The Kaduna State Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act 2021, also known as the Disability Act signed by the Mallam Nasir El-Rufai administration, “provides for the full integration of Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) into the society.
The Act was a domestication of the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities which vests the Commission with the responsibilities for their education, health care, social, economic, civil rights, among others.
In this special report, Joy Gadani
takes a look at some of the failed responsibilities including the inaccessibility of PWDs to physical structures and facilities.
Part two of the Act provides for a five year transition period within which all public structures and facilities will be made accessible “from the day of the commencement of this Act, there shall be a transitory period of five years within which all public buildings and structures, whether immovable, movable or automobile, which where inaccessible to persons with disabilities shall be modified to be accessible to and usable by persons with disabilities including those on wheelchairs”.
Three years since the Act was signed, several public structures and facilities remain inaccessible for PWDs.
Isaac Joseph Kuyet, a graduate of Psychology from University of Jos, a teacher and person with visual impairment, noted that the challenges of persons with disabilities are different, based on the form of disability.
He said that for persons with visual impairment, access to job opportunities remains a major challenge because despite his educational qualification and capacity, it is difficult to find decent jobs both in private and public sectors especially with the high unemployment rate in Nigeria.
According to Kuyet, “individuals with visual impairment are able to fit into any job beyond persons’ expectations, however, the 5% job allocation for PWDs in all federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) provided for by the Act still fall short of implementation”.
Kuyet revealed that he took ill at the age of 12 and in the process lost his sight. According to him, despite the fact that the Disability Act has been domesticated in the State, efforts towards its implementation has been slow.
He, however, expressed optimism that with sustained advocacy, more PWDs will begin to access more opportunities in governance and civic engagement.
Kuyet noted that at the federal level, the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities has an Executive Secretary who is a person with disability, unfortunately, that is not so at the State level.
This, he said, is a serious concern for citizens with disability as it might be difficult for the Chairperson of the Board to understand the needs and concerns of PWDs in the State and be committed to pursuing them.
Based on the provision of the Act; Part four article b, “there shall be an executive secretary for the commission who shall be a person with disability”.
However, this Act may not be able to function in the areas of inclusion and access for persons with disabilities if the Implementation Plan is not signed.
Sulaiman Abdulazeez, the Chairperson, Kaduna State Chapter of Joint Association of Persons with Disabilities (JONAPWD) confirmed that the Disability Law is still far from implementation five years after.
According to him, the major set-back to the Act is as a result of lack of Framework that will guide the implementation
Sulaiman said that members of the disability community are yet to enjoy inclusion and that as an umbrella body of the different disability clusters, JONAPWD is hopeful that the Implementation Framework will be given the needed attention.
He said the Framework has been developed and validated, awaiting assent by the Executive governor of Kaduna State, adding that there’s an urgent need for the plan to be signed so that they could have a legal standing to follow on its implementation in Kaduna State, “when the Implementation Plan is signed, we will find our way, because without the Plan what can one do?, he asked.
Sulaiman also lauded the effort of the past government and that if this Act is not given the right attention, all the efforts so far by government, Civil Societies and all stakeholders involved in the process would be a waste of time and resources.