Earlier this month the world celebrated International Day of Persons with Disabilities–an international observance promoted by the United Nations since 1992.
Persons with disabilities are integral part of every society. They deserve special love and care to help them level up with others in the ever competitive society where Charlie Darwin’s theory of survival of the fittest is fast becoming a norm.
To safeguard their rights and protect them from victimisation, humiliation and abuse by others, some countries like United States of America, Germany, Canada, New Zealand and Scandinavian nations (such as Sweden, Norway, and Denmark) have put in place legal frameworks for equal opportunities for them. In some African countries, specific measures such as affirmative action programmes or quotas are implemented to boost employment opportunities for Persons with Disabilities.
Laws for protecting persons with disabilities focus on prohibiting discrimination, ensuring accessibility (housing, transport, education, healthcare), promoting inclusion, and providing legal recourse, with major international frameworks like the UN CRPD guiding national laws, such as Nigeria’s Discrimination Act 2018, which mandates equal rights, creates commissions for enforcement, and sets penalties for violations.
Sadly, while 19 States in Nigeria have domesticated the national Disability Act, with Lagos, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Plateau, Bauchi, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Sokoto, Zamfara, Abia, Anambra, Cross River, Edo, Ekiti, Ondo, Oyo, and Enugu listed as key adopters, Akwa Ibom State has failed to domesticate the Nigeria’s Discrimination Act despite all pleas and advocacies by civil rights groups and the media in the State.
Regrettably, the ongoing civil service recruitment in Akwa Ibom State, has been conducted without the provision of recourse to persons with disabilities.
How long shall Akwa Ibom State government continue to pay deaf ears to the concerns of this segment of the State’s population ?
The culture of sharing 5kg bags of rice to the disabled persons by politicians during yelitude cannot alleviate the poverty of this segment of our population.
We urge Akwa Ibom State government to brainstorm with the Ministry of Humanitarian Service in the State and bring out sustainable empowerment programmes for Persons with Disabilities in Akwa Ibom State.
Equally, Governor Umo Eno should work with Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly to domesticate Nigeria’s Discrimination Act 2018 in Akwa Ibom State if he really cares for Persons with Disabilities as he often feigns in public events.
Special considerations should be given to all educated people among the disabled ready to work in Akwa Ibom State Civil Service.
Additionally, there is no reason why a State as rich as Akwa Ibom State should not have special monthly welfare stipends for Persons with Disabilities in Akwa Ibom State to augment their living standards.
