The CEO and founder of Equal Rights for Persons with Disabilities International (ERPDI), Chief Eric Ndubuaeze Ufom, has charged advocates and activists in Nigeria to put in more effort in ensuring that the disability bill is signed into law by the president and relent their efforts following the recent success, INN reports
Ufom made this call in a facebook post shared by him. He opined that “Just because On May 11, 2018, the Hon. Attorney General of the Federation and Minister for Justice, Hon. Justice Abubakar Malami promised us that the Nigerians with Disabilities Rights Bill will be signed by H.E. President Muhammadu Buhari, does not guarantee that the Bill will be signed”.
Ufom lamented that It was sad and very unfortunate that after May 11, 2018, everybody went back to their slumber sleeps, waiting for Nigerian-Americans with Disabilities to be the only group that would continue from where they stopped in planning the next course of action from the United States, in collaboration with Kpakpando Foundation for Persons with Disabilities.
According to him, INN gathered, “Nigeria is the World’s most populous black nation of educated/lawyers with disabilities and therefore, whereby from the onset, since 18 years ago, you has been finding it difficult to utilize your combined very plenty of academic education to succeed, in advocating for the Bill to be signed into law”.
“I wonder what you guys will be doing when the bill is signed, during its most difficult time of advocating, lobbying and negotiating for Nigeria to truly implement the Disabilities Rights Law”, he asked.
Ufom went on to point out that It takes a peaceful and united Village to succeed; It does not take just a one off advocacy, lobbying and negotiation to succeed.
He reminded Nigerian activists that It takes consistency, nonstop multi-stakeholders sleepless nights, collaborative, lobbying, planning and execution until there are positive results at the end, to succeed.
Reeling out other necessary steps required to achieve positive impact, Ufom reminded disability stakeholders in Nigeria that It takes utilizing or contacting every big or small avenue to succeed and takes consistent, nonstop narratives/telling your positives and negatives stories with a very, very loud noisy mouth publicly, to succeed.
He enjoined advocacy in Nigeria to use the U.S. National ADAPT styles of publicity, while thanking and praising those who already had helped them to advocate, lobby and negotiate for the disability Rights Bill.
Reeling out the names of those to be appreciated, Ufom said, “I therefore moves to thank Kpakpando Foundation of Persons with Disabilities and her Board of Trustee Chairman, the Most Distinguished Senator Osita Izunaso and Executive Director, Mrs. Patricia Ovuoke John-Oseh; The Nigerian Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki; The Hon. Speaker of the House of Assembly, Hon. Yakubu Dogara; the Hon. Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Hon. Justice Abubakar Malami; Her Excellency Mrs. Regina Bako Lalong, First Lady of Plateau State; Hon. Arc. Michael Okonkwo, Anambra State Commissioner of Environment; Hon. Mrs. Felicia Yakzum, Special Adviser to the Plateau State Governor on Women Affairs and Social Development”.
Giving special recognition he said “Thanks to, Ms. Judith (Judy) Heumann, Office of the International Disabilities Rights at the U.S. State Department, USAID, U.S. Mission to Nigeria, USAID-Nigeria, American & Nigerian-American Taxpayers IRI, UN DSPD/DESA, International Disabilities Alliance (IDA); African Disability Forum (ADF); Rehabilitation International (RI); Disabled Peoples International (DPI); United States International Council on Disabilities (USICD); CADUS-USA, because without them, there would be no May 11, 2018, March 13, 2018 and February 28, 2018 positive results” Ufom concluded.
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