WE were young when Nigeria got independence. Before then, between the time of the white man and the time of the traditional rulers, we had a good life. But ever since we got independence, as underprivileged people, we have not seen any progress,” Usaini Musa said as he reminisced about life as a blind man during the colonial era.
But as Nigeria celebrated its 62nd independence anniversary last Saturday, Musa and other leaders of the Blind Hausa People’s Association of Oyo State said the Nigerian state has not been fair to them.
“We have not seen any changes in this country right after the tenure of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe. No leader has ever said this is what they are doing specially for the underprivileged in terms of accommodation, food supply, health support and educational support for our children like what obtains in other countries,” Musa added.
He said over the years, no Nigerian leader had treated blind people and other people with disability right. He said: “We are Nigerians. Our parents and great-grandparents were born here. We do not have anywhere else to go for refuge. We are here for our entire life. I have witnessed 14 leaders rule Nigeria and all of them, including governors, never had good plans for us. They don’t even want to see us. They have all come, ruled and left us the way they met us.”
According to him, it is now particularly bad that blind people are now arrested and fined in Lagos.
Musa said: “Now, when a blind man is caught on the streets of Lagos, he is made to pay N40,000. We have been in predicaments for the past 62 years. So, what independence is there for us? Nigeria has not been fair to us. I am sure that international organisations like Red Cross and UNICEF send money to support people with disability and the underprivileged but we have never received anything.”
Muhammed Ibrahim, the leader of the association, expressed confidence that they would become useful now that the general election approaches with politicians now coming to them to canvass for votes.
“Election time has come. They will come to us and ask for votes. We will join the queue and vote but that will be the end, nobody will reckon with us after the elections,” he said.
He decried the welfare of members of the association and also pleaded with the Oyo State government to consider them while implementing the policy of moving them from the streets as it affects their livelihood and their rights as humans. “We have rights and they should consider that. They follow us everywhere in town yet they don’t provide all that we need and they say we should not. They should consider our welfare, too. This treatment is the same even in the North,” Ibrahim said.
He lamented that their counterparts in neighbouring countries are well taken care of by their government while they wallow in abject poverty here in Nigeria. He stressed that Nigeria is the giant of Africa yet 62 years after independence, their welfare is nothing to write home.
“We hear it on the radio and people read newspapers and we hear that other neighbouring countries are not like this, the less privileged are well taken care of. Niger is not like that; Ghana is not like that; we hear all of these here in Nigeria.
“These countries take care of the old and the underprivileged people amongst them but Nigeria is different. They say Nigeria is the giant of Africa but other small countries like Togo, Ghana and Niger are enjoying, but Nigeria. Honestly, we have not seen any change in Nigeria, we prefer the colonial era to this,” he submitted.
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