FOR LOIS Auta, 39, growing up with an unusual health condition and appearance was difficult.

As a child, she found herself shying away from playing with her peers because she was diagnosed with Poliomyelitis, also known as polio.

Polio is a highly contagious disease caused by a virus which attacks the nervous system and often results in permanent paralysis.

At the age of two, Auta, was already down with polio, which crippled her lower limb and this kept her away during play time.

She would often lock herself indoors after several attempts to join her peers at the neighbourhood playground failed.

That was her only way to avoid being mocked by others because of her condition.

The reality of her disability was biting at her self esteem but her parents made the journey easy. With unwavering love and assurance from her mother, Auta came to accept her condition and planted a mantra in her heart which she recited when life got tough.

“I see my disability as a blessing and not a curse. I see it as a bridge and not a barricade. I see my disability as an opportunity to change the world. I’m a woman with 99.9 percent ability,” she recited joyfully.

But reciting the power line is the easiest part, believing it is a struggle and having to face life in Nigeria as a person with disability is a constant battle, she says.

Living with disability in Nigeria

Auta had one of her prayers answered when she got admitted into University of Abuja to study Public Administration. But she would soon be confronted with reality of attending classes on daily basis.

That was the big hurdle she had to overcome in an institution where there are no provisions for people with special needs.

University of Abuja has no lift or elevator for students and no ramps for physically challenged students.

With no access to classrooms on top floors, Auta, who moves around with the aid of a wheelchair, had to rely on her classmates to lift her up the stairs in order to attend her classes until she advocated for all her classes to be taken in classrooms located on the ground floor.

When her advocacy got attention, it became possible for her as well as other students with disability to attend classes. But this required that all classes with a student with disability be relocated to the ground floor.

Despite this, other classrooms remain inaccessible to persons with disabilities, especially those who are wheelchair-bound.

But Auta’s adjusted reality is a single lucky case — most people with disability in the country, have no access to a range of public spaces or services and unlike Auta, have no opportunity to advocate for what is needed.

Mary, Auta’s friend, was once a victim of the systemic negligent of PLWD.

According to Auta, Mary, who also moves around in a wheelchair, was a few months pregnant and had to visit the hospital for antenatal care regularly.

She faced what was best described as a sordid experience in her life, Auta said.

During one of the hospital visits, Mary fell and lost her child because there was no ramp to aid her movement as a wheelchair-bound patient.

“There are no facilities in place for persons with disabilities to move around independently,” Auta said while recalling the story of her friend.

Mary’s predicament paints a picture of what many who are living with disability face on daily basis in Nigeria.

According to the World Disability Report of 2011, over 25 million Nigerians have at least one disability and more than 50 percent of the 25 million Nigerians living with disabilities are female.

Despite reports showing that over 15 percent of Nigeria’s population lives with at least one form of disability or another, the country neglects its most vulnerable group.

This lack of proper attention and provision for people with special needs prevents about 25 million citizens from functioning as members of the Nigerian society and in worse cases, leaves them vulnerable and at higher risk in cases of emergencies and danger.

The systematic neglect also violates their rights as human beings.

All across the country, there is a large absence of ramps, handrails, walk-ways, assistive devices and lifts in most public buildings, roads and institutions; including courts, police stations, media houses schools, hospitals, government secretariats and offices, car parks, recreation centres and even polling stations (during elections).

Visually impaired persons are unable to access government websites, independently cross roads, or participate in decision making processes.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9trEe5VEaL4&feature=emb_title

READ MORE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/gender-gap-only-40-out-of-269-bills-were-sponsored-by-female-senators-of-9th-assembly/