By Dada Ahmed in Lokoja.
Mr Ibrahim Daniel Arome.
The Chairman, Kogi State Governnent of Nigeria, Office for Disability Affairs, Mr Ibrahim Daniel Arome, has identified People with Disabilities (PwDs) and educational institutions in the state as some of causes of poverty among PwDs in the area.
Arome stated this on Sunday in an interview with the Correspondent of The Reporters in Lokoja.
He said:”The inaccessible nature of educational institutions in kogi state is a big contributory factor to poverty among PwDs.
“Many PwDs in the state with burning desire to acquire formal education,obtain degrees and certificates for employment, cannot do so because the structures of educational institutions in the state are not disability compliant.”
“This is because many of them find it difficult to climb upstairs to receive lectures or move from one class to another with ease,compare to their abled-bodied counterparts.
According to Arome, because of the problem being encountered at the institutions, many PwDs remain illiterate, hence unable to be gainfully employed in governnent establishments and poverty sets in.
“If you are not educated, you are exposed to poverty. Therefore, the inaccessible nature of educational institutions in this area has contributed greatly to the high level of poverty among PwDs.”
He added that poverty and disability exist side by side among PwDs due to lack of funds.
The chairman noted that, whereas many PwDs acquired skills and experience to be able to be self reliant, they lacked funds to set up the trade they learnt to make a living. This unfortunate circumstance,he said, also subjected PwDs to poverty.
Arome,an HND holder in accounting from the Kogi State Polytechnic, Lokoja, also blamed many PwDs for inflicting themselves with poverty by having low esteem about their condition and withdrawing from the society into the life of seclusion.
He argued that when PwDs indulged in such lifestyle, they denied themselves the opportunity of belonging to productive society that would have earned them a living, hence poverty set in.
“They believe that they could depend on the abled-bodied counterparts to survive, but unknown to them, disability is an advantage to live big when the talent is covered and put to effective utilisation,” he added.
The chairman, however, advised members of the society against the use of language for PwDs, to stem the tide of poverty among this segment of the society.
“The use of inappropriate or derogatory language on PwDs tend to highten discrimination and stigmatisation against them and instil fear in them as well cripple their ability to be able to interact with other members of the society in meaningful social and economic activities that would have attracted monetary gains,,” he said.
He expressed concern that mere using the word “disabled people” had crippled the activities of some PwDs in the state.
“What we have is people with disabilities and not disabled people or blind people as many abled-bodied ones refer to us.
” When we are called disabled people, this tend not to give us environment to enable us use our God-given talent to engage in productive ventures with others to earn income that would have removed us miles away from poverty.
” When PwDs cannot put their knowledge to work,simply because of the wrong use of nomenclature on them,they become withdrawn and are surely heading towards poverty.
He further he explained that alot of PwDs were also not aware that they could live an independent life, because they lacked awareness as to how to live above their disabilities.
“They believe that because of their circumstances,they do not fit into secular activities, they feel rejected by the society and thereby subjecting themselves to poverty,”Arome explained.
The Chairman, however, assured PwDs that with the establishment of his office, poverty among them would be reduced.
He disclose that plans were on the way to employ many of them in the service of the Office for Disability Affairs in addition to other programmes, in the offing, aimed at engaging PwDs in agricultural businesses.
Arome commended Governor Yahaha Bello for establishing the Office for Disability Affairs, adding that such action showed the polical will of the present administration in the state to include PwDs in governance.
