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Firdaus Obiremi
People with visual impairments called on governments, financial institutions and other stakeholders to dismantle discriminatory barriers and provide accessible infrastructure, employment opportunities and equal access to essential services.
They also urged authorities to move beyond temporary financial handouts and charitable interventions towards sustainable policies that ensure the independence, dignity and economic empowerment of people with disabilities.
The stakeholders made the appeal on Friday in Abeokuta, Ogun State, during the 2026 International White Cane Safety Day and Empowerment Program organized by the Nigerian Association of the Blind, Abeokuta South Chapter.
The program, themed “Knights of the Blind in the Modern Age: Supporting Mobility, Digital Financial Access and Livelihood Inclusion for People with Visual Impairments,” brought together association members, legal practitioners, disability rights advocates, Lions Club International and other stakeholders.
Speaking at the event, the President of NAB Abeokuta South Chapter, Mrs. Oluwatomisi Adeyefa Olatayo, said people with visual impairments want equal opportunities to participate in society rather than be treated as objects of pity.
Olatayo stressed that persons with disabilities should be included in decision-making processes and given the necessary support to pursue education, employment and other livelihood opportunities.
“We want to live in a society free from discrimination and stigma, where we are free to live as humanely as possible,” he said.
He urged members of the public to replace sympathy-driven interventions with genuine support for disability rights, insisting that people with visual impairments deserve the opportunity to become self-sufficient.
“The Bible says to love your neighbor as yourself. Love us sincerely; do not pity us. We want the opportunity to prosper, not charity or peanuts. Disability rights are human rights,” he added.
Olatayo acknowledged the contribution of the Lions Club International, the Beyond Limits Initiative for Women and Girls with Disabilities and the Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities, Ogun State Chapter, in efforts to improve the well-being of persons with disabilities.
Also speaking were the Director of Media and Communications, Junior Chamber International, Abeokuta, Kareem Owolabi, who represented the member representing Abeokuta South I Constituency in the Ogun State House of Assembly, Hon. Lukman Atobatele, said disability should not determine an individual’s worth or limit their potential.
Owolabi argues that distributing money and relief materials without addressing the structural challenges facing people with disabilities would do little to ensure their long-term independence.
He called for stronger legislation at the state and grassroots levels to protect the rights of people with disabilities and ensure their access to public facilities, healthcare and economic opportunities.
Highlighting the humanitarian interventions of JCI Abeokuta, Owolabi said the organization facilitated the participation of 40 medical professionals from the United States in a medical outreach during which more than 135 free surgeries were performed, including 50 cataract procedures.
He added that canes and crutches were also distributed as part of the intervention.
Owolabi called on lawmakers, community leaders, government agencies and non-governmental organizations to work together to improve infrastructure, expand medical awareness programs and strengthen policies to support people with disabilities.
In his opening remarks, a Supreme Court lawyer of Nigeria and co-founder of Aiding the Blind in Nigeria, Barrister Olayinka Komolafe, said the main challenge facing blind Nigerians is not blindness itself, but the institutional and environmental barriers that limit their independence.
Referring to Helen Keller’s 1925 speech to members of the Lions Club, in which she challenged them to become “knights of the blind in the crusade against darkness”, Komolafe said the modern struggle requires society to confront discriminatory systems rather than viewing blindness as a personal limitation.
“The real darkness in Nigeria is not blindness: it is the systemic barriers that turn blindness into a disability,” he said.
Komolafe criticized the poor state of pedestrian infrastructure, warning that distributing white canes without providing safe passages, tactile paving, accessible traffic signs and specialized orientation and mobility training would not adequately address the difficulties faced by people with visual impairments.
He cited Section 5 of the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act 2018, which provides for accessibility in public buildings and infrastructure, including pedestrian crossings, and complained about what he described as inadequate implementation of the law.
The legal professional also expressed concerns about the exclusion of visually impaired people from digital financial services, particularly from ATMs and mobile banking applications which do not have adequate accessibility features.
According to him, the situation sometimes forces blind customers to depend on other people to conduct financial transactions, exposing their confidential personal identification numbers and compromising their financial security.
He urged commercial banks to make their digital platforms accessible, equip their facilities with appropriate assistive technologies and train employees to professionally serve customers with disabilities.
Komolafe also called on banks to review requirements that force visually impaired account holders to sign indemnity forms, arguing that such practices could create further barriers to financial inclusion.
On economic empowerment, he cited World Health Organization data which he said shows that 80% of blind Nigerians live in poverty due to unemployment and inadequate access to capital.
He urged government agencies, civil society organizations and development partners to expand access to vocational training, business financing and sustainable livelihood programs for people with visual impairments.
Komolafe argued that true inclusion requires more than the provision of mobility aids, stressing that governments and private institutions must create an environment in which people with disabilities can move freely, access services independently and participate fully in economic and social life.
“The white cane is a symbol of independence, not a symbol of mercy,” he said, urging visually impaired Nigerians to continue advocating for the implementation of disability rights and the removal of barriers to equal participation.
Stakeholders reiterated that achieving meaningful inclusion would require coordinated action by government institutions, businesses, civil society groups and communities to translate disability rights legislation into practical improvements in the daily lives of people with visual impairments.
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