Increased security in Nigeria affects the access of people with disabilities

People with disabilities recently protested at some of the leading commercial banks in Lagos due to their growing inaccessibility, Newswatch reports.

Cosmas Okoli, national president of the Association for Comprehensive Empowerment of Nigerians with Disabilities, ASCEND, told Newswatch that they had to protest because of the banks increasingly inaccessibility.

"The banks do not have ramps for those of us on wheelchair to enter into the banking hall. As if that is not bad enough, they built narrow security doors. The security doors have metal detectors that even when you pass the door, detectors would screen you out," he said, referring to people who are turned away because of the metal in their crutches or wheelchairs.

Okoli said his association wrote to all bank chief executives in September 2007, asking them to fix the access problems in the next six months. But none of the executives responded to the letters.

Okoli also said the Lagos state government introduced the BRT transport system without considering the interest of about 19 million Nigerians with disabilities.

"We concluded that the only thing that can stop this discrimination is a legislation to protect our rights as well as the establishment of a commission for disability affairs both at the federal and state levels," he said. He also added that the president and each of the governors should have a personal adviser on disability matters.