•Appointment of aide on disability is step in the right direction

President Bola Tinubu’s appointment of an aide to further open space for the persons with disability is to be hailed as it marks fulfilment of another campaign promise. This is in line with global best practices that accommodate all sectors of the society: the youth, women and the physically challenged.

In Nigeria, the National Population Commission (NPC) puts the percentage of those with disability at 9.6, thus deserving of a say in the running of the society. They have often complained of being left out of policy decisions.

In tertiary institutions, only very few are able to create space for themselves as there are no special opportunities created for them. In public examinations, there is very little provision made for braille for the blind. When offered admission, no special place is provided for them in the overcrowded lecture theatres, nor is access made for them into the halls of residence.

If there is little consciousness of the special needs of the disabled at the Tertiary institution level, the situation at primary and secondary levels is even worse. Other students are known to make jest of them and there are very few schools for special education.

It is within this context that the President’s appointment of Mohammed Isah, a graduate of Public Administration from the University of Maiduguri, is particularly welcome. He has been involved in canvassing opening up the space for the challenged for more than a decade; and had even extended his activism to other parts of Africa and international fora.

As one who has confronted the obstacles at different times, he is most fitting to lead the campaign, and regularly present the difficulties of the physically challenged, at the highest level of government. He is expected, as the Presidency pointed out, to liaise with the National Commission for Persons with Disability (NCPWD) to come up with an acceptable framework to make life better for those facing the challenges.

One immediate expectation is that his office and NCPWD would work together with the lawmakers to amend the Discrimination Against Persons with Disability Act, as may be deemed to give effect to its provisions.

Another duty assigned the new Senior Special Assistant is to engage the governments of the federating units to buy into the national vision to improve the lives of our citizens living with disability. We expect states to also create offices, headed by the same set of citizens, to bring them to the table. They sure would know where the shoe pinches!

Every Nigerian is important, but unless we expand the bracket of representation and improve on the overall sense of belonging, we will be short-changing the country of the contribution that all sectors could make. Despite the contritions in the system, there are professionals who could make valuable contributions to nation-building, but are deprived the opportunity.

If Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the 32nd President of the United States, could run a country as vast and complex from the wheelchair, why should Nigeria, that needs all hands on deck, shut the door against persons living with disability, irrespective of their educational attainment and skills?

Beyond the appointment, President Tinubu has to be personally involved in driving the process. He has the power to break the mould of cultural discrimination, and also getting federal legislature, as well as the subnational legislative chambers, to cooperate with his efforts at expanding political inclusivity.

Whereas the law provides for six months jail term or a paltry N100,000 fine against any form of discrimination, hardly has anyone been sanctioned. It is time Nigeria joined the league of countries breaking bigotry against people with special needs.

A good point to start, for the new presidential aide, is to work with all the 36 states to domesticate the Discrimination Against Persons with Disability Act. Every state should also establish a replica of the Commission for Persons Living with Disability.

That is the way to go — and Mohammed Isah has his job cut out for him. It is both doable and commendable.

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