Some six hundred thousand persons with disabilities are currently begging for apt attention from the kebbi government.
They include deaf people, the crippled, blind people, and many of them with permanent deformities, these army of the physically challenge are either literate through school for persons with special needs while large chunk of them are naturally gifted so with a little push from the government will leave the streets, filling stations, markets and Banks where most of them are found begging for alms.
Mallam Abdullahi Aliyu Usman who is the immediate past state chairman in kebbi state now president of the National joint association for persons with disabilities, in an interview with daily independent said that, at a certain public function appealed to governor of Kebbi state Senator Atiku Bagudu to assent bill on disabilities before him already transmitted by the state assembly
According to him, the bill if assented by the governor will meet at least 90% of their problems which include education, healthcare and access to public infrastructure.
He added that, the entire political and public service have been flooded by the ables with lean attention to the persons with disabilities.
Usman lamented that, in kebbi state his members does not have representatives from local governments to state level, no commissioner for the disable, no special adviser not even a ward councilor ” the wearer of the shoes knows where it pinches so the disabled knows their problems.
He stated that, in 2018 President Buhari had signed a bill for the disables to give equal rights to all the physically challenged but the bill is yet to get the nod of Senator Bagudu saying that nothing will make impact to them if the bill is not assented by the governor which will give a legal backing to the establishment of commission for persons with disabilities in Kebbi state.
According to him, the commission will accommodate all their problems and take off the streets the huge number he has mentioned above as they will learn trades to become self reliant and abandon alms begging.
Abdullahi appeal to Bagudu to assent the bill to give them equal rights like any able citizen of the state.
Another deaf Bashar Bala Sakaba a member who can’t talk but texted mentioned employments, business grants and a befitting office to run the activities of persons with disabilities as a way of giving them the sense of belonging which will as well take most of them off the streets.
Bashar who is educated confirmed that, there are a loT of them with formal western education who does not want to beg for alms because they have the skills to fend for themselves.
While corroborating what the National chairman said, Bashar asked Kebbi government to do the needful by signing the bill adding that, persons with disabilities are useful human beings like any other able persons.