Nigerians Need To Create Equal And Enabling Environment For Persons With Disabilities – UN Committee Member

A member of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Danlami Umaru Basharu, has said that Nigerians need to create an equal and enabling environment for people with disabilities in the country.

Basharu stated that understanding disability and persons with disability would be crucial in knowing how to respond to their needs, aspirations, and expectations.

The Director of the Anglo-Nigerian Welfare Association For The Blind stated this on Sunday at the fundraising dinner, and graduation ceremony of the Resource Center for The Blind held at Eko Hotels, Lagos.

He stated that non-disabled persons would find it very difficult to fully comprehend the challenge facing persons with disabilities until an equal and enabling environment is created.

The UN member also lamented that the fate of many persons with disabilities is characterized by discrimination, stigmatization, exploitation, and marginalization.

Basharu noted that society must learn to support parents of persons with disabilities to continue to give the love and care that children and all persons with disabilities desire.

He added that the key to independence is to break down the attitudes and environmental barriers that prevent people with disabilities from achieving their full potential.

According to Basharu, citizens must create an independent atmosphere for persons with disabilities to realize their full potential and break all forms of barriers in their way.

In her remarks, the Executive Director of the Resource Center for The Blind, Temitayo Ayinla-Omotola, stated that the event was organized to educate the citizens on how to treat visually-impaired persons.

She stated that the Centre, which has a capacity for 16 residential visually impaired students and 40 day students, provides flexible and customized programs suited for the need of each student.

Ayinla-Omotola noted that the Center provides rehabilitation and training to persons with visual impairments to enable them to live independently and maximize their full potential.

She said students who have received training at the Center and are academically inclined are encouraged to enroll in higher learning institutions. At the same time, those who want to be an entrepreneur are also encouraged to become independent.

The Director, however, called on the government at all levels to provide an enabling environment for persons with visual impairments and create policies that will benefit them.

She said: “At the resource center for the blind, we also train them in English, Mathematics, Science, Arabic, Braille, ICT, Music, Mobility and Orientation, and extra-curricular activities.

“The Center’s curriculum has evolved to adapt to the changing demands of the modern world.  Every student is given priority attention, and no one is left out. The Center demonstrates that when one loses his sight, it is not the end of the world, irrespective of age, status, or academic qualifications. There is room for everyone and something to be learned.“