Persons With Disability Call For Inclusion In Politics
… say, we can make a difference
Zainab Tanimu
Kaduna, Northwest Nigeria
As the 2023 general election gathers momentum, persons with disability in Kaduna state have in their multiple voices stressed on the need for inclusiveness and proper representation in all political seats.
According to them, it is not going to be business as usual where they are robbed of their votes by politicians. They are out to make a difference this time around they stated.
This call was made at a meeting held at their rehabilitation board Kaduna where representatives of all the groups gathered to chart a way forward.
The Executive Director, Women Disability Group, Hajiya Risikat Muhammed,
speaking to newsmen shortly after the meeting said the meeting is meant to increase political participation of people with disability. To encourage them to voice out their issues.
According to her, it is no longer business as usual when politicians will take advantage of them. After giving them their votes they are left with empty promises.
“We have passed the stage of giving persons with disability food, or giving them atampa. (cloth) This is the time for persons with disability to bring out their issues most especially on political participation, representation across board. That is, in all the political seats. Getting more participation instead of exclusion. We want the new political aspirants to have knowledge on how to increase political participation of persons with disability. Giving us equal opportunities by creating room for us, mentoring persons with disability, supporting the rights of persons with disability and creating opportunities that will uplift the standard of persons with disability.”
She noted that in as much as they appreciate the step taken by the government on the actualization of the disability bill, the implementation remains a concern for worries.
“Actually we are not saying we are not happy with it. What we are doing is also to support the implementation of the bill because under the bill there is a place where it talks about leadership. Inclusion of persons with disability in all government appointments/employment. It talks about percentage across the employment as well as percentage across political appointment.”
With politics getting heat up and campaign getting tougher, they are calling on the politicians, aspirants coming on board to take cognisance of the needs for persons with disability.
“Looking at the scenario we are getting into election. Now is for the politicians to understand what we need around leadership, what we need around representation.
“That is, allowing persons with disability to participate as well as have equal representation everywhere in any political/government appointments even if it is not elective post.
Once there is a position to be given by the incoming government, there should be a special percentage that will be allocated to persons with disability.
The bill states that every government appointment or employment should allocated 5% to persons with disability.”
As regards whether persons with disability can deliver if given the opportunity to hold any office? She has this to say.
“We have well qualified people to mane these posts be it commissioner, minister, whatever.
That is the main reason we are here today. To raise the issue. To set up a committee. This committee is not going to end here. It is going to continue because if you look at the representation here today, we have representation across all the cluster of persons with disability. Their leaders are here, the women are here.
“Our call is not about giving one of us position of SA, no, we are talking about any government appointment. We want inclusion. We want persons with disability representation in any government appointment. Commissioner is government appointment. Director, Minister are all government appointments. We say we want persons with disability at the top of their issues.To mane their ministry. To be included in any government issues, included in committees etc.
“For example, according to the law of the local government, every local government is supposed to have at least 2% inclusion of persons with disability in the local government board. I am one of the members that drafted the policy. The question is, where are the seats of persons with disability in these boards? If you go across the local governments, you will be so surprise to find out that nothing of such exist in our local governments. If persons with disability are not there, it means no representation.
“You can never know what a person with disability is feeling because you are not a person with disability. Just like the motto states: ‘ there is nothing for us, without us’.
The law needs to be implemented. The question is, who are those people sitting on the seat of persons with disability on the local government board?”
As to the call to persons with disability on making impact in the forthcoming election, she said.
“We are calling on persons with disability that we have passed the stage of divide and rule. We have come to join the race. Let us speak with one voice. Any political aspirant that is not ready to sign and go in line with our communique of today’s meeting, we are not going to support that aspirant because our vote is enough to make you a governor, commissioner, etc which we are equally entitled to.We are tired of being given bag of rice, atampa, no. We want participation. We want to be recognized.
Also speaking, the Kaduna State Chairman, Joint National Association of Persons With Disability, ( JONAP) Mallam Suleiman Abdul Azeez assured.
“For this forthcoming election, we have put things in place. We have set up a committee to sensitize persons with disability. Sensitizing them in their various clusters and the committee’s work will go down to grassroot level where we have our brothers and sisters who are in the rural communities that cannot have access to information. By so doing, they will have access to information about things happening at both the state and national levels.
“We are sensitizing them most especially on the issue of PVC and voting the right candidate.
PVC is our weapon. We can make a change with our PVC by voting anyone that we want and can use it to remove anyone we don’t want. Not by animosity or through hate speeches. No! We are going to use our PVC. That is, using our voters card to change our community, our state and Nigeria at large.”
According to Project Coordinator, Legal Awareness For Nigerian Women (We -You – Project) Mrs. Hannatu Ahuwan, the organization is there to give support to the group.
“We are supporting persons with disability to come together, to look at their priority, identify them and use those same priorities to engage the government and political candidates especially now that we are drawing closer to the 2023 general elections.
“Why this is important is because the PWDs are saying that in the past, politicians come to meet them and give some tokens to help them mobilize other persons with disability for them to be able to get votes. This time around they said they want it to be a different story.
Not just the politicians they said even the government. That they engaged the government on certain issues concerning persons with disability of
which government committed itself but they are yet to see the actualization of those things. Ours is to give them support. She said.
Individuals also contributed toward the realization of their dreams.
They said, in as much as they appreciate government ‘s efforts in pushing or signing the disability bill, the implementation is a cause of worries since nothing is forthcoming.
They are calling on government to speed up the implementation of this bill to enhance their needs.
At the end of the meeting, the group came up with a communique stating their demands.
