Living beyond disability

In this report, DOYIN ADEOYE write that though many people with disabilities are not living their dreams due to socioeconomic and political barriers, there are yet many others who have surmounted these obstacles to live the lives they have always hoped for.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), at least 15 per cent of the world’s population, which is over one billion people, have some form of disability, with the vast majority living in the poorest communities in low and middle-income countries, where poverty is both a cause and a consequence of disability.

With the ageing populations and increasing chronic health conditions, the rates of disability are increasing globally, while People with Disabilities (PWDs) continue to face various challenges. From lack of access to education, healthcare, transportation, jobs and other basic amenities, many PWDs are often faced with discrimination and stigmatisation.

Since 1992, every 3rd December has been used to celebrate the United Nations' (UN) International Day of Persons with Disabilities to draw attention to the rights of people who live with disabilities. The annual event focuses on encouraging a better understanding of people affected by a disability, together with helping to make people more aware of the rights, dignity and welfare of disabled people.

With an estimated 25 million people living with disabilities in Nigeria, it is therefore important to continue to raise awareness about the benefits of integrating disabled persons into every aspect of life, from economic, to political, social and cultural.

Having the theme ‘Achieving 17 Goals for the Future We Want,’ this year’s edition of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities reflected the recent adoption of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the role of these goals in building a more inclusive and equitable world for persons with disabilities.

Speaking with the reporter, former Special Adviser to Oyo State Governor on Physically Challenged Matters, Barrister Ayodele Adekanmbi, noted that it is pathetic that achieving these goals is a mere mirage in the Nigerian context.

“Although the Nigerian government ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), it is pathetic that it has not done anything as regards this to give it any credit. They only signed it because other countries did; there is obviously nothing to show for it, as Nigeria does not have any law that bothers on people living with disabilities.

“The Disability Bill which is supposed to protect the rights of children, women and PWDs generally has gone through three past presidents, right from President Olusegun Obasanjo’s era and was never passed to law. It went through President Jonathan twice, both when he was acting president and president, and he didn’t sign it either, saying that the financial implication was too much for the country to bear. I was a delegate during the last national conference and we passed over 118 resolutions that bother on PWDs and their families, yet nothing has been done on that so far,” he said.

Without the appropriate laws, the plights of PWDs are further aggravated, while they are forced to live on the margins of the society. Despite agitations from individuals, advocacy groups and development partners across the country to ensure that their economic, social, educational, emotional and psychological rights are respected, only a few states have reference to disability matters in their ministries.

Although the Bill again recently went through both Houses of the current administration, PWDs are still however, waiting anxiously for the day the Disability Bill will be passed to Law.

The Disability Bill provides the social protection of persons with disabilities against any discrimination that they may suffer from. It also establishes a National Commission for the disabled persons that will ensure their right to education, healthcare, social, economic, and civil rights as contained in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).

Challenges to achieving equality for Nigeria’s LGBT community

BY DOYIN ADEOYE
“Being gay in Nigeria is like being on the most wanted list of a law enforcement agency; you are not safe and no one wants to associate with you. Sometimes I feel so scared, lonely and terrible that I just feel like ending my life.”

These were the words of 25-year-old Tope James (Not real names) as she discussed how life has been since she discovered her sexual orientation.

Nigeria’s Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act, of 2013, which took effect in January 2014, made a bad situation much worse for the already subdued Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) community, as the law prohibits any form of gay marriage, or civil union entered into between persons of the same sex.

On 13 January, 2014, former president, Goodluck Jonathan signed into law the Same-Sex Marriage Prohibition Act, which imposes various punishments for some types of homosexual acts.

The Act imposes a 10-year prison sentence on anyone who “registers, operates or participates in gay clubs, societies and organisations” or “supports” the activities of such organisations. It also provides a 14-year imprisonment for persons who contract same-sex marriage in the country.

However, it seems the law has paved the way for people to engage in homophobic violence without fear of legal consequences. There have been various reports of LGBT people in the country being molested due to their sexuality, as the Act has been used as an excuse by many to stage violent attacks on the LGBT community.

While some are extorted for their secrets to be kept, others have been sexually abused, and there seem to be no legal protection against discrimination of the LGBT community in Nigeria.

Although the Act only intensified the attacks, the challenge of homosexuality is not a new thing to the Nigerian society.

Incredible world of family of beggars

Different professions are acceded from one generation to the other as children step into the shoes of the role models in their families. You hear people say things like, "Law runs in the family; the father is a lawyer and so are the children." However, DOYIN ADEOYE found out that this is not the preserve of the 'noble' professions as some professional beggars also nurture their children to follow in their footsteps.

AT the outset of begging, those engaged in it did so strictly because they had deficiency in some key areas of their lives such as being too poor to provide for their own needs or having a physical disability which limited their chances of working to earn a living. But the story has since changed. Nowadays, many able-bodied people have fully embraced begging as their own professions, even as they train their children to also beg.

Speaking with different groups of beggars, it was revealed that across different families, cousins and close relations, are all involved in the begging business. So, it was not surprising that when the reporter sought to speak with beggars along the Mokola Barracks Road, at Sabo, Ibadan, their spokesman insisted she should visit the Seriki (king) of the beggars for permission before any member of the group could say anything.

Finally when access was granted, a young man, who simply identified himself as Abdul, said "My father begs here and he has been into it for as long time as I can remember. He is blind and although my mother is not, they both stay here; while she sells food here. My father has nine children."

When asked how his father manages to cater for his children, Abdul, a secondary school student in  the North, who joins his blind father to beg during the holidays, explained that three of his sisters were married, two of whom were full-time housewives, while his other siblings, only try to make ends meet.

If my feet couldn’t take me to places, my arms would —Gbenga Daniel’s son

Adebola Daniel is the son of the former governor of Ogun State, Chief Gbenga Daniel, and the founder, Debola Daniel Foundation. Confined to the wheelchair, his recently launched organisation is committed to ending the stigma attached to people living with disabilities. He speaks with DOYIN ADEOYE on the Nigerian environment and policies and how these affect the physically-challenged, among other issues.



WHAT are the visions and objectives of the Debola Daniel Foundation?

The thought of starting something to inspire a change in the mindset of Nigerian citizens popped into my mind sometime last year. Although I did not particularly know how I wanted to spark a change at the time, I knew I had to do something about the unending attitudinal scorning of people living with disabilities.

So the vision of the foundation in the long term is to seek an end to the stigma attached to being physically-challenged and to change the mindset of both disabled and non-physically-challenged citizens to push the notion that disability is not inability. Our objectives are to promote education, employment and entrepreneurship within disabled Nigerian citizens, while taking a top-down approach to discussing and influencing policy that affects disabled citizens.

Social media, viable tool for climate advocacy —Cross River Most Beautiful Girl, 2015

BY DOYIN ADEOYE
TWENTY-YEAR-OLD Cross River Most Beautiful Girl 2015, Queenette Awukam is an environmentalist, advocating for more youths’ involvement in climate friendly activities.
“I have been advocating for forest conservation even before I became Cross Rivers’ Most Beautiful Girl. And I believe that being in this position is an avenue to further promote this. I am passionate about the sustainable livelihood of my people, coupled with the drive from my governor, Professor Ben Ayade, who is a source of inspiration in the course of championing climate change.
“I grew in a state that is very environmentally conscious; very clean and green. So having grown up in such place, I believe everywhere in Nigeria should be conducive enough for breathing and our day-to-day activities,” she said.
Using the platform to create awareness on climate change and its effect, Queenette said her green pictures which went viral of recent, is meant to reach out to more youths to be environment conscious.
“As a beauty queen and an artiste, I know that pictures are good sense of communication, as they speak louder than words. In one of the pictures, I, being the only live tree in the middle of dead logs, is an appeal for forest conservation.
“There have been innovations over the years; every youth is on the social media. So I feel that the best way to go reach out to them is to create more awareness using the social media. Every youth now wants to have fun, so we can as well educate them while they do that.
“For instance, the recently held Calabar Carnival had the theme: ‘Climate Change,’ which was used as a platform to educate youths on being environment friendly. More youths need to champion the course for a greener environment, and must take further steps in acquiring more knowledge on problems and particularly solutions on climate change,” she said.

Why we partner with secondary schools —RecyclePoints

BY DOYIN ADEOYE
RECYCLEPOINTS, an incentive based waste recycling and social benefit scheme is partnering with schools on waste recovery, reuse and recycling.
In line with its corporate objective to breed an environmentally friendly generation, the company, over the weekend, had a partnership with the Redeemers International Schools (RIS), Lagos, where the latter signed into the company’s Schools Recycling Programme.
“RecyclePoints motivates people to recycle by creating value from their everyday waste. We have a target of partnering with three schools every month, where we get them to have recycling bins and also educate them on how to sort their waste and recycle them. Through this programme, each school earn points from their recycling activities, which they then use to get rewards that we offer through our scheme,” Mrs Chioma Ukonu, Chief Operating Officer (COO) and co-founder, RecyclePoints said.
Speaking on what influenced the partnership with schools, she noted that many children over time are beginning to be more environment conscious.
“We had a lot of schools visiting our collection and sorting hubs in the past, just to learn about waste recycling. So we felt that since there was the affinity to understand at their age the benefit of waste recycling, we could carry the message to the schools directly, where they will see the idea of sorting waste from source.
“We offer various items through our incentive-based schemes, so for schools, we are looking at partnering with them to get things that would necessarily support their educational activities. Whenever they reach a particular point, they get something in return. For instance, like we did some two years ago, we invited them to an environmental quiz competition June 5, which is the World Environment Day.”