Former governor of Kano state and immediate past National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has called on governors, development partners, and philanthropists to invest more in the Physically Challenged Persons to reduce begging in the North.
Ganduje noted that with more investment in technological gadgets, education “is now much easier for those with special needs in society” and they could become more useful to themselves and the society instead of begging.
Speaking Friday in Abuja during the documentary premiere of 10th years of Let’s Talk Humanity (LTH), an organisation caring for the education needs of deaf and blind, Ganduje decried the neglect “of many disabled persons in Northern Nigeria, leading to an array of beggars.”
He said, “Some sleep under bridges, some sleep on the road, this is a sorry story but looking at what we saw this afternoon, you can see that there is a silent revolution if what we have seen could be adopted by our executive governors, development partners and by various philanthropist, there’s no doubt there will be a big change in our society.
“I urge those in authority and development partners to make a great change, it’s fishing. Those physically challenged. They can’t stop begging. They can develop to the extent that they can even be employers of labour. They can develop to the extent that they can be genius in various fields of endeavors.”
Also speaking, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, Dr. Bernard M. Doro, who commended the initiative, emphasised that society must bear in mind that before a programme or device was designed, the People Living with Disabilities should be considered.
He said, “When we develop assisted devices or technology in general this has to be done with People Living with disability in mind.
“You don’t wait until you do it before you begin to adapt it for people to use, and I believe it is an important point to make. We must move towards a future where accessibility is by design, moving away from retrofitting tools towards building universal platforms, digital must be the priority here, technology should empower individuals to navigate the world on their own terms.”
In her speech, the founder of Let’s Talk Humanity, Fatima Ganduje Abiola-Ajumobi, said the organisation had been empowering 1,000 beneficiaries every year since 2027.
She said, “Seeing the faces of alumni, members of staff, and supporters of Tudun Maliki here today takes me back to the very beginning 10 years ago – when you trusted me with something so important: the future of your education, and the possibility of change through technology.”