ABILITY SPEAKS: WHERE DISABILITY FINDS ITS VOICE — LAGOS, WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR COMPASSION?

 ABILITY SPEAKS.

WHERE DISABILITY FINDS ITS VOICE - LAGOS, WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR COMPASSION?

From a Shining Model of Disability Inclusion to a Disturbing Disappointment.

YOU CANNOT ARREST POVERTY OUT OF EXISTENCE. YOU CANNOT EXPEL DISABILITY FROM SOCIETY AND YOU CANNOT BUILD A MEGACITY BY PUSHING THE VULNERABLE OUT OF SIGHT.

By Dr. Chike Okogwu.

ADC National Leader, Persons With Disabilities and Director, PWD, Presidential Campaign Council.

Today, I officially launch ABILITY SPEAKS, a platform dedicated to disability rights, dignity, determination, inclusion and empowerment and what a painful subject with which to begin!

I have watched with profound disappointment the recent reports of arrests of vulnerable people on the streets of Lagos State and the disturbing allegations of the removal of persons with disabilities from the state. Let me be unequivocal, if poverty is now a crime, how many millions of Nigerians are we prepared to arrest? If disability has become an inconvenience to the aesthetics of our cities, what does that say about our humanity and if vulnerable Nigerians are being forcibly removed from one state to another because of their circumstances, what has become of our constitutional democracy?

I recognise that governments have legitimate responsibilities to maintain public order, protect children from exploitation and regulate activities on public roads but enforcement must never become an excuse for discrimination, humiliation or the abandonment of vulnerable citizens. Children being exploited for begging deserve protection, adults living in poverty deserve humane treatment and access to social support. Persons with disabilities deserve equal rights and reasonable accommodation. None deserves punishment merely for being poor, vulnerable or disabled.

LAGOS: HOW DID WE GET HERE?

There was a time when Lagos stood out as a shining example of disability inclusion in Nigeria. Lagos State demonstrated leadership through the Lagos State Special People's Law of 2011, the establishment of the Lagos State Office for Disability Affairs (LASODA) and initiatives designed to improve the welfare and participation of persons with disabilities and as someone who has spent nearly two decades advocating disability rights, I acknowledged those achievements. Lagos was not perfect, but it was making progress. Today, however, the reports emerging from its streets raise troubling questions about whether that progress is being reversed.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, I respectfully ask, How did a state once celebrated for advancing disability inclusion arrive at a point where its treatment of vulnerable people is generating such serious concerns? What happened to the Lagos that sought to lead by example?

A megacity is not measured only by skyscrapers, bridges, flyovers, railways and beautiful waterfronts. A truly great city is measured by how it treats those who have the least power to defend themselves. Lagos must not move from being a model of inclusion to becoming a symbol of exclusion.

THE CONSTITUTION DOES NOT RECOGNISE STATELESS NIGERIANS.

Let us remind ourselves of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, as amended. Section 42(2) states: "No citizen of Nigeria shall be subjected to any disability or deprivation merely by reason of the circumstances of his birth".

Section 42(1) also protects Nigerians against specified forms of discrimination, including discrimination based on community, ethnic group and place of origin. Section 41 guarantees citizens freedom of movement and residence throughout Nigeria, subject to constitutionally permissible restrictions. Section 34 protects human dignity. Section 35 protects personal liberty. These are constitutional rights, not privileges bestowed by governors. A Nigerian born in Kano is not a foreigner in Lagos. A Nigerian from Delta State does not require permission to reside in Abuja and a Nigerian with a disability does not become less Nigerian because he or she is poor. Nigeria belongs to Nigerians, irrespective of their states of origin, economic circumstances or physical abilities. No state government should operate as though citizenship ends at its borders.

THE LAWS ARE CLEAR AND THE OBLIGATIONS ARE REAL.

Nigeria has committed itself to disability inclusion through an extensive framework of national, regional and international instruments. These include:

GLOBAL.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), particularly Articles 5, 9, 19, 20, 27 and 28, addressing equality, accessibility, independent living, mobility, employment and adequate living standards. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, particularly Articles 1, 2, 3, 7, 13, 23 and 25. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goals 1, 8, 10, 11 and 16.

AFRICA.

The African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, particularly Articles 2, 3, 5, 6, 12 and 18(4).

The African Union Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Africa. The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, particularly its protections for children with disabilities.

WEST AFRICA

The ECOWAS Revised Treaty and its commitments to human rights and social development.

The ECOWAS Protocol on Free Movement of Persons, Residence and Establishment, which reinforces regional mobility rights. Relevant ECOWAS social-protection and disability-inclusion policy commitments, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR signed Nigeria into this protocol.

NIGERIA.

The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, as amended and the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act, 2018, signed into law on 23 January 2019 by late President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR. The African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act.

The Child Rights Act and applicable state child-protection legislation.

LAGOS STATE.

The Lagos State Special People's Law, 2011. The statutory responsibilities and disability-inclusion programmes administered through LASODA. These instruments do not all create identical obligations, but together they establish a compelling legal and human-rights framework.

Disability inclusion is not an act of charity. It is a matter of rights, justice and responsible governance.

BEFORE YOU REMOVE THE POOR FROM THE STREETS, ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS.

I ask the Lagos State Government and indeed the Federal Government:

1. ELECTRICITY: How do you expect a person with a disability to operate a barbing salon, tailoring shop, welding workshop, digital enterprise or small business when electricity remains unreliable and alternative power is prohibitively expensive?

2. FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT: Where are the accessible grants, affordable loans, business-support schemes and sustainable economic opportunities specifically designed to lift persons with disabilities out of poverty?

3. SKILLS ACQUISITION: How many persons with disabilities have benefited from government-funded vocational training, digital skills development, apprenticeships and guaranteed pathways into employment?

4. THE NAIRA: How do you expect a vulnerable Nigerian to survive in an economy where the exchange rate has deteriorated from approximately ₦160 to the dollar in 2015, an earlier era to levels approaching ₦1,600 in recent years?

5. PETROL: How do you expect struggling families and small businesses to survive when petrol, once approximately ₦91 per litre, has reached levels around ₦1,400 in some markets and periods?

6. MOBILITY: What provision exists for affordable, accessible transportation for wheelchair users and other persons with mobility challenges?

7. HOUSING: How many genuinely affordable and accessible housing units have been provided for persons with disabilities?

8. HEALTHCARE: What happens to the person with a spinal cord injury who cannot afford medication, rehabilitation, pressure-sore treatment or assistive technology?

9. EMPLOYMENT: How effectively are federal and state authorities implementing the employment protections and five-percent public-sector employment reservation under the national Disability Act?

10. SOCIAL PROTECTION: Before arresting vulnerable people, have the authorities established whether those individuals have access to food, shelter, healthcare, rehabilitation and sustainable livelihoods?

You cannot destroy people's means of survival without creating credible alternatives and you cannot reasonably demand economic independence from citizens while denying them the basic infrastructure and opportunities required to achieve it.

I SAW THE RED FLAGS IN JANUARY 2022.

On 21 January 2022, THISDAY published my article titled Persons with Disabilities and 2023 Elections. In that article, I warned about the absence of clear disability-inclusion commitments in the presidential declarations of APC leading aspirants, including Bola Ahmed Tinubu. I argued that Nigerians with disabilities could no longer afford to be spectators in decisions affecting their livesand insisted that anyone aspiring to lead Nigeria must demonstrate a clear understanding of the rights, aspirations and economic realities of persons with disabilities. That warning was not motivated by personal hostility, it was informed by experience, research and nearly two decades of disability advocacy. I saw the red flags and I spoke.

Today, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, leads a country in which economic hardship has placed extraordinary pressure on vulnerable Nigerians. While the federal and Lagos State governments have different constitutional responsibilities, the consequences of economic policy and social-protection failures are felt together in the lives of ordinary citizens. A government cannot claim that its economic policies are successful while millions struggle to afford food, transport, electricity and basic healthcare.

In April 2023, I again wrote to the then President-elect, calling for meaningful disability inclusion, affirmative action and representation. My position has remained consistent. I am not asking any government to do persons with disabilities a favour, I am demanding that governments respect their rights and fulfil their responsibilities.

WHAT MUST CHANGE: THE ADC ALTERNATIVE

As National Leader of Persons With Disabilities in the African Democratic Congress and Director of PWD in the Presidential Campaign Council, I believe Nigeria deserves a fundamentally different approach. The ADC manifesto places emphasis on economic prosperity, social welfare, inclusive governance, employment and the dignity of every Nigerian. My principal, Atiku Abubakar's economic-recovery proposals also emphasise improving living conditions, protecting vulnerable households and rebuilding economic opportunity. An Atiku–Amaechi administration will translate those commitments into measurable action. The following priorities fall within our disability-inclusion programme:

FIRST: FROM POVERTY TO PROSPERITY.

ADC will establish a properly funded national disability economic-empowerment framework that provides accessible grants, affordable enterprise financing and targeted support for entrepreneurs with disabilities.

SECOND: POWER FOR PRODUCTIVITY.

Prioritise reliable electricity for small businesses, rehabilitation facilities, vocational centres and disability-owned enterprises.

THIRD: SKILLS THAT PAY THE BILLS.

Develop accessible skills-acquisition centres and digital employment programmes across the federation, linking training directly to jobs, markets and enterprise opportunities.

FOURTH: MOBILITY IS OPPORTUNITY.

Promote accessible public transportation, assistive technology, affordable mobility equipment and inclusive infrastructure.

Our philosophy is simple:

FROM THE FIRST MILE TO THE LAST MILE, IT MUST END IN A SMILE.

FIFTH: HEALTHCARE WITHOUT EXCLUSION.

Strengthen affordable healthcare, rehabilitation, assistive-device provision and social protection for persons with disabilities and vulnerable households.

SIXTH: ENFORCE THE FIVE-PERCENT EMPLOYMENT PROVISION.

Move beyond symbolic appointments to meaningful representation and employment opportunities for qualified persons with disabilities across public institutions.

SEVENTH: AN ECONOMY THAT WORKS FOR EVERYONE.

Support practical economic-recovery measures that address the cost of living, transportation, productive employment, food security and household purchasing power.

EIGHTH: DISABILITY PARTICIPATION AT EVERY LEVEL.

Ensure that persons with disabilities participate in designing, implementing and evaluating policies affecting their lives.

Nothing about us without us.

These are priorities the ADC will champion and seek to embed in the administration's implementation agenda. Their detailed funding, delivery mechanisms and measurable targets must be made public.

The difference must be visible not merely in campaign promises but in the everyday lives of Nigerians.

MY MESSAGE TO GOVERNOR SANWO-OLU.

Your Excellency, I appeal to you respectfully but firmly.

Lagos has achieved too much in disability inclusion to allow recent enforcement actions to undermine its reputation. Please provide a transparent account of the arrests as persons with disabilities were among those detained.

What offences were alleged?

Were the affected individuals afforded due process?

Were children properly safeguarded?

Were disability assessments, reasonable accommodation and social-welfare referrals provided?

Were any individuals transported outside Lagos State against their will?

If so, under what lawful authority?

What independent oversight exists to prevent discrimination, abuse or degrading treatment and most importantly, what sustainable alternatives are being offered to those whose poverty has driven them onto the streets?

I call upon LASODA, the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities, the National Human Rights Commission, civil society organisations and the relevant legislative committees to examine these developments and ensure accountability.

Where wrongdoing is established, remedies must follow.

Where government action has been lawful, transparent explanations should be provided.

A compassionate government does not confuse vulnerability with criminality.

ABILITY SPEAKS, WE WILL NOT BE SILENT!

I have lived with a spinal cord injury since December 2006 and I know what it means for life to change in an instant. I know what it means to confront barriers that society could remove but chooses to leave standing and I know that the greatest obstacles confronting many persons with disabilities are not necessarily their impairments, They are poverty, prejudice, inaccessible infrastructure, institutional neglect and exclusion from opportunities. That is why ABILITY SPEAKS exists.

We will speak for dignity.

We will speak for inclusion.

We will speak for accountability.

We will celebrate progress wherever it occurs and challenge injustice wherever it appears.

Our advocacy will not depend on which political party controls government. I have always maintained that my first political party is the disability community and that conviction will not change.

To Governor Sanwo-Olu, I say:

Lagos, please return to the leadership in disability inclusion for which you were once celebrated.

To President Tinubu, I say:

Economic recovery must be measured by the lives it improves, not merely by the figures it produces.

To Nigerians, I say:

Disability is not inability. Poverty is not criminality and citizenship is not determined by geography.

We must build a Nigeria where everyone wins - able or disabled.

ABILITY SPEAKS. 

DIGNITY MATTERS. INCLUSION IS A RIGHT.

From today, we intend to make every word count.

Dr. Chike Okogwu

ADC National Leader, Persons With Disabilities

Director, PWD, Presidential Campaign Council

ABILITY SPEAKS

Where Disability Finds Its Voice.

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