The Badagry chapter of the Association of Persons with Disabilities (APD), has urged parents whose children were born with disabilities to stop hiding them from public.
Mr Abiodun Raji, the Chairman of the Chapter said this when he spoke with newsmen in Badagry in commemoration of 2021 International Day of Persons with Disabilities.
“By hiding your disabled children, you are killing their destinies.
“Parents should not hide their children inside the house; they should allow them to move freely so that they will not see themselves as rejected.
“They should be allowed to mingle with both able and disabled children to have a brighter tomorrow,” he said.
Raji urged the government to create more avenues for awareness on people with disabilities.
“We need to create awareness because our people especially those in government don’t regard people with disabilities as people that can impact positively on the society.
“We want the government to include us in whatever it is doing especially in the areas of employment and sports.
“We need free education and also want government to involve us in their policy,” he said.
Also speaking, Mrs. Jummai Omotosho, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ability in Disability, a Non Governmental Organization (NGO) said that all individuals have one form of disability or the other.
According to the CEO, disability is physical like you don’t have to be a cripple or blind; some people have their disabilities in mind.
“Some people are not capable of doing something on their own, they will always seek for people’s assistance, that is disability,” she said.
Omotosho appealed to Lagos State Office for Disability Affairs (LASODA) to extend their hands to the persons with disabilities in Badagry like other people in the society.
“We have been meeting with the officials of LASODA in order for them to reach out to disabled persons in Badagry.
“Badagry has been left behind because their presence is not registered, my institution is the one shouldering the responsibility,” she said.(NAN)
