As the World commemorates today December 3rd as International Day of Persons with Disabilities, Edo state Vice President, Joint National Association of Persons With Disabilities (JONAPWD) and Edo State Coordinator of Advocacy for Women With Disabilities Initiatives (AWWDI), Comrade Ann Ojugo, in this encounter with Emmanuel Ikhenebome, she bares her mind on the challenges facing persons with disabilities and the need for Edo State government to attend to a Bill to establish a Commission for physically challenged, pending in the State House of Assembly and other burning issues.
Excerpts:
—What Are The Challenges Facing Persons Living With Disabilities?
Thank you, challenges facing persons with disabilities are enormous, especially in Nigeria, We have environmental challenges, we have family challenges, we have Societal and attitudinal challenges, we have social challenges, we have stigmatization and discrimination. When we talk about environmental challenges, I mean most building in this part of the world, like churches, mosques, banks, government parastatals, malls, and even our market places are not disability friendly, they pose a risk to us. In some Banks for instance where we can not access, we resort to asking strangers to help us out with our financial transactions, thereby exposing us to security risk, were these persons will now get to know our financial details and even our houses address, just because we cannot access the bank and do the transactions for ourselves. Talking about challenges, we must start from the home front, were the family of persons with disabilities are first to neglect their own before the society do so. They are not allowed to come outside to mix up, let alone see the day light, some even have their special plate, spoon and cup that are used to serve them by members of their own household. That is why in Nigeria a lady with disability of 50 years old can be single because a man takes her home to show his parents, same parents will ask the man if he is mad for bringing a physical challenge as a woman he wants to marry. Also in the work places, persons with disabilities are not giving responsibilities; with the wrong believe that they can not perform due to their disability. Even sometime people will be talking down on us, thinking we can not do what they are doing.
—What Do You Think Government Can Do To Uplift The Lives Of Persons With Disabilities?
Like what the United Nation has always advocated, which is leave no one behind, not even persons with disabilities, leave nobody behind. Government should be able to put in place policies, in line with that of the United Nations, policies and laws that will protect person with disabilities, that anyone that violates such law would be prosecuted, with this laws in place, people will definitely comply. It should be in place as obtainable in other parts of the world, to further check the dehumanizing of persons with disabilities. There should also be legislation in place to sanction parents or guardians that neglect or dehumanize their children or ward with disabilities, to serve as deterrent, and there are schools were they do not admit disabled persons, not that they can not afford the tuition fees, but could not be admitted due to discrimination. And some parents even go as far as killing their physically challenged child directly and indirectly, like a case of a mother whose child suffers from Cerebral Palsy, me and some sisters of Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul were planning to see him, but the mother prevented us from seeing the child, which we were even planning to provide a special chair for so he can be sitting well and feel among, only for us to hear that, the mother had allegedly killed him. There should be law to check these inhuman treatment because most of us where not born disabled, a living dog is better than a dead lion. Government should be able to also compliment the effort of parents or guardian catering for persons with disabilities, like social welfare package for these families to reduce the burden on them. The bill to establish a commission for persons with disabilities is still pending at the Edo State House of Assembly, it should be given due attention and passed into law, to serve most of our needs. Disability is a global things, one may not be disable today, but it may come at old age and we all must come together and take the demands of these special persons serious.
—Do You Get Support From Individuals Or Organizations?
Yes, we get support, but it is usually that kind of support that comes in the form of charity, and we are saying no to that, and that is what is practice in Nigeria, and what the UN is clamouring for, by persons with disabilities is inclusiveness, equal opportunities not charity, sympathy or pity and that is what we need. We need the necessary tools, integrate us into the society and also create the enabling environment for for everybody irrespective of their physical status in life to showcase their God given talent. The society further disable us because it played a huge role in bringing to our knees and this must change, the days of charity are gone. This is Christmas period, you will see people sharing rice to persons with disabilities and this is not what we are asking for.
—What Are You Doing To Help Yourselves Achieve Your Dreams In Life Irrespective Of Your Challenges? Do You Provide Vocational and Skills Acquisition Training For your members?
I thank God for sparing my life, I started my advocacy work back then in my NYSC days in Nasarawa State when I first come in contact with disable people who beg money and other material things. Then I was a physically challenged but a Corper, even when I go to market, they want to be giving me money and things free, but I said no I have to change their perception. I initiated a programme called, “You And The Handicapped”, which the Nasarawa State Government keyed into and I was able to empower 25 Physically Challenged persons with tricycles. When I came back to Edo State, i felt it should continue and i set up Unique Love For Persons With Disability even when I was not having money but with the little I had I help some persons before I met with Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, who enrolled me into school, were I learnt some skills, especially skills on the management of physically persons. Through them I came in contacts with other networks for persons with disabilities before I was now made the Edo State coordinator of Advocacy for Women With Disabilities Initiative (AWWDI). It was through this AWWDI, in collaboration with TY Danjuma Foundation we trained and empowered hundreds of our women with various skills and start ups, across the state. As a strong advocate for persons with disabilities, I had been able to advocate for employment of physically challenged into the 18 local government areas, amongst which are engineers, auditors and they were employed.
—What Are You Doing To Encourage Physically Challenged Persons To Believe In Themselves?
As i said before, disability is a global issue, so is not for one to be hiding and those physically challenged persons that are hiding and feeling inferior is due to how they were brought up at home. What we do time to time because we are aware of the challenge, we organize programmes for capacity building, even on political participation and we bring them into it, by letting them know that even with their disabilities they can become whatever they want to become in life, like me that is sitting here granting interview, I am the immediate Past Chairman of National Union of Local Government Employees, (NULGE) in Esan West Local Government Area, a position I came out boldly to contest with other three able bodied men, but I defeated them, disability is only a thing of the mind and they should not relegate themselves instead uplift themselves because disability does not make someone half or less human, by the time you begin to look at yourself being disabled, it will be worse for you.
—What Motivates You To Do The Work YOU ARE DOING?
As you can see, I am physically challenged, years ago people sowed into my life and these people were not my family members, they took care of my health, took me to school to acquire education, and now I have come up to become who I want to be, so let me assist others in my little way which I am always motivated to do and I am using this opportunity to call on others to come out and assist persons with disabilities. If Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent De Paul who I am working with as a Community Base Rehabilitation (CBR) field worker are not physically challenged, but can do what they do, why not me? so all these are my motivations.
—How Have You Been Able To Sustain Your Activities?
I thank God for those who believe in my dreams and if you have people who believe in your dreams, it will be easy, I have persons around me whom whenever I run to for help during interventions for some in dire need, they respond and I thank them and asked God to always replenish their purse. Am not talking about government now, I mean individuals who trust me for my integrity and answer when I call on them and integrity has played a key role in building trust over the years, it matters a lot.
—What Roles Is The Government Playing To Support Persons With Disabilities?
Well, every International Day of Persons with Disabilities supposed to be much of the responsibility of government to organize for us, which was so in the past but these days we do not hear or see Government play their part in the Observation of the day. Every December 3rd, like today, go round the state and check government activities for persons living with disabilities. These persons need scholarships and job opportunities, but there are many of them roaming the streets with their condition and maybe their parents or benefactor managed to send them to school, but now no job for them, and even when this year’s 2017 disability day Theme says, Transformation Towards Sustainable and Resilient Society For All, the government are still too busy to look towards our directions and do the needful for us. Even the disability Bill we are talking about, what does it takes to pass it if the government is sincere on our plight and we have been appealing for it to be passed, we just pray that Governor Godwin Obaseki do something about it to alleviate our plight because there are a lot of us that is really suffering.
—What Is Your Message To Physically Challenged Persons?
Disability is not a yardstick for being lazy, it is not a yardstick to go cap in hand begging, disability is no a curse, when there is life there is hope. They should be focus and believe in themselves, if they cannot go to school, they should learn a trade, they should be positive, have high self esteem and it is what they call themselves the society will call them.
