The Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities in Osun State has urged Nigerians to treat people with disabilities with more respect rather than subjecting them to abuse that could dampen their morale.

According to the group’s chairman, Mr Stephen Idowu, people with disabilities were already struggling to survive in a society that hardly provides for their basic needs, adding that subjecting them to other forms of abuse would make life more difficult for them.

Idowu spoke in Osogbo at a two-day capacity-building training for organisations of persons with disabilities in Osun State on Rights-Based Advocacy and Strategies, organised by the Festus Fajemilo Foundation.

A statement by Idowu on Saturday, quoting him as speaking at the event, read, “People’s attitude towards persons with disabilities is very derogatory. The words people used to qualify us are very bad.

“Landlords do not want to give us apartments because of our conditions, and it makes it very difficult for us to secure accommodation. Securing employment is another issue. People are not ready to give our members jobs.

“Getting into public buildings can also be difficult for our members. We find it difficult to reach some public places because there is no provision for pathways that we can use because of our conditions to reach there. What we need is encouragement, more respect, and not any kind of treatment that can bring down our morale,” it added.

Addressing the gathering, the co-founder of the foundation, Afolabi Fajemilo noted that the domestication of law prohibiting discrimination against persons with disabilities provided in the state would make life more livable for them. (The PUNCH)

•Image depicting people living with disability

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