In Nigeria, condition of the physically challenged attracts little or no attention. As a result of this, their rights are often violated, excluded and relegated in planning and national development. Without a doubt, physically challenged folks need care, love, protection and special infrastructural provisions to survive in a challenging environment like ours. Unfortunately, in Nigeria they are largely unprotected and exposed to abuse, discrimination, ignored, stigmatized and exploited by families and society. In most cases, family members see them as shameful creatures. Consequently, most of them often resign to a life of despondency.
It is, however, quite pleasant to note that that the Lagos State government is constantly stepping up on its care and support for the physically challenged in the state. Recently, the state government doled out Entrepreneur Empowerment Fund and assorted assistive devices to people living with disability. At the event, which took place at the LTV Blue Roof, Agidingbi, Ikeja, no fewer than one thousand physically challenged benefitted from the exercise while numerous others were provided with assistive devices.
Additionally, various bodies such as Joint Association of Persons Living with Disabilities, National Association of Persons with Physical Disability (Lagos Chapter), Lagos State Association of the Deaf, National Association of the Blind, Association of Parents of Children Living with Intellectual Disability, Spinal Cord Injuries Association of Nigeria (NSCIAN), Lagos Chapter, The Dwarf Association of Nigeria, Lagos State Chapter and Lagos State Albinism Society received financial grants ranging from two million naira (N2,000,000) to five hundred thousand (N500,000).
The latest effort of the state government is an integral part of its strategic plans to provide the much needed support and enabling environment for the physically challenged in the state. It will be recalled that, in order to passionately and holistically address the plight of the physically challenged in the society, the Lagos StateSpecial People’s Law was passed in June 2011. The law seeks to uphold the rights of all persons living with any form of disability in Lagos State by safeguarding them against all forms of discrimination and giving them equal rights and opportunities. Equally, the passage of the law gave birth to the establishment of The Lagos State Office for Disability Affairs (LASODA). The first governing board was inaugurated on 9th July, 2012 and charged with implementing the law.
Since the inception of LASODA, the agency has been protecting the rights and privileges of persons with disabilities which include implementing the State’s Special People’s Law which compels employers of up to 100 personnel to reserve at least one percent of the workforce for persons with disabilities. Also, it has become a crime in the state to discriminate against any person with disability because of his physical challenge. The state also provides rights of children with disability; right to education; right to healthcare services; right to freedom of communication; right to public transport; right to drive and reservation at parking lots.
Other rights include provision of facilities at public buildings; right to legal aid; rights of tenants with disability; public functions; rights under emergency situations; right to first consideration in queues; right to 5% of accommodation reservation consideration and rights to social security among others. In order to effectively scale down the scope of its activities to the grassroots, the state government has decentralized LASODA and absolved 200 physically challenged persons to manage their affairs in all the Local Government Areas and Local Council Development Areas (LCDA) in the state.
To further reinforce its commitment towards the physically challenged, Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and LAGBUS operators have been mandated by the state government to offer them free ride across all routes in the state. This is to ensure that they don’t have to pass through several complicated hassles before boarding a bus to their respective routes. As part of the deal, most of the newly introduced BRT buses have essential facilities for the physically challenged.
In order to further strengthen the new resolve of the state government to make life more pleasant to the physically challenged in the state, on 29th May, 2016; Governor Akinwunmi Ambode launched the N500 millionDisability Trust Fund. A major goal of the Fund is to aid people living with disabilities in the state realise their dreams and maximize their potentials in order to live a more meaningful life.
This is in realization of the fact that lots of them possess requisite qualification, experience and character but are just being marginalised outright in the scheme of things. The creation of the Fund reflects the State Government’s interpretation of social environment and devotion to social responsibility as well as a major shift from charity as the mode of addressing disability. It should be stressedthat the Fund is strictly meant for the provision of requisite infrastructure that would enhance welfare of the physically challenged.
To further boost this renewed effort towards making life more meaningful for People Living with Disability, the state government has urged corporate organizations and well meaning individuals to come up with fresh strategies that could reasonably enhance the standard of living of the physically challenged.
Tayo Ogunbiyi
Ogunbiyi is of the Lagos State Ministry of Information and Strategy,
Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos.
