Al-Makura urges support for the physically-challenged, says he’s one

Nasarawa State Governor Tanko Al-Makura, on Monday urged Nigerians to support people living with disability and revealed that he is currently one of them as he now hears with the use of aids.

The governor, who promised to always support disabled persons, made the disclosure in Abuja when he spoke at the Kpakpando Foundation anniversary, a non-governmental organisation set up to cater to the needs of people living with disabilities.

“The constituency of persons living with disabilities is one which I always support. If I may tell you, for those of you who do not know, I am a part and parcel of people living with disabilities. I live with a hearing impairment. I hear with the use of aids. However, there is an enormous discrimination against people living with disabilities.

“If we as leaders do not consider the challenges facing people living with disabilities, it will be improper. They need care, support and friendly policies. The cost of living for a person with disabilities is higher than for a normal person. Every normal person is a potentially disabled person. We need to start advocacy programmes for the disabled persons,” Al-Makura said.

The governor therefore called on Nigerians at all levels to always try and support those living with disability and avoid discrimination against them.

His counterpart from Ondo State, Rotimi Akeredolu, advocated that it was necessary that those living in disability be factored into the mainstream of national structure, lamenting the present failure to include them in the scheme of thing in Nigeria.

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He said, “We cannot afford to continue to exclude the disabled persons from the mainstream national structure. We have failed to include them in our national space. All of us are guilty of this.

“We need every kind of people to make Nigeria great. This country needs you to make us go around. In the last Olympics able-bodied athletes won nothing, but it was the disabled persons who made us proud and came back with medals.”

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