Promoting Social Inclusion For Physically Challenged People

Once again, the Bible book of Ecclesiastes Chapter 9:11b comes alive when it says: “Time and chance happens to them all”.
The maxim “time and chance” is often used to refer to challenges of life with respect to eventualities, accident and other unforeseen circumstances. It ranges from natural disaster, unpleasant circumstances and manmade conditions of life.
This is where conditions such as blindness, lameness, hearing impairments, earthquakes and accident resulting in amputation and broken limbs which would require the use and purchase of prosthesis.
Physically challenged or the people living with disabilities encounter a gamut of challenges, with some relating to health conditions such as paralysis, arthritis, psycho-neurological conditions commonly called madness, dumbness, strabismus, also called crossed eyes, among others.
With respect to human being alone, the expression “Time and Chance” is also used to mean limited opportunities of life that are available to mankind irrespective of race, gender and colour.
Specifically, it is used to mean physically challenged conditions that inhibit the functionality and ability of a person.
In other words, persons living with disabilities are not persons suffering from sickness infected by sins of their parents or eventualities caused by evil spirit from the village. Physically challenged persons are not persons who have lost their cognitive abilities, who are emotionally unstable.
This is why it is necessary to properly classify them into clusters and not to describe them as people with mental sickness or the less privileged.
One thing is clear: the difference between healthy living and sickness is the Grace of God.
It is therefore, the prerogative of God to give and take life at will as well as grant wellness and sanity to humans.
It is common knowledge that no individual can claim to be careful and all-knowing than those who suffer one challenge in life or the other.
Eventualities including accident have become a part of human life that people living with disabilities are part of existence, the world over.
In other words, society is replete with people living with disabilities. The world is inundated with successful individuals who have disabilities in music, law, journalism, sports, secretarial administration.
This is not to undermine those of them serving as teachers, lecturers and in power, sports and architecture as well as catering. Today, civilised society deliberately makes provision for the physically challenged and the less privileged in society to enable them live their potentials.
To this end some societies construct public buildings, roads with the consciousness that there are persons with disabilities in society.
Caring for the persons with disabilities involve constructing roads with facilities that enhance the movement of physically challenged and pregnant women, aged and people living with disabilities.
For instance, the United Nations, through its convention on the Rights of people Living with Disabilities designed template, to draw attention to the fact that the physically challenged in society are truly humans and they do have rights and privileges in addition to the inalienable human rights.
These rights include but not limited to freedom of association, employment without discrimination, among others.
In addition, the Rivers State Disability Welfare Enhancement Law No.13 of 201l seeks to address the challenges confronting persons living with disabilities.
It may not be out of place for government to set up a commission or a board to implement the provisions of the law.
It is unfortunate that Nigeria as a nation, does not seem to take good care of its citizens, let alone the people living with disabilities, also referred to as the physically challenged.
Worse still, public buildings such as schools, churches, mosques, pleasure parks or restrooms, are not established or constructed with public conveniences and elevators to enhance the comfort of people with disabilities.
Even the Ministry of Social Welfare is not usually manned or headed by persons living with disabilities and appointments as Special Assistants, Commissioners and Ministers.
As if that is not enough, what do you make of a lecturer who deliberately fixes class, test and examination in a three – storey building when the ground floor is free to conduct such exercise?
What do you make of a public officer especially a police officer who harasses, embarrasses a strabismus patient who wears a pair of dark eye classes without any compunction and remorse or lame or cripple driver for not alighting from his vehicle to talk to him -the police or security personnel before knowing that the driver is lame.
Nigeria should be able to cater for the physically challenged in society. It is also important to distinguish between sickness, illness and the less privileged in society and being the physically challenged.
It is also pertinent to separate mental illness from being physically challenged rather than mixing and combing all mental or psycho-neurological challenges with people living with disabilities.
It is important to state that it is not all those who are physically challenged that are not emotionally stable to reason, to engage in meaningful activities.
This is where it is necessary to appeal to leaders in positions of trust to demonstrate leadership in appointing the people with disabilities into offices of honour.
Governments at various levels must make adequate budgetary provision for people with disabilities rather than just taking photographs and celebrating their birthdays with them once in a year.
It is worthy of commendation the recent initiative of the government of Akwa Ibom State for earmarking the sum of One Hundred Million Naira for the wellbeing of people living with disabilities.
Government should collaborate and partner with organisations and well-meaning individuals offering free and subsidised prosthetic limbs in Nigeria, India and other nations to give succour to affected persons.
Government, Churches and individuals should include relevant facilities in the construction of buildings, roads, bridges and public places.
The States and national assemblies should make laws that would give hope to people living with disabilities to engender good governance.
Religious organisations have enormous role to play, to integrate them into society while employers of labour should see the need to employ suitable, qualified and competent persons with disabilities as part of effort to building egalitarian society.
The time to act is now.

By: Baridon Sika

Sika is a public affairs analyst.