THE KEYNOTE SPEECH PRESENTED BY MR. YAKUBU CHONOKO MAIKYAU, OON, SAN, THE PRESIDENT OF THE NIGERIAN BAR ASSOCIATION AT THE MAIDEN CONFERENCE OF LAWYERS WITH DISABILITIES FORUM (NBA-LWDF) BEING HELD AT PAVE HOTEL & SUITES, AHMADU BELLO WAY, ABUJA, ON TUESDAY, 13 DECEMBER 2022.
PROTOCOL
OPENING REMARKS
I felt honoured when my special friends of this Forum asked me to deliver the Keynote Speech in this Conference. Although it was not going to be convenient for me to undertake the task because of my very busy schedule, I nonetheless could not say no, because members of this forum have always had a very special place in my heart, and I love identifying with you and your activities whenever I have the opportunity.
It is therefore with great delight that I stand before you this morning to deliver this Keynote Speech and set the tone for the rest of the conversations that will take place in this conference.
Permit me to first congratulate you for the bold initiative in organising this conference, the maiden edition for the Forum. Like every new thing, the planning of the Conference was not without challenges, setbacks and difficulties, but you refused to be deterred; you surmounted the obstacles and pushed through. The result is our gathering here today. I give a very big kudos to the Executive Committee of the Forum under the able leadership of my big sister, Asia Ahmad El-Rufai. You have done Noble; you have written your name in gold in the annals of the Nigerian Bar Association for which you will always be remembered.
INTRODUCTION
Let me quickly say that I am not comfortable with the theme of this Conference on which I have been tasked to deliver a keynote speech, just as I do not like the name of this Forum. I am quite uncomfortable referring to you, my learned friends, or anybody at all, as “disabled”, neither do I like to hear any group of persons refer to themselves as disabled.
I had this conversation with the Chairperson of the Forum and her entourage when they paid me a courtesy visit, and I tasked them to come up with a better, less inhibiting name for the Forum. I am also here throwing it out in the open to members of the Forum, to come up with suggestions of a better name for this Forum.
My insistence on this issue, stems from the understanding that there is something in a name. Bearing the name “disabled”, in my view, introduces limitations in your psyche; weakens your strides and sets a limit on your dreams and aspirations. It removes attention from your strengths and capabilities while emphasising your deficiencies. Above all, I have come to understand from my knowledge of the scriptures, the power of our words: Proverbs 6:2 says, “you have been trapped by what you said, ensnared by the words of your mouth”, while Mark 11:23 assures us that we shall have whatever we say!
Having said that, as the keynote speaker and one who has the privilege to be your President at this time, I took the liberty to tweak the theme of the Conference, to align with my convictions and my belief in your special abilities. Therefore, the theme is: LAWYERS LIVING WITH SPECIAL NEEDS IN NIGERIA: REALITIES, CHALLENGES AND EXPECTATIONS. Any use of disabled or disability in this speech will only be in reference to the legislations or what others have said.
WHAT IS DISABILITY?
The Merriam Webster Dictionary defines “disability” as a physical, mental, cognitive, or developmental condition that impairs, interferes with, or limits a person’s ability to engage in certain tasks or actions or participate in typical daily activities and interactions[1] It is a physical or mental condition that makes someone unable to act in a way that is considered usual for most people.[2]
The Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act, 2018 in the interpretation section, interpreted “person with disabilities” to mean:
- a person who has received Temporary or Permanent Certificate of Disability to have condition which is expected to continue permanently or for a considerable length of time which can reasonably be expected to limit the person’s functional ability substantially, but not limited to seeing, hearing, thinking, ambulating, climbing, descending, lifting, grasping, rising, and includes any related function or any limitation due to weakness or significantly decreased endurance so that he cannot perform his everyday routine, living and working without significantly increased hardship and vulnerability to everyday obstacles and hazards; and
- a person with long term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairment which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on equal basis with others;
The understanding of disability has evolved in recent times, so that disability is now viewed as not necessarily a personal deficit or shortcoming, but rather a limitation that occurs when a person’s functional needs are not addressed in his or her physical and social environment. A great number of the world’s population experience some functional difficulty as it relates to sight, auditory functions, speech, cognition, mobility, and self-care. The World Health Organisation noted that disability is part of being human and is integral to the human experience, and that an estimated 1.3 billion people, that is 16% of the global population experience a significant disability.[3]
SPECIAL NEEDS LAWYERS IN NIGERIA: REALITIES AND CHALLENGES
Lawyers living with special needs in Nigeria are not shielded from the realities and challenges faced by their counterparts who are not lawyers. They face the same obstacles as other persons with special needs in Nigeria and elsewhere, in addition to other specific challenges that are peculiar to them as members of the legal profession.
Discrimination
Section 28 of the Act provides
- A person with disability has the right to work on an equal basis with others and this includes the right to opportunity to gain a living by work freely chosen or accepted in a labour market and work environment that is open.
We all know that this provision is not always complied with. Special needs persons always get the short end of the stick in the labour market. But the challenge with proving discrimination is that it is usually intangible, and not always overt. Establishing that there has been discrimination is thus not always an easy task.
This discrimination is manifest in the lack of accommodation in workplaces for the special needs persons. They are rarely offered employment, when they are lucky to get, they are paid less and their chances of being promoted is usually slim. At other times, they are employed just to fill quota requirements as their employers do not fully engage them, either out of pity or the mistaken belief that they have nothing to offer. Thus, limiting their professional growth and experience.
Prejudice and Stigma
One of the realities that lawyers living with special needs live with is the negative perception by members of the society with who they have to interact and transact. First you have community or family members who think your condition, whether a birth defect or as a result of an accident, is proof that you are under a curse or other such prejudices.
Then you have the negative stereotypes where persons with special needs are viewed as unhealthy, poor or lesser class of human beings, simply because of their condition. It is sad to note that the society still largely view them as persons who need pity and alms; our colleagues are not spared. So instead of seeing a learned colleague who has special needs as an intellectual equal with who we can collaborate professionally; we subconsciously as a matter of default, see them as charity cases, who we can only give alms to.
When a community’s attitude towards its vulnerable subsect is negative, members of that subsect will struggle much more to achieve their potentials. Consequently, this subconscious stereotyping prevents the society from seeing the physically challenged as gifted and productive members of the society who only need an enabling environment to thrive. And so, rather than make structural adjustments and provide the necessary amenities to ensure their inclusion and full integration in the workplace, we seem content with periodic welfare packages for their benefit. Rather than to create the enabling environment and the necessary assisting tools for them to fish, we feel it is just okay to give them fish every now and then.
Environmental Barriers
One of the greatest challenges facing lawyers with special needs in Nigeria is environmental, and by this, I mean the physical environment. Most of the places at which we carry on our trade have structural obstacles that prevent mobility or make navigation onerous for our special needs colleagues – absence of ramps, stairlifts, handrails, special parking spaces, etc.
The Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act provides for accessibility of physical structures thus:
- A person with disability has the right to access the physical environment and buildings on an equal basis with others.
- A public building shall be constructed with the necessary accessibility aids such as lifts (where necessary), ramps and any other facility that shall make them accessible to and usable by persons with disabilities.
Unfortunately, most of our court buildings are largely non-compliant; constructed with staircase entrances without ramps for the mobility impaired lawyers. The steep staircases at the entrance of the Supreme Court for instance, is a huge limitation for the blind colleague and the one on the wheelchair. The design of those structures means that if our colleague on wheelchair has a case in the Supreme Court, then he must make arrangements for people to carry him/her up the stairs to be able to access the court buildings; a rather awkward and not-so-pleasant situation. These extra arrangements that need to be made just for him to access the court building undoubtedly creates an obstacle for this mobility impaired colleague; a client may start having second thoughts about engaging the services of a lawyer that cannot even enter the court building. This is just one example of how the physical surroundings creates a barrier for the special needs lawyer: affecting his employability, livelihood and ultimately his standard of living.
The provision of Section 3 makes equal access to public buildings a right, which is enforceable under Section 8, either as a civil right or a criminal offence.
The Act in Section 6 gave a transitory period of five years within which all public buildings and structures, which were hitherto inaccessible to the physically challenged persons should be modified to be accessible to and usable by all persons, including those on wheelchairs. This transitory period will elapse next year – 2023; it is our hope that the relevant courts and other government departments will do the needful to make our courts and public places accessible and usable for the special needs lawyers and indeed non-lawyers.
Section 29 of the Act provides that all employers of labour in public institutions shall as much as possible persons with disabilities constituting at least 5% of their employment. Whereas these public institutions do not have accessible infrastructures, then it is doubtful that there is compliance with this provision, otherwise the workplaces would have been made accessible to all persons. Conversely, if they are in compliance with this provision, then it is obvious they have not created a conducive work environment for the special needs lawyers.
As I speak on this point, I feel a sense of guilt because the NBA is not guiltless in this wise. The auditorium in our National Secretariat is not fitted to accommodate our blind and mobility impaired. I am also aware of your sad and ugly experience during the last Annual General conference, the report of which was submitted to me by the Forum, which included:
- Poor accessibility for lawyers on wheelchair
- No access cards to save you the stress of trekking long distances
- No designated eating point for Lawyers with special needs. This was eventually done on the second day after much effort.
- No provision was made for wheelchairs or golf carts to convey persons with limited ambulatory abilities and older lawyers.
- No sticker for cars conveying persons with physical challenge so that they can be granted access into the premises.
- The podium in the hall designated for the NBA-LWDF session had stairs so it was inaccessible to the speakers who were persons with mobility challenges. They almost had to be carried over the stairs thereby running the risk of falling not to mention the humiliating experience it was.
Upon receipt of the report, I had apologised to the Chairman of the Forum for the grave omission and made a commitment to ensure that such ugly incident does not repeat itself. I want to repeat my apology to you, and reiterate that by the special grace of God, concerted efforts will be made to ensure that you do not have the same experience in the next AGC and the one after it. We shall also institutionalise the standard so that irrespective of who is in office, the well-being of our special needs colleagues will form a major consideration in the planning of our conferences and other events. In our crusades for law reforms and social change, the NBA must lead by example.
Communication Barriers
Lawyers with sight, auditory or cognitive impairment experience communication barriers, which prevents them from receiving messages or information to which they are due.
Examples of communication barriers include:
- Use of small print or no large-print versions of material, and
- No Braille or versions for people who use screen readers.
- Videos that do not include captioning, and
- Oral communications without sign language interpreters
- The use of technical language, long sentences, and words with many syllables may be significant barriers to understanding for people with cognitive impairment.
I do not know how many of our Courts, if any, have resident sign language interpreters for the hearing impaired. I also do not know how many of our Courts’ or Ministries of Justice libraries have braille or audio law books for the sight impaired. I am almost certain that none of our law reporting companies, have braille versions of the law reports. The inescapable result is that a sight-impaired lawyer who is handing a case or simply reading to improve his knowledge of the law, has a huge obstacle to surmount. Similarly, the hearing impaired would find it difficult to participate effectively in court proceedings and other business meetings.
Assistive devices that help for the inclusion of the special needs lawyers are quite expensive and not easily available, thus the reluctance of government and government institutions to make provisions for them. Lawyers with special needs are thus left to sort themselves out, either by making these provisions where they can, or improvising or simply resigning to fate.
This means that many of you have to rely on family and friends to record audios of books for you to be able to work or get financial assistance purchase some of these assistive devices. This heavy reliance on others for function, no doubt puts you in more vulnerable position.
WAY FORWARD
Nigeria has made significant progress in addressing the challenges faced by persons with special needs. One of such significant steps came with the ratification of the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act 2018. In addition to the fact that full implementation of the Act is yet to be achieved, the challenges confronting the special needs persons need to be viewed in a broader context beyond a single piece of legislation.
While we have in place a legislation that seeks to safeguard the interest of the special needs persons and ensure that they are given due recognition and equal right in accessing public facilities, the greatest obstacle in their path is in how the society perceives them, which directly impacts on how it caters to their needs. We must set in motion a process to deliberately overhaul the mindsets of members of the society, first to understand that people with special needs are part of the society who can make meaningful contribution to its development if given the opportunity and the right tools. Conscious efforts must then be made to ensure they do not feel left out or held down by their deficiencies.
When we view disability as a limitation caused by the failure to address or provide the functional needs of a person or group of persons, and view it from the lenses of social responsibility in which people can be supported to live full and independent lives, it becomes easier to recognise and address the challenges
All working barriers such as lack of lifts and ramps in office buildings, equipment, and reliable transport to and from the offices and courts should be removed. I mentioned earlier that the transitory period given by the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act will elapse next year. If by 2023 we do not see remodelling of our court buildings and other public places being done to accommodate you, we will write notifications/reminders to the relevant government departments and if they still fail to comply, we will sue them for interfering with your right to equal access to public places.
FINAL WORDS
The society’s suggestion that you are disabled is manifested in their failure to provide the necessary facilities and assistive devices for you to function optimally, your tacit agreement with the suggestion is however the greatest barrier on your path.
I will therefore end on the same note as I started, and that is to remind you that you are tremendously and uniquely abled! The challenges you face is in the failure of government and institutions to make adequate provisions for you to unleash your special abilities for maximum impact. You are capable of achieving great things and making meaningful contributions to the growth and development of the society. Allow the positive mindset to pervade you.
The NBA will join and indeed lead the crusade to create adequate awareness of your special needs and push for their satisfaction, we will also walk the talk by ensuring that our programmes and policies are fitted to accommodate members of this forum. While we do this, I encourage you to refuse to live like victims, refuse to feel sorry for yourself. Do not focus on your limitations, deficiencies, or inabilities; rather concentrate on your abilities; promote and magnify your strengths and gifts, and never for once doubt that you are born for great things.
I thank you all for listening.
Yakubu Chonoko Maikyau, OON, SAN
PRESIDENT
[1] https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disability
[2] https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/disability
[3] https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/disability-and-health
