PAUL NWOSU
In his 8-year governance of Anambra State, Chief Willie Maduabuchi Obiano created the record of making the state the Number One in disability inclusiveness in Nigeria. No other state came close.
It is to his credit that he set up the commission for physically challenged persons in Anambra State. While inaugurating the commission, Obiano had charged members of the commission to collaborate with relevant ministries, parastatals and corporate bodies in the state while assuring people living with disability that all public buildings in the state would be structured and designed to make them accessible and usable by persons living with disabilities.
Obiano then said: “Functions of the commission include implementing government policies in the law in line with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and all other disability matters; Issuance of guidelines for education, social development and welfare of persons living with disabilities, issuance of direction and guidelines to special schools for persons living with disabilities, and issuance of direction and guidelines on all manner of disabilities, preventive or curative exercises, and other functions as stipulated in section 12 (a-u) of Anambra State Disability Rights Law, 2018.”
The commission was headed by Barrister Chukwuka (Chuks) Ezewuzie as Chairman. Barrister Chinenye Okeke served as Secretary, being the Deputy Director representing Ministry of Justice). Comrade Ugochukwu Okeke represented JONAPWD as the State Chairman. Mrs Obianyo Anthonia, the Director Rehab, represented the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs. Miss Victoria Okonkwo, the Unit Head of Ministry of Basic Education, represented the Ministry of Education.
Others included Mr Tony Oli as representative of the Anambra State Sports Commission; Bishop Moses Ezedebego of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN); Dr Lady Pat Okeke – Private Sector; Mrs Eucharia Anekwe, the Director of Gender Perspective and Social Development Centre represented Civil Society Organization (CLO) focusing on Disability Issues); and finally, Mr Williams Ndidika Umeh, a retired Director of Education and Former Head of Department ( HOD) Education and Social Development Local Government Service Commission.
For Obiano, it was a matter of matching words with action. True to his life-long passion for humanity, Obiano gave the disability community in Anambra State an ennobling existence to cherish. Barrister Chukwuka Ezewuzie stresses that no governor before Obiano had treated disabled persons with requisite consideration and prays that his successors should continue to match his laudable feats in uplifting the plights of people living with disability through the provision of employment, disability rights law, among other dividends.
In the words of Ezewuzie, “Members of the disability community have been the greatest beneficiaries of the Governor Willie Obiano administration in Anambra state. Since 2014, Akpokuedike has done a lot for the Disability community in the state. This is to the extent that while the workers call him the alert governor, the community nicknamed Governor Obiano, Oguguo Ndi Olusi. Governor Obiano has done for Ndi Olusi what had never been done, even from the old Anambra state. For instance, for the first time since the creation of Anambra state 30 years ago, Sir Willie established the Office of the Governor on Disability Matters (OGDM), which implement’s the governor’s vision for persons with disabilities. Anambra, under Obiano, is also the first state in West Africa to appoint visually impaired and other persons with disability as Permanent Secretaries in Public service as well as employed several persons with Disabilities into the state’s civil service.”
When Obiano swore in 11 Permanent Secretaries, one of them, Tony Idigo, a barrister, was from the disability community. Another person with disability was a member of the State Executive Council, the highest ruling organ of the state government. Obiano appointed well over five persons with disabilities to his cabinet.
Under Obiano, Anambra became the only state in the Southeast to enact a law on disabilities (Anambra State Disabilities Rights Law). The law provides for inclusion of persons with disabilities in state policies and programs; guarantees employment opportunities for persons with disabilities and prohibits discrimination against and the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities, as well as provides for the education and sporting opportunities for persons with disabilities etc.
Civil servants with disabilities were promoted to their rightful service levels after years of neglect and stagnation during the time of Obiano. He recognized and rewarded athletes with disabilities who won medals at the national and international competitions, and also encouraged and rewarded persons with disabilities who made outstanding achievements in different professional fields. He gave special attention to a visually impaired author of a Mathematics book and a proponent of a new mathematical formula.
Obiano provided support for Disability Law Centre for facilitation of access to justice and protection of disability and human rights of persons with disabilities. He facilitated the provision of the Access Computer Technology centre (ACT) and provided assistive and mobility equipment for productivity enhancements of persons with disabilities and equally instituted free transportation in the state-owned vehicles for persons with disabilities.
In his ever rendering vision to uplift persons with disabilities, Obiano ensured the recruitment of five sign language interpreters and many deaf teachers, Braille operators and computer instructors for persons with disabilities. He established the state disability forum for dialogue between the government and the disability community with a view to providing assessment and advice on government policies and programmes for persons with disabilities.
Obiano harmonized the programmes and promotion of synergy between disability cluster services, NGOs and government programmes for persons with disabilities and created the enabling environment that increased active participation of persons with disabilities in politics; thereby increasing awareness on equal access to electoral process for persons with disabilities.
The present Anambra state government appointed and promoted Judicial officers with Disabilities to the Bench; established rehabilitation centers at Aguleri, Oba and Nawfija.
The government of Obiano renovated and upgraded Special Education Centre at Isulo, and established the rehabilitation centre for the mentally challenged at Nteje in Oyi LGA, donating his salary for the upkeep of the inmates.
He offered scholarships to all the students with disabilities at all levels of education, and issued an Executive Directive requiring all projects executed in the State, whether public or private, to be handicapped-accessible. He remarkably employed some 131 persons with disabilities into the state civil service. He appointed Mrs Esther Nwodika as a Special Assistant on the Physically Challenged.
Under the watch of Obiano, the visually impaired Azuka Ofomata earned his beat from Director to Permanent Secretary. Mr Tony Ezenwaka was appointed a Permanent Secretary while Barr. Chuks Ezewuzie rose from SSA to SPAD and a member of EXCO.
The incontrovertible evidence is that as Anambra State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano, beat all comers in doing good for the disability community.