…advocates prioritization of accessibility, inclusivity
Hope James
Debola Daniel, a physically challenged son of former Governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, has taken to his social media page to decry attitude of Nigerians towards the physically challenged in the nation, describing it as a scary, lonely and isolated place to be.
According to him, there is no place for people like him in infrastructure, social settings and in the society, while advocating for accessibility and inclusivity of physically challenged individuals.
In his words, “There’s never a place for you. Not in the infrastructure, not in social settings and increasingly not in society. It’s a feeling of constantly being made to act grateful for being included as an afterthought.
Everything in my life required pre-thought and pre-planning.
“This lack of the inclusion, the lack of access and the systematic from society has been simmering inside me for years. It’s strange that what has tipped me over the edge was reading about the events that occurred at Burna Boy’s concert. I saw clips and read tweets from the Planning my couch and was horrified at how much planning I would have to undertake to attend that concert.
“With no planning and preparation for physically challenged people, I realized that I am going to the same artiste’s concert in London in a few months and I have zero of those worries. I am privileged and can just attend in London, but don’t I owe it to the average disabled Nigerian to say that with the global visibility Afrobeat is getting, maybe, just maybe someone will remember that disabled Nigerians exist? That they have a right to be included in the planning and execution of the vision of Nigeria.”