Tinubu displayed bias by excluding PLWDs from appointments – Forum’s secretary

Tinubu displayed bias by excluding PLWDs from appointments – Forum’s secretary

National Organising Secretary of the Northern Nigeria Disability Forum, Bulus Chuanoemoh, tells MUHAMMED LAWAL about the non-implementation of government policies to protect people living with disabilities, among others

Nigerians are known for showing love and empathy to people with disabilities. Do you think there are issues of stereotype or ridicule against PLWDs?

There is a lot of stereotyping of persons with disabilities by Nigerians because a lot of them are not educated enough about persons with disabilities. Their knowledge of persons with disabilities is limited. The thinking out there is that the PLWDs have nothing to do, cannot help themselves and that what they can only do is beg. Some Nigerians believe their support to the PLWDs is to give them alms and all of that. So, we believe that a lot of work needs to be done to assist people with disabilities.

How will you rate the country’s policies as they concern persons with disabilities?

These policies are below average, because the policies available in the country at the moment are nothing to write home about, as they lack proper implementation. Those policies are very difficult to implement. If you take, for instance, the National Disability Rights Act that was formulated by former President Muhammadu Buhari, it has not been implemented to the fullest. I think apart from the establishment of the National commission that was housed at a temporary site in Abuja, there has not been anything.

However, the provisions in that Act are efficient as they will go a long way towards solving the numerous challenges facing persons with disabilities in Nigeria, including in northern Nigeria if it is implemented. Due to what I call the misplacement of priority by the government on persons with disabilities, those provisions are being neglected; they have not been implemented. Again, domesticating the Act in the states will also go a long way because the state government is closer to the people. So, if the Act is being domesticated in a state, it will benefit persons with disabilities the more, but I think it is only two or three states that have even assented to the bill after passing it to the state Houses of Assembly and they have not even implemented it as it is supposed to be. I think those are some of the things. The policies are actually below average in terms of implementation and domestication.

Your forum threatened to drag President Tinubu to court over the non-inclusion of members in his appointments. Do you think the President has committed any offence by that Act?

Yes, he committed an offence because we have three arms of government. This Act was enacted and it passed through the National Assembly. The National Assembly transmitted the Act to the president at that time and he did assent to that bill and that is why it became an Act. So, it is operational since it has been assented to by the former president. Other international treaties support this Act, like the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights and many others, to which Nigeria is a signatory and those were also ratified by the country.

So, I think even the constitution of the country does not allow for discrimination. As far as I am concerned, there is discrimination by Mr President for not including persons with disabilities in the list of those appointed. We have eminently qualified individuals who can at least represent us well and contribute their quota to the development of the country. The ‘Renewed Hope’ agenda needs every hand to be on the deck for it to be achieved, and we believe our issue can be properly articulated if we have our own there.

Apart from the threat to sue the President, What can be done to assuage the feelings of members of your forum?

Yes, we are doing many things at the moment; we are trying to let them understand that life is not easy and based on our condition, not everybody is aware of the potential persons with disabilities have. So, we should be able to manage things and follow things gradually just the way we are doing. We are not out to fight the government; we have to follow things gradually. We are trying to appeal to their conscience to know that there are things our members can do to help themselves because this forum is not only to create awareness or to be their voice to the government alone.

There is a skills acquisition programme aimed at making our members independent and productive. People have stereotyped us to be beggars alone. That is their perception about us. So, we need to show them that our members can help themselves. We engage them in skills acquisition to keep them busy and show them that all hope is not lost and that with time, things will get better. We are trying to appeal to their conscience to remain calm.

What are the challenges faced by persons with disabilities?

A lot of us are trying to be in school but have no scholarship. So, access to quality education is a problem. For those who have managed to complete their studies, there are no jobs for them because employers think PLWDs cannot do it. Some will ask you, ‘With your degree, if you are given employment, what will you do?’ Employment is another challenge. Some of us cannot start a business because we have no capital to start the business. That is one problem. There is no public structure that can be used for wheelchairs to access any place that we want to. Also, there is no access to good health care and many other things.

Have the northern governors been able to put measures in place to support persons with disabilities in the North?

Presently no, because there is nothing at the moment to point out that this is what the government is doing. That is why we came out to make the government see the need to include us because we are also members of society and we have some level of responsibility on the government as well. At the moment, there is no programme for us. We are calling on them to do the needful because we are also members of society; we are also very important because we have roles to play. So, programmes of the government should include persons with disabilities, I think that will go a long way.

Across the northern states, has any of the governors appointed a single person with a disability into their cabinet, including into the positions of Senior Special Assistant, Commissioner, Director, and Permanent Secretary, among others?

Presently, I have not heard of any. I can boldly tell you that even for commissioners, I do not think there has ever been a commissioner with a disability. It was only one permanent secretary we have ever had during the time of His Excellency, former governor of Nasarawa State, who appointed a permanent secretary who was blind. Aside from that, I have never heard of any other like that. In the first tenure of the former governor of Taraba State, Darius Ishaku, he appointed some special assistants, I think two or three and a couple of states like that had PLWDs as special assistants not even advisers.

Do PLWDs in the North come out to vote in large numbers or what are the modes of operation of PLWDs during elections?

Yes, actually before elections, during voters’ registration, we come out there to educate our people to register because it is only with their PVCs that they can exercise their franchise and elect those that will help them. They registered and voted in the last election because I happened to be one of the observers of the Nigeria Situation Room in the previous election. So, we observed that our people voted en masse; they came out in their numbers to vote because it is their civic responsibility and they did.

How is the NNDF funded? Is there any allocation given to the forum by the government?

No, because it is not a government-oriented organisation. So, we manage to fund ourselves with local contributions from among ourselves and maybe support from spirited individuals and philanthropists. We are apolitical; so, we fund our programmes by ourselves and maybe individuals that we seek support from or other sister organisations.

Don’t you think the perceived discrimination against PLWDs should be tackled through campaigns in schools before bringing the matter to the national level?

We believe that it should be done concurrently, since the time that we are in is not favourable and the fact that we have some challenges, we should not wait until the campaign starts from schools. We believe it should be done concurrently and it is also good if it is incorporated in our national curriculum so that even in the future, the young ones that are coming up will have that at the back of their minds that it is not good to discriminate against anyone. So, we believe it should be done concurrently.

We’ve heard of many security issues in the North. Has there been any situation where disabled people are being kidnapped or killed?

It is common; it is just that they have not been reported by the traditional and online media as there are a lot of incidences. With curiosity, as persons with disabilities, how do you run? It is saddening that our people are being killed in silence and the incidents are not reported. In all the areas, these things are happening. Our people are usually victims but the incidents are not reported. We are the most vulnerable to attacks.

Did your forum enjoy support from the immediate past administration of President Muhammadu Buhari?

There was no support, and as I have said, we do not get any support from the government in terms of funding and any other thing. Talking about the Disability Child Act, we believe that the assent to the bill by Mr President would have been encouraging if properly implemented. We were at the front of the campaign for the government to give assent to that bill. This bill had been out since the time of former President Olusegun Obasanjo. The only support we got is the assent to the bill and we appreciate him (Buhari) for that.

How are members of your forum coping in this time of economic crisis?

I can only say we are coping through the grace of God. Virtually all of us are not even doing anything. We solely depend on people for living in this time of economic hardship. Now, you hardly get anything from anybody because he is also in pain. The situation is pathetic; we are only managing through the grace of God. Honestly, there is nothing. It is not something to write home about.

Are members of your forum getting palliatives from the government to cushion the effect of fuel subsidy removal?

Not at all, let me give you an instance. In Taraba State, just last week Monday, the government distributed bags of rice to cushion the effects of this subsidy removal, but we tried to ensure that our portion was given to us to share with our members. However, they refused and said we should go to our various polling units and get it there. A local government is getting 140 bags for an entire local government area. So, what will persons with disabilities get? Nothing at all! Therefore, we are in pain actually and we have yet to receive anything.

As a leader and a concerned Nigerian, what do you have to say about the Niger coup?

It is a very unfortunate situation in Niger because for this kind of incident to be happening in the 21st century, it is quite unfortunate and it is sad indeed. At this time, I believe democracy should be developing as we have gone beyond this level. For this to be happening at this time is quite unfortunate.

Do you think it is right for ECOWAS to choose the option of invading Niger Republic in its attempt to restore democracy in West Africa?

No, it is not a nice idea. I believe that diplomacy and negotiation should be prioritised. These should be seen as the number one priority against military intervention. You can see that they are threatening to kill the ousted Nigerien president if ECOWAS military invades their country. This will lead to damage and it will affect everywhere. Because of war, no one knows how it would be as they will also fight back. In this case, I do not want a situation where the Western world will take advantage of it. Let us sit down and look at our priorities, ask what we want as a people and negotiate to find a solution to these things, not war.

Credit: Punch Newspaper