By Amos Aar
A CIVIL society organisation (CSO), Friends Association (IFA), has called for the domestication of the Disability Act in Benue State.
IFA made the call on Wednesday at a one-day workshop in Makurdi, Benue State capital, as part of its advocacy campaign for the domestication of the Disability Act by the Benue State Government.
In a keynote address, Personal Assistant (PA) to Governor Hyacinth Alia on People with Special Needs, Mr Bem Anshe, who doubles as the State chairman of Joint National Association of Persons With Disability (JONAPWD) said the bill was passed in 2018 and assented to by the then president, Muhammadu Buhari, in 2019.
Noting that Benue State remains the only state in North Central geopolitical zone yet to domesticate the act, Anshe however expressed joy that the delay was for good because states that domesticated the act earlier are now struggling to amend or add addendum to it while Benue is learning from their mistakes.
He therefore called on the Benue State Government to take advantage and come out with a perfect disability law, expressing hope that it would soon be domesticated in the state as the draft bill was already before the executive
He said efforts have to be sustained by all and sundry until the bill is assented to by the governor.
“We have a review of this law which was drafted in the past administration and on the 16th of April this year, we handed over the draft bill to the Honourable Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice and Public Order in Benue State.
“It will interest you to know that as we speak, the draft bill is already with the executive, the Exco of Benue State led by His Excellency Rev. Fr. Dr Hyacinth Iormem Alia. That was presented to the Exco on the 3rd of July, this year.
“We are now counting our fingers to know when that bill will be sent to Assembly for legislative purpose. So, it is not over yet until we have that draft bill in the Assembly. Even in the Assembly, it is not over yet until the legislative process is completed and that, is not over yet until it is passed and even when it is passed, it is not over yet until it is assented to by His Excellency Rev. Fr Dr Hyacinth Iormem Alia. That is only when it can become a law in Benue state that we can beat our chest to say that we have a legal backing in Benue State.
“So, you can see, it is a mantle race that we need all hands on deck to ensure that all these processes go through. We are all stakeholders in this campaign”, Anshe said as he appreciated the funders and solicited for more funding when the bill is passed to facilitate its implementation.
In her presentation on “Understanding Disabilities”, IFA Executive Director, Grace Jerry, advised journalists to always deploy rights-based models in reporting PWD issues and also use the right terminologies when crafting stories on PWDs in media coverage to ensure disability-inclusive reporting.
According to her, expressions like disabled persons, persons living with disabilities, lepers are derogatory and should be avoided while correct expressions like “people with disabilities, people with leprosy” and similar others should be used instead.
The Executive Director lamented institutional barrier to the community of people with disabilities in Benue State as there was no disability law to facilitate enforcement even as she noted that the law covers every individual since disability affects everybody in the society in one way or the other, including depression and anxiety.
A media consultant, Mr Jide Ojo, who made a presentation on “Crafting Effective Messages for Disability Act” and “Leveraging Digital and Social Media for Advocacy,” spoke extensively on how to drive the domestication of the Disability Act in Benue State, using the media as a veritable tool.
The workshop, on the theme, “Exploring the vital role the media play in advocating for the domestication of the Disability Act in Benue State,” was attended by media professionals from different organisations across the state who participated actively.
Highlights of the workshop were the development of a media action plan towards the domestication of the Disability Act in Benue State and presentation of certificates of participation to the participants.
