The government of Cross River State has pledged to adequately integrate persons with disabilities into governance.
The commitment was made by Prof. Anthony Owan Enoh, Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Cross River State, during a courtesy visit by the TAF Africa team and disability clusters led by Amb. Jake Epelle, CEO/Founder, TAF Africa.
Responding to their plea, the SSG stated that the request for the integration of persons living with disabilities into governance is not new, because the state had always worked to ensure persons with disabilities are not left out.
In his words, “We have always employed them as Special Advisers and as Personal Assistants, but we are going to do much more. Even now, the issue of our buildings has been audited to ensure that we really get compliance so that persons with disabilities can also have access to our facilities. That is a big point of attention which we would do. Public buildings are not only for persons without disabilities but also for persons with disabilities.
“In terms of the law, we have already passed a bill in the House of Assembly for which we have thought about inclusion of people with disabilities in the affairs of the state, that have been recognized and been pursued. The state has done very well by involving persons with disabilities in the management of affairs in the state.
The CEO/Founder of TAF Africa, Mr. Jake Epelle expressed high hopes in the current administration. According to him, “We are interested in ensuring that the government carries along persons with disability in all spheres of governance.”
He revealed that they are willing to partner in developing guidelines for the forthcoming local government election. Mr. Livinus Ibingha, State Chairman of the Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities (JONAPWD) disclosed that they have been advocating seriously for the holistic inclusion of persons with disabilities.
According to him, “We have been with SSG advocating for the inclusion of persons with disabilities. There was a bill passed by the Assembly, the bill was assented to by the immediate past governor, Prof. Ben Ayade, waiting for the establishment of a Commission.
“We are hopeful that the issue has been presented before His Excellency here through the SSG, and he has assured us that he is going to make sure we go to the governor to re-echo what we have presented before him because it is a commission that will air the views of persons with disability in the state.”
A Journey Of Rights and Disability Inclusion
A Journey Of Rights and Disability Inclusion Since the end of the Second World War, the global community has been undergoing a period of profound societal change. Civil Rights movements have shaken the foundations of the global order, standing at the heart of social transformation and progressive change for the better part of the last two centuries.This story can be traced, in various ways, to pivotal moments across our historical past. No area of human civilisation has been immune to debates and movements about the rights of individuals and the responsibility of the state, or supreme power, to the citizens who are governed by it.Across age, class, sex, faith, sexuality, and disability, individuals have advocated and fought for the gradual reshaping of their societies into the world we live in today – one aspiring toward a concrete vision of individual liberty, equality before the law, incorruptible justice, and shared prosperity. Yet, the journey has not always been smooth. We may view the past in entirely barbaric terms, and in many ways, we would be right. Still, history shows us that resistance to oppression has always existed. For the simple yet radical idea of human equality, battles were fought, won and lost; wars were waged, and countless lives were sacrificed.As far back as 1100 BCE, records from ancient Egypt suggest the occurrence of organised workers’ strikes. In 287 BCE, in ancient Rome, the dictator (no relation to modern-day dictators, please) Quintus Hortensius, passed the Lex Hortensia, a law which theoretically secured political equality between the ruling Patrician class and the free Plebeian citizens by making all resolutions from the Plebeian Council binding on all Roman citizens. Centuries earlier, Persia, under the infamous Cyrus the Great, issued the Cyrus Cylinder, a declaration often regarded as one of the earliest endorsements of religious freedom. Progress, however, has rarely been swift. It was not until the 1960s – during the height of the U.S. Civil Rights Movement – that disability inclusion began to emerge as a distinct movement with its own pure identity, advocating for a community whose experiences cut across age, class, gender, and culture. Prior to this, early steps toward social protection existed in the US, most notably the Social Security Act of the 1930s, signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the first U.S. president with a physical disability.Between the 60s and the 90s, Civil Rights took multiple leaps forward around the globe. Across Africa, people reclaimed self-governance after a century of colonial rule. These transformations were marked by deep struggle, highlighted by the deeply divisive racial conflict in apartheid and post-apartheid South Africa. In Nigeria and throughout the continent, citizens grappled with the profound responsibilities and challenges of independence, democratic self-determination, and governance.Alongside these transformations, other social changes gained momentum worldwide. As gender (sex) rights, religious liberty, and freedom of expression raced forward, the world made enormous progress in the integration of persons with disabilities (PWDs). By the late 90s, the US, Canada, India, and the UK had enacted laws prohibiting discrimination based on disability.The newly formed United Nations played a central role in shaping global disability advocacy with the 1975 UN Declaration on the Rights of Disabled Persons. This milestone set the stage for later international frameworks, most notably the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in 2007, which emphasised not only fundamental rights like the right to accessibility and the right to life, but also focused on the socio-economic foundations that make political rights meaningful.Today, over 100 countries on Earth have enacted and implemented some form of legislation on disability inclusion. Still, the journey continues.Nationwide implementation of accessibility standards, increased participation of persons with disabilities in the workforce, politics, policymaking, and governance, inclusive education systems where children with disabilities and without disabilities learn together safely, and a societal culture that embraces rather than marginalises disability – these, and many others, are the markers of progress that remain ahead of us.On this journey toward true disability inclusion, we at TAF Africa, our donors and partners, and team, are committed to walking every step of the way.