By Francis Ewherido
“Ability” in the heading is an irony but it is the truth. There is no doubt that we have people with physical disabilities and handicaps in our society, but our unfriendly environment is actually more guilty for bringing these disabilities and handicaps to the fore. In more benevolent and saner climes, there is a deliberate effort to create equal opportunities for all, people’s physical and mental incapacities notwithstanding. They create an environment where such people can function and live normal lives.
That is what, I imagine, the Delta State Government is trying to achieve with the signing into law of “a bill to safeguard persons with disability against all forms of discrimination, equalise their opportunities in all aspects of living in the society, establish the Delta State Commission for Persons with Disability and for Related Matters” recently passed by the Delta State House of Assembly. On December 4, 2024, the Delta State Governor, Elder Sheriff Oborevwori, signed the bill into law.
You will never understand what people with disabilities in Nigeria go through until you are temporarily disabled. The frustration is unbelievable. You can’t walk on the sidewalks, if there is any in the first place, because they are unfriendly and undulating. In some places, slabs covering drainages have been removed or are broken. Thieves steal metals covering manholes and endanger the lives of road users, especially when the road is flooded. You go to a four-storey building to transact business on the last floor and there is no lift or it’s not functioning if there is any.
A younger friend of mine used to bring his friend, a lady, who uses a wheelchair to church on Sundays. One day, I asked him if the lady lived on the ground floor. He said she lived on the first floor. I asked how she came down to enter the car and go the church. He said he carried her on his back downstairs. The implication is that someone had to carry her on his/her back each time she wanted to go out. What do you think about it? For me, it is frustrating, distressing, humiliating and depressing.
I can’t dwell on all aspects of the law, so I will take some aspects of it. One portion said “a public building shall not be constructed without the necessary accessibility aids such as lifts (where necessary), ramps and other facilities that shall make them accessible and usable to persons with disability.” This is wonderful, but I have problems with “where necessary” after the lift. I feel it should be compulsory that any public building with more than three floors (including ground floor) must have a lift. Anybody with enough funds to build such a structure should have the cash to install a lift. I spent some months in India. Every public building (buildings members of the public have access to) of three floors I entered had a lift.
The next section is “roads, side-walks, pedestrian crossings and all other facilities made for public use shall be made accessible to and usable by persons with disabilities including those on wheelchairs and visually-impaired persons.” Apart from Abuja, many other parts of Nigeria were not planned making deliberate efforts to accommodate the disabled and physically challenged. Now that the Delta State Government has this law in place, future road constructions should be done in Delta with compliance to the law. Efforts can also be made to make amends to existing roads that failed to comply with this provision.
| The next section that caught my attention is “the relevant authority responsible for the approval of building plans shall ensure that before erecting any public structure, the relevant building plans are scrutinised in order to ensure that the plan conforms to the building code with regards to accessibility facilities for persons with disability in line with the National Building Code.”
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| The National Building Code mentioned in this section “is a set of minimum standards on building pre-design, designs, construction and post-construction stages with a view to ensuring quality, safety and proficiency in the building industry” in Nigeria. Going into details on the building code will make us deviate, but if the various professionals (architects, engineers, builders, town planners, estate surveyors, etc) abided by this code, the various problems bedevilling the industry, including incessant collapse of buildings will be mitigated. Of course, you have to add the monster of quackery plaguing the building industry.
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Another section that caught my eyes is “for a person with disability to be entitled to the use of the reserved spaces as provided for in this section. His or her car should have been properly identified with the necessary insignia issued by the Commission. I know major shopping malls in Nigeria make provisions for the disabled in their parking lot. But we have to make it a habit in all public parking lots not something we do out of compulsion. Abroad such parking lots are located closest to the entrance of the building to make life easier for people with special needs.
Part three(C) of the law makes provision for the establishment of Delta State Commission for Persons with Disability. This is a welcome development. The law states that the “Chairman and other Commission members shall be persons of proven integrity with genuine concern for the rights, interests, protection and integration of persons with disability.” This is good, but I will suggest to the governor that at least half of people on board should be people with disability and special needs. “Na who wear shoe dey know where e dey pain pass.” Disabled people understand the pains, frustrations, rejection, etc., of people with disability more than others. They are in the best position to look after their interests. If they fail their own, which is not impossible, it will be tragic.
The law also talks about dedicated toilet facilities for the disabled in public places. All the standard hotels and public places worth the name have them. My worry is our notoriety for lack of maintenance of such facilities. There should be cleaners during working hours to keep them clean. The law also talks about provision of ramps in public places. They are common in Lagos. I have not really taken time to observe the situation in Delta State and that is what the law is all about.
Finally, the elephant in the room. We have many good laws to deal with various challenges in the society, but we don’t implement them. I will round up with one of such laws. The Insurance Act of 2003, Section 64, requires every owner or contractor of any building under construction with more than two floors to take out an insurance policy to cover his liability arising from construction risks such as his negligence or that of his servants, agents or consultants, which may result in death, bodily injury or property damage of workers on site or members of the public. Go round such construction sites and find out how many have this insurance.
The Delta State Government has done well by enacting this law. It should do more by implementing it vigorously. The commission should be constituted and given the support to implement this law. If not, no work done. It will be a hollow ritual. We already have “The Discrimination Against Persons With Disabilities (Prohibition) Act 2019” at the national level, but implementation is weak. It must not be so in Delta State; if not, it will be another hollow ritual.
