Disability inclusion experts have emphasized the critical need for collective societal responsibility and professional support in helping persons with deaf-blindness reach their full potential.
Speaking at the final day of the maiden National Conference of the Deaf-blind Support Initiative Nigeria in Lagos, Consultant Psychiatrist currently practising in Saskatchewan, Canada, Dr Kingsley Nwachukwu, highlighted that every individual, regardless of disability, possesses unique talents and abilities that can be developed with proper accommodation and support.
“Everyone has some form of disability or the other,” Dr. Nwachukwu noted, stressing that persons with deaf-blindness can excel when provided with appropriate professional support and educational training opportunities.
In a similar presentation, Mr. Olukorede Osatuyi from the Federal College of Education (Special), Oyo, called for increased individual participation in creating an inclusive society for persons with deaf-blindness. He emphasized that disability inclusion should not be left to government officials alone.
“Every member of society has a role to play, and each individual contribution can effectively achieve the goal if everyone sees it as a personal responsibility,” Mr Osatuyi stated.
Following the expert presentations, the newly formed association, the Deaf-blind Support Initiative Nigeria (DBSI-N) unveiled its vision of creating a society where persons with deaf-blindness have equal access to fundamental human rights and opportunities for self-actualization.
The conference concluded with the appointment of Mr. Solomon Okelola as the pioneer President of the association, which was officially recognized as the eighth disability cluster in Nigeria by the National Association for Persons with Disabilities.
The event also witnessed the inauguration of DBSI-N’s pioneer leadership team. Mr Solomon Okelola as President, Miss Itoha Okoduwa as Vice President, Mr John Shodiya as National Public Relations Officer, and Mrs Evelyn Egoho as National Women Leader.
Congratulating the newly elected executives, the National President of the Joint National Association for Persons with Disabilities, Mr. Aliyu Usman, urged them to work diligently in identifying and supporting individuals with deaf-blindness across Nigeria.
Miss Itoha Okoduwa articulated the vision of DBSI-N as “a society where persons with deaf-blindness have equal access to rights, opportunities, and the ability to realize their potential for self-actualization and societal development.”
Miss Okoduwa further added that the mission of the new association is to advocate for and ensure the full integration of persons with deaf-blindness into every sphere of Nigerian life.