All tiers of government and corporate organisations have been called upon to pay more attention to the plight of those living with disabilities, in order to enable them to live a comfortable life with able members of society.
Journalists for Democratic Rights, (JODER) made the call in a communique issued at the end of its one-day training on reporting People Living With Disabilities (PLWDs), which took place in Lagos and organised by it with the support of the Ford Foundation West Africa Regional Office.
This was just as JODER, in the communique tasked the media to increase the tempo of the campaign for access to free education and free health for children living with disabilities.
JODER, in a communique jointly signed by Segun Abifarin, David Anyaele, Mrs Bukola George and Adewale Adeoye, stated that the rights of People Living With Disabilities (PLWDs) was an important human right issue, pointing out that democracy and good governance were not complete without an equitable focus on the rights of affected people.
“The Nigerian Local, State and National Governments should be constructively engaged on socio-economic policies like education, health and housing which affect the essential needs of PLWDs.
“The media should increase the tempo of the campaign for access to free education and free health for Children living with disabilities,” the communique said.
Participants, while noting that several laws and conventions were in place for the protection of the people living with disabilities, expressed concern about the implementation regime of the existing laws which remarkable impacts were yet to be felt.
They observed that in the just-concluded 2023 General Elections, “in the same pattern for previous ones, the Independent Electoral Commission, (INEC) did not make provisions for PLWDs to enhance their capacity to vote with ease.”
The organisers of the workshop defined disability as “a physical or mental condition that limits an individual’s movements, senses, and activities,” noting sadly that children living with disabilities were denied access to the essentials of life, including shelter, education and decent housing which imposes lack of self-esteem on them as they grow up.
The communique recalled that the 2006 National Census indicated that 3,253,169 Nigerians lived with disabilities representing some 2.32 per cent of the population at the time, while it said a Global Report in 2011 stated that some 25 million Nigerians lived with disabilities out of which 3.6 million faced significant difficulties in functioning, adding: “Also as at 2023 in Nigeria, it is believed that there are some 27million people with disabilities.”
The workshop, however, commended the media for having done a lot in promoting the rights of PLWDs but stated that the efforts were far from being enough, noting that in some media spaces, issues concerning PLWDs were still considered as less important in the allocation of media space.
“In some media spaces, PLWDs are still considered as less important in the allocation of media space; stories concerning PLWDs are treated as sudden events, not as a continuum of the serious social and economic crisis that the state itself needs to address.
“Sometimes, in some media houses, disability stories are seen as ‘soft’ stories that should be in the backwater of the media spaces; Media advocacy for PLWDs remains at its lowest ebb,” the communique said.
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