NAN-H-76
Schools
By Mohammed Lawal
Zaria (Kaduna State), Jan. 18, 2017 (NAN) The National Association for the Blind, Kaduna State chapter, on Wednesday appealed for the establishment of more special schools (rehabilitation centres) in the state to prevent begging.
Its Chairman, Malam Haruna Abubakar, made the plea at the 10th annual presentation of materials to members of the association in Zaria.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the annual event was solely organised by the association to distribute braille typewriters, braille writing papers and food items, among others.
Abubakar said that the call became imperative in view of the fact that Kaduna State, especially the Zaria area, had a few rehabilitation centres, hence the need for more as a way of effectively curbing begging.
According to him, the exclusion of the disabled from democratic dividends is unacceptable and advised politicians to always make accommodation for such handicapped people.
“I want to also use this medium to appeal to well-meaning Nigerians to extend helping hands to the blind and other disabled to give them a sense of belonging.”
Malam Mustpha Abubakar, the Guest Speaker and Head of Special Education Department, Federal College of Education (FCE), Zaria, said since every individual is in need of one thing or the other, the term “disabled” is relative.
“As a human being, you cannot be 100 per cent perfect health wise, therefore, we are all disabled.”
He, however, appealed to Kaduna State Government to give special attention to people with physical disability, especially in their quest to acquire education.
A philanthropist and a strong supporter of the association, Dr Sani Hassan, observed that extending assistance to the blind was one sure way of gaining God’s mercy.
He said that some students in special colleges in Kwali, Abuja and Katsina were already beneficiaries of such goodwill.
According to him, there are equally indigent undergraduate students under sponsorship at the Federal College of Education (FCE) as well as at Bayero University Kano (BUK).
He put the amount needed to train blind students at different secondary schools at between N180,000 and N200,000 every semester, adding that the amount excluded registration.
Earlier, the Zaria branch Chairman, Malam Dalhatu Jibril said the essence of the gathering was to give all members a sense of belonging and to foster unity among them.
Jibril decried the exclusion of the disabled in the recently introduced N-Power Programme of the Federal Government designed to curb unemployment and alleviate suffering among Nigerians.
He said that such a mistake should not be repeated in the forthcoming N5,000 monthly assistance, adding that the disabled should, as a matter of fact, be given priority consideration.
Jibril reminded the government of Kaduna State of its promise to give the blind free education across the state as another way of giving them a sense of belonging.
“We pay school fees just like any other normal person and we pay for WAEC and NECO just like any other healthy individual”, he said, adding that this should not ordinarily be the case. (NAN)
KLM/EAL/NKO
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Edited by Ekemini Ladejobi/Nkechi Okoronkwo
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