Alumni donate resource centre to Queens College, urge inclusive learning

If there was any elixir that visually impaired students of Queen College, Lagos, needed to fire them up in the midst of the increasingly unfriendly world that they have to strive to make a mark, they got a large dose of it listening to those that treaded the path earlier.

The challenged students were not only spoon-fed with time-tested skill, which have proven invaluable. They were also exposed to “lifebuoys” with which they can navigate their way to the top in a world dominated by sighted competitors.

The occasion was the inauguration of a landmark resource centre for the visually impaired, the first of its kind in any secondary school in Nigeria, located at Queens College. The project, at the behest of the Class of 1979, is named after Mrs. Rebecca Adeniji (née Akintaro). Adeniji was a distinguished, visually impaired old girl of the school (from the class of 1979. She passed away in a car accident in 1999.

Director, Anglo Nigerian Welfare Association for the Blind, Danlami Basharu, in his remark said inclusive education remains one of the ways that social integration can be fostered between the visually impaired and the sighted students.

Music Coordinator, Vocational Training Centre for the Blind, Oshodi, Mr. James Yekini, who spoke in the same vein, cautioned the visually impaired students against lowering their self-esteem in the face of all forms of rejection they may face.

Urging them to be socially interactive, Yekini said, “In the midst of challenges, be yourself, set your targets and work towards achieving them because you can achieve a lot if you are determined.

Principal of Community Junior Secondary School, Ikorodu, Mrs Deborah Balogun, who also stressed the importance of being socially interactive, urged them to emulate other old guys like her self, who have braced all the odds to make a mark competing with their sighted counterparts.

Director, Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Development, Abuja, Mojisola Akintaro, in her paper titled, “Ability Beyond Disability,” explained that the challenges that come with disability in the world over were quite enormous, as “discrimination, stigmatisation and segregation of all sorts have been meted out to a lot of persons living with disabilities. This is regardless of race, tribe, colour, gender, etc.

Akintaro, her self a visually impaired person added that, “in spite of challenges posed by disability on one hand and society on the other hand, persons living with disabilities the world over have remained resolute and resilient to conquer and dominate their environment. This is what I refer to as ability beyond disability. Some refer to it as the sixth sense; in other words, the ingenuity of these persons living with disabilities to adapt to situations and conquer challenges in an extraordinary way is referred to as ‘ability beyond disability.’ For persons with disabilities, the reality of survival in an extreme or uncertain environment activates this special ability in them.

The director, who said, “persons with disabilities are ‘‘normal” and disability is a natural part of human variation, expressed happiness that a good number of these challenged people have refused to be intimidated and go on to excel in their callings.

“Government and indeed all well-meaning Nigerians can plan programmes and initiate policies that will enhance the welfare and development of persons with disabilities in Nigeria. Such programmes and policies should be geared towards giving hope to these people to enable them overcome their disabilities and social-economic barriers. Their full participation in nation building through effective and sustainable mainstreaming strategies should be guaranteed by government and society at large.”