Emeka Ibemere
This
is not the best of times for the Nigeria Association of the Blind (NAB). For
now, the group is in a state of disappointment and sadness over their fate.
Not
because their conditions have degenerated beyond helplessness but for the fact
that those who supposed to help them are now constituting and adding to their
woes.
Mysterious
workers at the National Aviation Handling Company have allegedly stolen
imported white canes donated to the Group on arrival at the airport.
Last
week, unknown criminals allegedly working at Murtala Mohammed International
Airport, NAHCO shed, along Airport Road Ikeja, allegedly stole items belonging
to the Nigeria Association of the Blind (NBA) in a most notorious manner.
The ‘NAHCO rats’ as they are fondly known at
the NAHCO, took away the items on arrival from where it was purchased at the
MMIA without any trace of its whereabouts. On October 10, 2013, the Association
in a media briefing cried over the mystery disappearance of the items which the
group purchased through the charitable effort of the First Bank of Nigeria.
“On
behalf of the Nigeria Association of the Blind (NAB), I have the sad duty to
announce that the white canes which were purchased through the generous
sponsorship of First Bank of Nigeria, and other sponsors now seems to have
disappeared and become untraceable”, Mr David Okon, President, Nigeria
Association of the Blind stated in his Press Release.
According
to the Association’s President, the group had planned to use the items, during
the white cane day on 15 October, and afterwards distribute the items among the
needy persons with visual impairments. But that couldn’t work out following the
mysterious disappearance of the White Canes on arrival at the airport.
“We
received notification that the canes which were ordered from abroad arrived on
14 September, 2013, since then, and despite our repeated visits to the Nigerian
Aviation Handling Company, PLC. (NAHCO), nobody seems to know where the canes
are”, Okon added.
“We
cannot understand how goods which were properly documented as having entered
Nigeria are now somehow lost in the system.
We have been informed that all officially designated store locations
have now been inspected and the whereabouts of the white canes is still unknown”.
Okon
disclosed that the Association believes that the items were still intact and
hopes that there was no fraudulent game surrounding the circumstances leading
to the disappearance of the items.
“We
can only hope that there is no fraudulent reason why this is the case”, he
reasoned.
He
said the disappearance of the white Canes suggests the failed state status of
the country that has neglected her citizenry including the ones with
disabilities adding that the items was the sole effort of the Association in
trying to help her members in the midst of difficult and for the items to get
loss, is misleading and unfortunate.
“The
NAB wishes to point out that this is a sad reflection on a country which has so
far failed to provide adequately for its persons with disabilities. It is perhaps symptomatic of the situation
that the white cane, itself a symbol of our progress despite tremendous difficulties,
has been mislaid or stolen, and is now unaccounted for”, Okon worried.
He
disclosed that why the Association went public was to alert the people of
Nigeria over the plight of the Group noting that the items were purchased with
sponsors and donors money which they Association needs to give its account.
“The
NAB wishes to make this public, because the white canes were purchased with
money from sponsors, and we feel the need to account for such generosity”, he
stated. “Furthermore, the NAB owes its
members a constitutional duty to defend their interests and seek to alleviate
some of their difficulties. These White
Canes would have been used for that purpose, and the NAB therefore owes its
members a duty of accountability”.
Okon
also said that the NAB is crying over the incident in order to draw the
attention of the general public to the overall difficulty that plagues Nigerian
citizens who are visually impaired and are thus more vulnerable and less able
to access the services and amenities in Nigeria.
It’s
on these sad grounds of event that the NAB are now calling on the Nigerian
Aviation Handling Company to make every effort to locate their white canes as
quickly as possible so that they could be transported to Nassarawa state for
this year’s event which has started. Okon also appeals to all citizens to
remember the visually impaired members of their community as they approach such
an important day in the calendar of visual impairment persons in the world.
They President of the Association urged all Nigerians as many as possible that
would turn out in Nassarawa and other states to take part in the national and
state activities marking the white cane day not to miss to celebration. He
decried the lack of accountability which has become the scourge of Nigeria and
urged the federal and the states governments that haven’t yet done so to
implement policies designed to alleviate the difficulties of disabled people
under their jurisdiction. He thanked the sponsors and well-wishers who have
continued to support the cause of visual impaired persons. He prayed for many
of the visually challenged persons to join the Association so that the disabled
people are no longer sidelined in the country. Speaking to our correspondent on
phone while in Nassarawa State Okon said that the items haven’t been recovered
a month after its disappearance.
According
to him, when he met with Mr Henry Okon, the General Manager, Courier of the
NAHCO, that the manager told him that there was nothing they could do and that
they have done everything they could to trace the items but couldn’t find it.
He
said the Emirate Airline that brought the items to Nigeria from Canada said
they delivered the items as at when due and couldn’t understand what the NAHCO
is saying over the stolen items.
Equally,
Mr David Okon also disclosed that the highway bill of N5, 5 000, was paid to
Universal Parcel Services (UPs), and that the whole documents suggesting the
delivery and arrival of the items were done but that NAHCO is saying another
thing. According to the NBA President, the items were 250 pieces of white canes
in six cartons and all of them developed wings on arrival. Speaking further, he
stated that the purchase, ferrying and clearing of the items cost over N900,
000. Meanwhile, the event has been postponed to yesterday, (Thursday), because
of the disappearance of the items.
1. He said they ought to have used it on
Tuesday but that the whole essence of the white cane event was the white canes
itself adding that such an event couldn’t be celebrated without the white
canes. Okon said the sad development has forced them to start looking where to
buy other white canes which he said are very exorbitant in Nigeria. On what the Association is planning to do, he
said the Association might resort to sue NAHCO, and its subsidiaries in court
concerning the mystery disappearance of the items. Nigeria Association of the Blind (NAB) was registered
and incorporated under Section 5(II) of the Land Perpetual Act. Chap. 98 of the
Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 1968. The association is a member of
the National Advisory Council for the Blind (NNACB). NAB also exists as a
cluster body under The Joint National Association of Persons Living with
Disabilities (JONAPWD) and a member of African Union of the Blind (AFUB) and
the World Blind Union (WBU). The association has had five presidents since its
formation namely: Mr Ajanaku, Alhaji Gambo
Yunusa, Mr. Steven Ayagwa Mr. Iliya Bakdi and Mr. David U.Okon. Their membership cuts across the 36 states
of the federation including FCT and over 250,000 blind and partially sighted persons,
focusing on different areas of development, all of whom work to support a
diverse range of membership communities across the nation. The Mission of the Association is to promote
the rights of the blind and partially sighted persons in Nigeria through
advocacy, capacity building and partnership while her vision is a world of
total inclusion and equal opportunities for all. The Association’s core values
are dedication, integrity and team spirit
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