, trying to avoid the puddles, his palms protected by a pair of old worn slippers; he is a polio survivor who has lost the use of his lower limbs and as such relies on his hands to move around.
He is a cobbler and has to get to his place of work very early in order not to miss seeing his customers who typically drop off shoes for him to fix during their own commute to work which they will pick up at the end of the work day. However, today, Monsuru is unable to get to his shop on time because it is an uphill task climbing into the bus, which is the only affordable means of transport for someone on his income level. He has to deal with a lot of pushing and shoving from other passengers all struggling to get a seat on the bus, especially on a wet morning. When he eventually manages to climb into a bus, he is faced with the glaring stigma of people avoiding the seat beside his and dusting themselves off because his body made contact with theirs.
This is the scenario faced by Monsuru and hundreds of other people with various forms of disabilities in their daily lives, which makes me wonder, perhaps if the DISABILITY Bill had been signed into law by Mr. President, then Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) wouldn’t have to put up with such degrading and denigrating circumstances because the Bill among other things, specifically makes provisions for safe, dignifying and affordable transportation for PWDs which would definitely cater for the needs of persons like Monsuru.
In recent discussions with several people, I have discovered that not many regular citizens know or care about the Disability Bill, which may partly explain why it does not feature in day to day discussions or have many people clamoring for its passage like other Bills.
The Nigeria Disability Bill prescribes an Act to ensure the full integration of persons with disabilities into the society and to establish a National Commission for Persons with Disabilities and vest it with the responsibilities for their education, healthcare and the protection of their social, economic, civil and political rights, 2009 (HB 37 and 46).
The Bill seeks to address key issues around discrimination, safety, access to facilities, education, health, and standard of living as it affects PWDs. Some of the specific provisions of the Bill include the following:
- No person with disability shall be discriminated against on the ground of his or her disability by any person or institution in any manner or circumstance whatsoever.
- No public building shall be constructed without necessary accessibility aids such as lifts (where necessary), ramps to make them accessible to and usable by persons with disabilities including those on wheelchairs and the visually impaired;
- Transport service providers shall make provisions for lifts, ramps and other accessibility aids to enhance the accessibility of their vehicles, parks and bus-stops to persons with disabilities including those on wheelchairs. Before a person with disability boards or alights from a vehicle, the driver shall ensure that the vehicle completely pulls up.
- Government shall take all appropriate measures to ensure the full developmentt advancement and empowerment of women and girls with disabilities for the purpose of guaranteeing them the exercise and enjoyment of all the rights and privileges p+ovided for in this Bill.
- In all situations of risk, including situations of violence, emergencies and the occurrence of natural disasters government shall take all necessary steps to ensure the safety and protection of persons with disabilities taking cognizance of their peculiar vulnerability.
These and many more important and strategic clauses make up the disability Bill which further prescribes sanctions and punishment for contravention of its provisions.
If signed into law, such a Bill has the power to turn around the lives of PWDs in Nigeria from one of drudgery to one of hope, opportunities and fulfillment. One then wonders why there has been no political will since 2007 to turn the Bill into an Act. This gives the impression that the lives of PWD are of no value despite the fact that many of them have brought and continue to bring glory to this country through the Paralympics games, in the civil service, development sector and even in the entertainment industry. Many PWDs have risen to notable heights including being recipients of the prestigious Ford Foundation and other international fellowships and some have even been given National Honors. The President of the Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities in Nigeria is a notable, accomplished blind lawyer. Looking beyond our shores, famous for her many achievements in life despite being both deaf and blind, Helen Keller has been a role model of achievement in the face of adversity.
The question then is this, why would a Bill aimed at improving the lives of a vulnerable yet progressive group of Nigerians be treated with levity? It is pertinent to note here that in 2006, Ghana drafted, passed and signed its disability act into law in record time spanning a total of 13 months; The Uganda Disability Act which has been operational for almost a decade, has seen the standard of living of PWDs in that country improve dramatically, among other key changes, more PWDs are found holding key public offices and their access to facilities has improved tremendously. Conversely, this year marks 12 years since the first agitations for a disability act started in Nigeria, yet we still don’t have one. Personally I expected Mr. President to have given a speedy assent to the Bill considering his background of deprivation which ought to come with a realization of the suffering of the masses, more so the disabled masses. He didn't have shoes while growing up, what about those who dont have legs?
In societies the world over, a framework within which disability could be viewed is generally divided into three main models – the moral, medical and social models. The moral and medical models of disability are grounded in the perspective that “disability resides in the individual and carries with it a degree of stigma or pathology” In contrast, the social model places the locus of disability in the environment that fails to appropriately accommodate and include people with disabilities (Olkin, 2002).
There is no gainsaying the fact that the country that improves the welfare of the disabled will ultimately improve itself and its economy. To many, this may sound like a contradiction, but the truth is that it isn’t. Government’s ‛ostrich’ or ‛do-nothing’ approach towards pressing issues in the country will not be accepted by the 19 million persons with disabilities in Nigeria. This administration must institute and institutionalize pro-active legislation geared at helping PWDs improve their circumstances. Only when government takes a pro-active stand will PWDs regain rights which they have lost simply by being or becoming disabled.
Permit me to appeal to the moral man/woman in all of us…if you have ever witnessed a blind man bump into a wall or parked car, witnessed a woman in a wheelchair refused entrance into the bank because the security doors are too small for her wheelchair or while attending a function has to be carried up the stairs alongside her wheelchair in an ungainly manner, if you have seen the exasperation of a deaf girl at an event where she would love to fully comprehend the proceedings or if you have just held the hand and looked into the eyes of a mentally impaired young boy …if you have ever witnessed any of these, but most of all if you are aware that you and your loved ones are not impregnable and can become disabled at any point in time due to any act, now is the time to rise up and join the struggle, now is the time to lend a voice to this cause…now is the time for you to stand and say with me, ‘Mr. President, give persons with disabilities an enhanced meaningful life, sign the disability Bill into law NOW’! This is more than a moral obligation; it is a social, economic and political compulsion.
As William Robb said… “It is better to be farsighted than myopic when it comes to the disabled”
This is my message….this is my passion… my name is Irene, I am a woman living with a disability…I am an advocate.
