Disability in Nigeria

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Estimates vary for the number of people with disabilities in Nigeria. The World report on disability, published in 2011, said about 25 million Nigerians had at least one disability, while 3.6 million of these had very significant difficulties in functioning.[1] The 2006 Nigerian census reported 3,253,169 people with disabilities, or 2.32% of the total population of 140,431,790 in that year.[2] However, the , a Nigerian NGO, claims the census did not capture the full extent of disability in Nigeria, and has called on Nigeria's National Population Commission to cooperate with the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development for the 2016 census in order to measure disability more accurately.[3] As at 2020, there are reportedly over 27 million Nigerians living with some form of disability.

The five most common types of disabilities in Nigeria are, in descending order, visual impairment, hearing impairment, physical impairment, intellectual impairment, and communication impairment.[2]

Nigeria ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on 30 March 2007 and its Optional Protocol on 24 September 2010.[2] The Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development is charged with submitting reports on progress, but has yet to do so as of 2013.[2]

A 2008 study by the United Kingdom Department for International Development found that the public, the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, and disabled people's organizations (DPOs) in Nigeria understood disability within a discourse of welfare and charity.[4] This is as opposed to emphasis on social adaptation, inclusion, and empowerment as advocated by the social model of disability that is generally favored in the field of disability studies.[5] It also found that two national umbrella DPOs, the (JONAWPD) and the (ASCEND), often strongly disagreed while both presuming to speak on behalf of all Nigerians with disabilities, impeding their ability to lobby the government.[4]

Nine years after Nigeria ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the President General Muhammadu Buhari into law the 2018. The Law enshrined recommendations of Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities while awarding punitive damages to victims of discriminations living with disabilities.[6]

The law prohibits discrimination against people living with disabilities PLWD and sanctions those who contravene with fines. A five-year transitional period was stipulated for the modification of amenities particularly in public buildings and fixing assistive tools in vehicles to make them accessible and usable for people with disabilities.[7]

The law will also establish a National Commission for Persons with Disabilities, responsible for ensuring that people with disabilities have access to housing, education, and healthcare. The Commission will be empowered to receive complaints of rights violations and support victims to seek legal redress amongst other duties.

References[]

  1. ^ "Nigeria". Christian Blind Mission. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d Umeh, Ngozi C; Adeola, Romola. "Nigeria". African Disability Rights Yearbook. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  3. ^ Nze, Emeka. "NPC Lacks Data on Persons with Disabilities- Chair". Centre for Citizens with Disabilities. Archived from the original on 12 February 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  4. ^ a b Lang, Raymond; Upah, Lucy. "Scoping Study: Disability Issues in Nigeria". United Kingdom Department for International Development. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  5. ^ Shakespeare, Tom (2006). "The Social Model of Disability". The Disability Studies Reader. New York: Routledge. p. 197.
  6. ^ Iroanusi, QueenEsther (2019-01-24). "Ten things to know about Nigeria's new disability law | Premium Times Nigeria". Retrieved 2020-08-25.
  7. ^ "Nigeria Passes Disability Rights Law". Human Rights Watch. 2019-01-25. Retrieved 2021-06-16.


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