22million deaf Nigerians beg Goodluck Jonathan over disability bill

 By Emmanuel Udom

Twenty -two million deaf Nigerians on Thursday in Lagos called on President Goodluck Jonathan to ensure that the Disability Bill, which has been pending before the National Assembly for six years is signed into law.

Speaking during a press conference held at the International Press Center in Lagos, Adewale Elisha Adeyanju, Executive Secretary, Deaf Voices Coalition said that there are 22 million Nigerians, living with various forms of disabilities.

According to him, of this number, 9 million are deaf, insisting that in terms of numerical strength and statistics, this nine million, if applied during voting is huge and could therefore deliver block votes to the re-election dream of the president.

Mallam Lukman Agbabiaka, chairman, Lagos State Association of the Deaf (LSAD) in his submission said that majority of the deaf persons in the country voted for Goodluck Jonathan in 2011, because they were expecting the president to better their lives, as well as the lives of other Nigerians through his transformation agenda vision.

However, six years down the line, the transformation agenda of Jonathan has failed to ensure that the Nigerian Disability Bill is  enacted into law.

Dr Tola Odusanya, National President, Nigeria Deaf Teachers Association said that the failure of the present regime to ensure that the bill is signed into law has deprived deaf Nigerians of being protected either by government, corporate or private agencies.

His words: The harsh conditions meted out to deaf Nigerians have prevented us from having access to political campaigns and elections information as well being marginalized and stigmatized by people.

Alhaji Suleiman Saka Dargo, National President, Nigerian National Association of the Deaf told journalists that all deaf Nigerians have agreed that if the bill is not signed into law this time around, they will be left with no other options than to deliver block votes to the opposition All Progressive Congress in the forth-coming presidential election.

This is because, we are left to suffer due to our disabilities, even as we mobilized and voted enmass for Jonathan in 2011, thinking that he could better our lots, he said.