This speech was delivered at the Finals of Jaw War 2016 by Mr. Adeyemi Olamilekan Idowu to speak against how the physically challenged individuals are not been treated well in the society. The speech was so touching and even made some members of the audience shed tears.
For four years I have waited to make this request. So long it has been that it seems now like an impossible quest. Hence, tonight am on a special mission, not a competition. So I want your attention, not your ovation. I do hope to effect a change after this speech but not by a miracle, so I will speak the truth like an oracle. Because I have heard the voice of the neglected crying from the wilderness of isolation, with the depth of their pain piercing into the deepest depth of the deepest oceans and after I fell from the staircase in my hall of residence, fainted, lasted a couple of days in Jaja and even missed my test, I decided it’s time I asked the University, the society and the entire country to please give us a chance.
So today, I have come to confront you with the consequence of your silence. The silence that exist in a world where dis-ability is confused with in-ability. There exist a negative attitude and social taboo towards persons with disability in many parts of the world including Nigeria and this has hampered the development of this vulnerable set of persons. According to the EFA global monitoring report in 2011, majority of the children with disability in Africa do not go to school at all and of the 72million primary aged children worldwide out of school, one-third of them have disability. Discrimination as is old as human society itself. For instance, in bible days some characters are consistently described with their disability so much that history eventually forgot their names; the woman with the issue of blood, the lame man at the pool of Bethsaida, blind Bathemeus. I cannot remember the number of times I have wondered if the surname of Mr. Bathemeus is actually the word ‘’blind’’.
Unfortunately, this discrimination and insensitivity to the existence of these special persons survives in intellectual environments. On the 28th of November, 2015, Premium times reported the denial of admission of Miss Jane Ottah from Rivers State University because she has speech defect and earing impairment. Our very own University of Ibadan (the first and the best) is not totally left out of this business of insensitivity to the needs of physically challenged students. For instance the designer of this Legendary Trenchard Hall never thought a student like me sited in a wheelchair will ever have to give a speech tonight, hence there is no provision for a ramp for me to get to the stage. We have our entire G.E.S textbook beautifully printed in English but we forget that we have blind students that needs brail machines to read them and worse stil isl the fact that the department of special education sits comfortably on the 2nd floor in the faculty of education causing great discomfort to the physically challenge students of that faculty. I can only stay in my white and black as a law student to imagine the shame and pains these students go through every day while their disability is being emphasized as they are carried like bag of rice to their classrooms.
I am not here to point accusing fingers, neither am I saying that the University has done nothing, all I am saying is that we can do more. There is always a room for more. We pretend to feel, understand and share the pains of physically challenged persons, but our actions speak the opposite because in actual fact we don’t. I am not asking for preferential treatment or pity on behalf of special persons. No, far from it. All I am asking for is that special facilities needed by special students be provided so that we don’t feel like we are less a human being.
Finally, I was a little kid about 4-6years old when one of my mother’s friends advised her never to take me back to school because according to her sending a disable boy to school is a waste of time and resources. But my mum declined. That term, I failed woefully; I came 22nd out of 32 pupils in my class. But my mom looked me in the eye and told me ‘’ you are a very intelligent boy’’. She died 2-3years later when I was about 8 years old, but she did something I will never forget, she gave me a chance and that’s why I am here today. Therefore I have come to plead with you tonight- give us a chance! We have disability but we are not a liability to this society, give us a chance! We are not a majority, but our interest is also a priority, give us a chance! We do not need your pity or sympathy, just show us a little more of empathy, give us a chance! We do not need a special consideration, just change your perception about our condition …
When you give us a chance, you would have given us the opportunity to contribute to solving the problems of the society and not become a problem to be solved by the society.
Thank you……………
