LAGOS – The Nigeria Association for the Blind (NAB) on Wednesday urged government at all levels to implement policies that would favourably cater for the needs of virtually impaired.
Mr David Okon, the National President of the association, made the call in Lagos at a “Charity Walk and Open Event’’ marking the 2014 International White Cane and Safety Day.
Its theme is “Keeping the Blind Moving”.
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, says “White Cane Safety Day is a national observance around the world, celebrated on Oct. 15 of each year since 1964. [eap_ad_2]
“The date is set aside to celebrate the achievements of people who are blind or visually impaired and the important symbol of blindness and tool of independence, the white cane.”
Okon said, “Our environment is currently not favourable for people that are visually impaired and people with disabilities too.
“Infrastructure should be put in place to give us more independence.
“For example, the traffic lights on our roads are not adapted for the blind. There should be sounds to alert us on when to move or stop.
“Equally, our roads are not ideal for people living with disabilities, we lack appropriate walkways,” he said.
Also speaking, Mr Opeolu Akinola, the chairman of NAB in Lagos State, said that the association had distributed some white canes to its members.
“Our association gave out some hundreds of white canes in a project tagged “10,000 white canes in five years programme in partnership with some individuals and organisations.
“This gesture is aimed at empowering some blind residents of Lagos to move with ease.
“The exercise is part of our efforts to ensure that every blind person resident in Lagos owns white cane,” he said.
Akinola also urged government at all levels and members of the public to collaborate with the association to achieve its goals.
He identified some key challenges facing the blind to include educationally disadvantaged, discrimination in employment and political exclusion.
Also, Mr Victor Oteri, a board member of the Lagos State Office for Disability Affairs (LASODA), commended the state government for including people living with disabilities in the policies.
He said that LASODA was committed to supporting the activities of NAB, urging the association to take advantage of the state Disability Law.
According to him, this will give People with Disabilities a level playing field, especially in the areas of education and employment. (NAN) [eap_ad_3]
