Mr. Suileman Abubakar has narrated how People With Disabilities (PWDs) are discriminated against and not allowed to enter public offices at the Abaji Area Council of Abuja, in the capital city of Nigeria.
Abubakar who spoke in pain during MAWA Foundation community capacity training on the demand for raising voices for accountability in the Abaji community, said they are not allowed to enter the office and see government officials because they are disabled. An action he described as inhuman and wickedness against them.
Abubakar told participants at the training that he is a Nigerian and as a citizen, he believes he has the right to access any office, and being a person with a disability does not make him less human.
He, however, said despite their challenges, the government does not give them any kind of social welfare, making life more challenging for them.
He said he believes that if there is social welfare for him and other PWDs, life will be better for them, making them live happily.
This is even as other participants at the training pointed out that the PWDs are not the only ones that suffer government neglect, narrating how women and children suffer to survive in the community.
Some of the women at the meeting narrated how huge numbers of women in the community have died during childbirth due to a lack of healthcare delivery.
Participants, however, appealed to MAWA Foundation to intensify its community training for local champions so they can speak on their behalf and get the government to deliver service and provide basic infrastructures for the people.
Discrimination against persons with disability has continued even as the Nigerian state has Discrimination Against Persons With Disabilities Act that punishes the practice with six months imprisonment or ₦100,000 fine if found guilty.