The Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities (JONAPWD) joined the rest of the world to celebrate and recognize the enormous contributions of Persons with Disabilities around the world on Friday December 3 with a clarion call for full participation of Persons with Disabilities in mainstream politics and leadership.
The United Nations General Assembly set aside December 3rd to recognize and celebrate International Day of Persons with Disabilities. This year’s theme: “Leadership and Participation toward an Inclusive, Accessible and Sustainable Post-COVID-19 World”.
JONAPWD reiterates that it is pertinent to recognize our role as a people by ensuring Disability Inclusion. This is why JONAPWD in collaboration with Leprosy Mission Nigeria held a national press conference on Friday in commemoration of the day.
In his remarks, Acting President, Alhaji Abdullahi Usman Aliyu noted that by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) standards, Disability-inclusive leadership begins with consultation with Persons with Disabilities and their representative organizations
Aliyu insists that “ensuring Persons with Disabilities participation at the stages of design, implementation and evaluation is key to ensuring effectiveness and success of policies and development programmes”.
The acting President however lamented non-participation of Persons with Disabilities in Nigeria other than mere consulting.
While commending President Muhammadu Buhari for signing the Disability Bill into law and establishing the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities (NCPWD), Aliyu charges all domestic and international stakeholders to learn from COVID pandemic experiences of people with disabilities, and pursue interventions into socio-economic pillars that can help address impairments faced by the Nigerian demography.
The Acting President also noted that prioritizing support and assistive technologies will greatly contribute to inclusive implementation of many Sustainable Development Goals.
“Systematically mainstreaming the interests and rights of persons with disabilities in design and implementation, across all sectors and areas of life will similarly go a long way in achieving the mantra of “Leave No One Behind”.” He said.
According to him, the association will continue to genuinely seek collaboration with partners to promote the rights and wellbeing of Persons with Disabilities in Nigeria.
Mr. Pius Sunday representing National Director of Leprosy Mission Nigeria, Dr Sunday Udo, spoke on the importance of recognizing our roles as a country in disability inclusion. He expressed his sadness over a mere declaration of a day every year to mark disability day, saying it would not get us to our expected destination. He lamented the discrimination which keep limiting people with disabilities.
He called on government, NGOs, CSOs, Religious Leaders, PWDs and the entire Nigerians to ensure that leadership and participation of persons with disabilities toward an inclusive, accessible and sustainable post-COVID-19 world happens.
The Technical Assistant, National commission for Persons with Disabilities (NCPWD), Mr. Yusuf Iyodo tasked all clusters of PWDs to be more inclusion oriented in advocacy and called for full participation and involvement of PWDs in leadership. Iyodo harped on the need to be “resilience in this type of advocacy”.