Lois Auta, the founder and chief executive officer of two non-governmental organizations; the Cedar Seed Foundation and the Network of Women with Disabilities (NWD), not only promote the participation of women with disabilities in human rights based development in Nigeria but also focuses on inclusive legislation for people with disabilities. She speaks with TAOFEEK LAWAL on her goals for people with disabilities (PWDs), political journey and how children with disabilities can access education unhindered.
You contested for political office twice and you didn’t succeed; why did you aspire to join politics?
I joined politics to make changes and to ensure that everyone is included; men, women, young people, persons with disabilities and the elderly. Everyone should be carried along in the political affairs of this country. When it is time for economic development, everybody should be developed accordingly. When it’s time for education, children in this country should have access to education without stress or frustration. And when it comes to employment, our graduates should get employment after graduation without any delay. So, I joined politics to be part of the changes I want to see in this country.
You had polio when you were two years old, has it ever dampened your morale in any way?
Yes I was affected by polio when I was two years old. So, while growing up and found out that I was differently made from other children, I felt bad and inferiority complex set in. I never wanted to mingle with any children even in my own compound, with my siblings. I always lock myself inside my room until God used my mom to talk to me to address many issues in my life. She said, “Lois, you need to believe in yourself and even need to thank God for keeping you alive. This thing did not kill you, you are alive and for you to be alive that means you have a future. You have to believe in yourself, you have to change your mind set. Be a strong girl that I want you to be”.
And today, I’m a graduate; I’m a Mandela Washington Fellow. I’m the first black woman with disability from Africa named a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum. I’m the first woman with disability that ran for House of Representatives elections among 4,080 candidates in Nigeria in 2019. I’m a woman of many firsts and I don’t want to keep on mentioning them. Is it the first thing I became or the history God used me to make or the records broken through me? They are many. They are enormous. What is the story behind the success? It is because I see my disability as a blessing and not a curse. I see it as a bridge and not a barricade. I also see my disability as a solution and not a problem. I see an opportunity to change the world. And that was why Cedar Seed Foundation and Network of Women with Disabilities were set up as platforms to advocate and promote disability inclusion.
The former administration established the National Commission of Persons with Disabilities (NCPWD) to cater for the needs of people with special needs, has the establishment changed anything as far as you are concerned?
Not really but we are making progress. And truly where we were 10 years ago is not where we are today. With the passage of the Disability Bill to an Act and with the establishment of the NCPWD where the issues of PWDs are being managed, we want to see the budget allocation increased for the Commission. We want to see programs that are done to create awareness about Nigeria Disability Act on our various media channels and institutions. We want to see inclusivity in every sector. And to tell you the truth and the fact about it, we have not seen it yet. We still have a long way to make sure that Disability Act is implemented to also ensure that every child with disabilities, I kept referencing children because many of us that are adults, middle age and the other ones have been treated equally like the other children when we were young, we would have gone far by now.
So, I want to make emphasis on children with disabilities. They need to go to school. They need to have access to educational facilities and materials. Even, if it means staying at home. When you came in, I told you my next interview is going to be virtual; I’m seated in my office and I would be interviewed and everybody will see me all over the word because it’s on international channels. We want to get to that stage where children with disabilities that cannot go to educational facilities would be able to stay in the comfort of their homes and be educated. This is what we want to see.
Is the Commission able to do something for PWDs?
The Commission (NCPWD) is trying. Early last year, the Commission employed about 80 PWDs. Some were placed in the commission; some were transferred to other ministries, departments and agencies. And recently too, they secured funding N5 billion through Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to establish a company that would be assembling assistive devices like wheelchairs, crutches and other mobility aids that would assist PWDs to move around and navigate their ways from point A to B without anybody assistance. This is a big project and I say kudos to Executive Secretary, NCPWD, Dr James Lalu, who has been championing the causes of the Commission. And there are a lot of interventions they are doing on employment, education, economic empowerment and other basic things that PWDs need. I’m aware of the Point of Sales (PoS) machine distribution to our people nationwide.
They empowered them with the machine with N100, 000 in each machine to enable our people who are non technical to be able to use it to invest in their lives. Aside that, they have also reached out to the national office that is in charge of architecture and engineering on how to make sure that the accessibility code is achieved in terms of constructing new houses, new offices, new gardens. You must make sure there are rams at the entry and the exit point and where the toilet is able to accommodate big wheelchairs and have enough space for navigation.
For the sign language and interpreter, we want to start from the National Assembly. It’s being paid and maintained by TAF Africa (TAF). The Commission provided the sign language interpreters. Very soon, there would be sign language interpretation during plenary and other sessions in the National Assembly. Starting from there I believe other strategic places, international conferences and other fora, meetings within and outside the country will be included since Nigeria is the largest economy in Africa.
What is the impact that the Network for Women with Disabilities (NWD) has played in the lives of members and women since it was established?
Our thematic areas focus on economic empowerment, education (which mentorship and leadership training come under). We have health (gender-based violence, sexual reproductive health rights and family planning fall under health). We also have grant-making opportunities for members of the Network. Another one is Peace and Security and the last one is Climate Change. So, we have six thematic areas at the moment. On economic empowerment, we have empowered over 100 women with disabilities on tailoring, knitting and weaving, ICT, project management, finance and accounting, catering services, making and others so they can help themselves. And I’m glad to tell you that some of them have been getting contracts and they are making progress. We have some that have been placed on scholarship, being given opportunities for internships, fellowship and training within and outside the country through big platforms which we share. The empowerment is an everyday thing.
Aside from that, we have secured grants from Disability Right Fund, Sight Savers, Global Affairs Canada, UN Women, MacArthur Foundation, WRAPA, Feminist Humanitarian Network and other partners and donors. On climate change, we realised that women with disabilities have been sidelined and excluded from climate change activities. On June 5, which is World Environment Day, our members NWD were at the Federal Secretariat Complex Abuja, Federal Ministry of Health Building to sweep and make the environment clean. And the questions are; how are we securing the environment, how are we discouraging deforestation, plastic pollution and so on? We did what we did on that day to show the world that we are productive, brilliant, active and we have ideas and we want to see our environment clean and neat. We want to be part of solution not the problem.
And you know when it comes to drought, disaster and flooding, our community is mostly affected. We are the most vulnerable because we don’t know how to run. How will a blind woman run, how can a deaf person even listen to the sound of people shouting for help? How can a woman in a wheelchair like me run away from being attacked from disaster like earthquake, flooding? And if it happens, are there measures and precautions to take to rescue our lives? This is where the humanitarian question comes in. What is the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) doing? What is the Federal Ministry of Environment doing, the National Council for Climate Change, the Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management Ministry doing to ensure the safety and security of PWDs in terms of climate crisis?
Conference of Parties (COP 28) came and gone. Now we are planning for COP 29. How many places have we reserved for women with disabilities? Have the policies we have captured the issue of women with disabilities (WWD)? These are sensitive questions we need to keep on asking ourselves as policy makers, media organisations, CSOs, traditional and religious leaders and all other actors. What are we doing to make sure that WWD are captured in our projects and initiatives?
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