Why state adoption, domestication of national disability law remains pertinent
Why state adoption, domestication of National Disability Law remains pertinent
Mr Bizibrains Okpeh a lawyer, researcher, and disability rights advocate, and a member of Assocation of Lawyers with Disabilities in Nigeria has stated the reasons why the implementation and domestication of the National Disability Act 2018 remains pertinent to nation building and development at all level of government.
According to the World Health Organization’s 2011 World Disability Report, about 15 percent of Nigeria’s population, or at least 25 million people have a disability.
Many of them face a number of human rights abuses including stigma, discrimination, violence, and lack of access to healthcare, housing, and education.
Nigeria ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (CRPD) in 2007 and its Optional Protocol in 2010.
On January 23, President Muhammadu Buhari signed into law the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act, 2018, following no fewer than 20 years of relentless advocacy by disability rights groups and activists.
The National Disability Act fashioned in the spirit of the United Nation’s Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) seeks to provide for the full integration of persons with disabilities into the society.
It stands to establish the National Commission for People with Disabilities (NCPWDs) and vest in the commission the responsibilities for their education, health care, social-economic, and civil rights; and for related matters.
The law also prohibits against any form of discrimination against PWDs by any person, organisation, or institution and makes it a punishable offence as provided by to section 1 of the Act.
However, since the enactment of the law, civil society groups and Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) have called on the government and stakeholders to put into practice the provisions of the Act, and provisions of other treaties which stands to promote the rights and dignities of PWDs in Nigeria.
Recently in a paper presentation on domestication and implementation of disability laws, Okpeh related the experiences of persons with disabilities as “why violence had been with man since time immemorial”.
He said that recent history of mankind has witnessed an unprecedented surge in “creative” violent stories.
Okpeh said that sadly such stories were written in blood and the sheer pain of victims and survivors, most of whom are left by society to struggle to live with or through their chequered experiences, even more so among the community of PWDs.
According to him, discrimination against PWDs and other marginalized groups across board remains a burning issues that calls for concern and intervention.
“Discrimination is a behaviour that differentiates one person from another, especially for the distribution of social benefits and burdens.
“Disability based discrimination is one amongst other violent discrimination practiced on a person with a disability solely or largely because of his or her disability circumstances or status.
“These are usually objectified and subjected to all kinds of violence, discrimination, and disablement, arising from institutional, structural, and attitudinal barriers, including inequality/inequity, inaccessibility, and psychological violence or abuse.
“All this also consist of verbal insult, blaming, shaming, gaslighting, name-calling, rejection, dismissiveness, bullying, manipulation, infantilization, minimisation,
“Also withholding of benefits, destruction of properties, deprivation, and other aggressive, degrading, humiliating, and intimidating treatments and/or threats,” he said.
Okpeh lamented that not much had been done to curb discrimination against PWDs or to bring such acts to its bearest minimum as well as punish offenders of the laws.
The disability advocate noted that state governments and stakeholders were yet to adopt, domestic an implement the national law or establish state offices to address issues of discrimination against PWDs.
“It has been reported that as of March 17, 2020, only Ten states across the country had domesticated or adopted the Act, which was not encouraging to PWDs.
“It is expected that states should adopt, domesticate, or localize the national disability act because of the status of the states as important stakeholders in the national disability discourse.
“More deliberate and intentional efforts should be made towards the enforcement and implementation of the National Disability Act to move from mere letters of the law to actual benefits for PWDs.
“Furthermore, since some of the provisions of the act such as the right to first consideration in queues, accommodation, boarding or alighting from transport facilities, and others require attitudinal or behavioural change.
“The NCPWD and the Federal Ministry of Information should scale up awareness and enlightenment programmes in this regard.
“It is also imperative to use executive action and order to achieve the enforcement or implementation of certain provisions of the act, especially those relating to accessibility and employment.
“Also states that are yet to adopt or domesticate the National Disability Act, including Enugu State, should be urged to do so to better safeguard and guarantee the rights and welfare of PWDs within the states,” he said.
Okpeh noted that National Disability Act also provides for accessibility of PWDs to physical structures, transportation, healthcare, education, and employment, including the equal right to work and opportunities for gainful employment.
He therefore urged that in accordance to the law, employers of labour in public organisations reserve employment vacancies as required by law for PWDs to constitute at least 596 of their workforce.
Okpeh lauding the efforts of the federal government for establishing the disability law, while also commending well-meaning Nigerians, stakeholders, local and international development partners for the contribution in the struggle to achieving the enactment of the law.
He also commended the government for enacting other protective laws such as the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act, 2015 and the Anti-Torture Act 2017.
Okpeh is a lawyer, researcher, and disability rights advocate, and a member of Assocation of Lawyers with Disabilities in Nigeria.