The Badagry chapter of the Association of Persons with Disabilities (APD) has urged parents whose disabled children were born to stop hiding them from the public eye.
Mr Abiodun Raji, the Chapter’s Chairman, stated this during a press conference in Badagry to commemorate the 2021 International Day of Persons with Disabilities.
“By hiding your disabled children, you are destroying their futures.”
“Parents should not confine their children to the home; instead, they should allow them to move freely so that they do not perceive themselves as rejected.”
“They should be allowed to interact with both able and disabled children in order to have a better tomorrow,” he said.
Raji urged the government to expand avenues for raising awareness about people with disabilities.
“We need to raise awareness because our people, particularly those in government, do not see people with disabilities as having a positive impact on society.”
“We want the government to include us in whatever it does, particularly in employment and sports.”
“We need free education and want the government to include us in their policies,” he said.
Mrs Jummai Omotosho, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ability in Disability, a Non Governmental Organization (NGO), also spoke, stating that everyone has some form of disability.
According to the CEO, disability is physical in the sense that you do not have to be a cripple or blind; some people are aware of their disabilities.
“Some people are incapable of doing something on their own; they will always seek the assistance of others; this is disability,” she explained.
Omotosho urged the Lagos State Office for Disability Affairs (LASODA) to reach out to people with disabilities in Badagry in the same way that they do to the rest of the community.
“We’ve been meeting with LASODA officials to help them reach out to disabled people in Badagry.”
“Badagry has been left behind because their presence was not registered; my institution bears the responsibility,” she explained.
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