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The State Director of NOA in Niger State , Malam Yahaya Gbongbo, stated this at the sensitisation public/enlightenment campaign on disability inclusion on Thursday, in Minna the Niger State capital that the sensitisation was to achieve disability inclusion in all sectors.
It could however be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari had in 2019 signed Disability Bill 2018 in an ACT to give people living with disabilities full participation and inclusion in all sectors of the Nigerian society.
Gbongbo further explained that since the Bill was signed into law, there has been little or no major progress made in the implementation of the disability Act 2018.
This, he noted, “is due to low awareness on the part of the general public about the content of the act, ignorance of stakeholders on their roles and responsibilities in relation to implementing aspects of the act”.
Others, according to him, “Were lack of adequate knowledge of persons with disabilities on their rights as guaranteed under the disability act.”
He noted that the public enlightenment campaign was to sensitise stakeholders on the benefits of integrating people with disabilities in various sectors and recognise them as partners in national development.
In her address, Chairman of the Occasion, Hajiya Asebe Garba, said it was worrisome that the disability act 2018 was yet to be fully implemented as many people with disabilities were still faced with stigmatisation from the society.
She described as worrisome that people with disabilities were seen as people who do not have anything to offer to the society, hilighting that the act was to change such narratives and give them a sense of belonging.
In their separate goodwill messages, Miss Miriam Bako, representative of National Human Rights Commission, said the commission had been championing the cause for inclusion of people with disabilities as well as interface with government on regards to complaints brought before the commission.
Also, the State Chairman of People with Disabilities, Malam Musa Usman described inclusion as “full participation and involvement of people with disabilities in the family and the society affairs”.
He however lemented that despite the signing of the disability act 2018 into Law, that both state and non state actors have refused to give support to people with disabilities due to fear of them excelling above them.
According to him, “no single person with special needs has been appointed as Minister, Commiasioner or Permanent Secretary, what we need is empathy from the society and not sympathy and we should be addressed as “people with special needs”.
