The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has taken the proverbial road less traveled for the persons living with disability in the country. The commission deployed 84 assistive Information Technology projects at different locations in Nigeria to support people with special needs, while supporting policies that enable disadvantaged members of the society to enjoy life fully.
In a developing country like Nigeria with a huge percentage of persons living with disabilities, the community seems to have been left out because their needs have neither been prioritised nor given due consideration, even with the establishment of the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities (NCPD) as enabled by the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act of 2018.
In town planning, the community has not yet had buildings constructed with those living with disabilities in mind. There are still limited number of ramps to assist them in accessing buildings, especially in public spaces.
Transportation for persons living with disabilities has also been a huge problem and even during the COVID-19 lockdown, their problems were exacerbated by the protocols that made it extremely difficult for them to move around, given that there were cases where even their care-givers could not get to them to help under such dire circumstances. They do not have the advantage of specialised vehicles or trained canine assists. The health sector equally does not give them any special attention even as they are not given equal employment opportunities.
We commend the NCC for this initiative for about 43.5m people living with disabilities in Nigeria. To integrate them into the twenty first century Information and Communication Technology (ICT) world is indeed something to celebrate.
The population of persons living with disabilities in Nigeria is so huge that it is almost the combined population of some five or six African countries. This is a huge productive bloc and every step must be taken to equip them to contribute to national development. Most of those living with disabilities in Nigeria have excelled in their various fields in ways that have even made the able-bodied marvel at the capacity of those people when empowered.
The Yoruba music maestro, ‘Kokoro’ is a legend even though blind. The ace musician, songwriter, pianist, composer and producer, Cobham Asuquo is a global icon even though he was born blind. Cosmas Okoli, the former President of Persons Living with Disabilities. He is the founder of Mobility Aid and Appliances Research and Development Centre (MAARDEC) which manufactures wheel chairs and accessories.
These few examples just show that contrary to popular assumptions, persons living with disabilities are no less talented, able and passionate about success than some able-bodied humans. They just need the opportunities and maybe extra attention to be as productive and happy as any other person. We see it as a failure of the Nigerian state to achieve its full potential if the nation continues to neglect their welfare.
In an age of the internet and technology, it is gratifying to see the persons living with disabilities having the opportunities across Nigeria to benefit from the efforts of the NCC.
We however advise that the management must not allow the project go the way of some other projects that are often launched with pomp and pageantry, only to fizzle out due to negligence and lack of political will to care for inclusive policies.
The programme has to be closely monitored and delivered as projected to all the nooks and crannies of the country. It must be sustainable. We believe that the NCC has taken a laudable step and somewhat set the pace for other agencies and departments of government to follow. Development demands inclusiveness of all humans, irrespective of class, gender or other social nuances.
A productive nation is one that invests in all its citizens by providing the needed physical and mental infrastructure for citizens’ maximum productivity. The community of people living with disability would sure have a very huge psychological boost with the projects if well managed. It is a huge way to tell them, ‘you are valued’..
Source: Nation
