The immediate past chairman of the Lagos State Chapter of the Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities (JONAPWD), Dr. Adebukola Adebayo, has called on the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to extend his commitment to Children with Disabilities (CWDs) beyond tokenism and charity.
Dr. Adebayo made this known in an exclusive interview with BONews Service in response to the 59th birthday celebration of the Governor with CWDs across Lagos.
Dr. Adebayo, who noted that the birthday celebration with CWDs is commendable, however, charged the Governor to focus on long-term positive interventions for CWDs.
Adebayo said “we appreciate Mr Governor for celebrating with children with disabilities. However, what long-term positive improvements do these kinds of gestures bring into the lives of these children? How much attention is His Excellency giving to the quality of education, health care, rehabilitation and other social services required by these children?”
Speaking about the provisions of the law, the ex-JONAPWD chair said “the Lagos state disability law is one of the most poorly implemented disability laws in Nigeria. The disability office is poorly staffed and those currently working in that office are not getting the required capacity to deliver their duties.
“The implementation of the State’s policy on inclusive education is faced with several challenges. Lagos state does not currently have a framework to support the provision of early care and intervention for children with disabilities, just as there aren’t any operating procedures to facilitate access to basic health services.
“These are just a few of the difficulties confronted by children with disabilities in Lagos state. His Excellency can better celebrate with children with disabilities by making visible efforts to address these and other challenges that threaten the rights, welfare and social inclusion of children with disabilities in Lagos state.”
He recommended that “when the Governor is celebrating his 60th birthday next year, he should look at opening early intervention centres for these children, providing social infrastructure that can improve the lives of these children and not just ‘rice and chicken’,” he added.