Interview with Jika Amah-Baruwa
February 2023 marks a critical moment in Nigeria’s politics as the country heads to the polls to decide on the right candidates for the offices of the President, Vice President, Members of federal and state legislatures, as well as State Governors and their deputies.
Although many of the candidates standing for office at this election will be familiar faces, the electorate itself is looking fresher. As well as a large wave of young people who are old enough to vote for the first time, persons with disability will now have an equal chance to take part in the process and have their voices heard.
The Leprosy Mission Nigeria have been at the heart of a campaign to ensure greater participation for persons with disability and those affected by leprosy at this election. We spoke to Jika Amah-Baruwa from TLM Nigeria to find out more.
Jika: There were more than a few reasons why persons with disability were unable to participate in past elections. Firstly, the electoral system did not take into consideration the particular needs of persons with disability and those affected by leprosy. As such, these Nigerians faced serious practical problems, which were exacerbated by stigma. There was no provision for them within our electoral system.
One of the biggest hurdles to participation was the process of voting itself. Nigerians can only vote if they have a Permanent Voters Card and at previous elections, you could only access this Card by giving your thumbprint. For persons affected by leprosy with reabsorption of the fingers or any person with a disability that meant they did not have a thumbprint, this meant they lost their right to vote.
There were other hurdles that stood between persons with disability and their right to vote. Election materials were not made available in braille, so persons with sight loss often struggled to register, get accredited, or cast a vote at a polling station. Similar challenges awaited persons with hearing loss, as there was often no way to communicate with election officials.
Sadly, there were further obstructions for the many communities of persons affected by leprosy who live in remote places. This can be a challenge on any day, but on election day the public transport service is closed as most people are considered to live within walking distance of the polling station. At previous elections, communities of persons affected by leprosy had no polling station in their proximity and were excluded from voting as a result.
Even if a person affected by leprosy did manage to get a Voters Card and eventually managed to get to a polling station, they might still face challenges. We spoke to a gentleman who got himself to the polling station and joined the queue, only for everyone else in the queue to move and form a separate queue because they did not want to be near a person affected by leprosy as they feared his condition was contagious.
Between all of these challenges, we could not come close to saying that persons with disability and persons affected by leprosy accessed their right to vote in past elections.
Jika: Over the last few years, we have worked alongside organisations of persons with disability to engage extensively with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) with the goal of achieving systemic change. That process has secured some key victories to ensure the participation of persons with disability and persons affected by leprosy at the 2023 election.
Following our efforts, the Commission has launched a data dashboard that captures all registered voters with disability in all polling units across the country, with aggregation by disability type.
A Bimodal Voter Accreditation System has been implemented. This means there are two biometrics for identifying voter identities: facial recognition and fingerprints.
A braille ballot guide is available to persons with sight loss. INEC has developed posters using visual art to enable persons with hearing impairments to understand the voting procedure. Persons with disability will be allowed to be accompanied into the polling unit.
For the first time in our nation’s electoral history, polling stations will have sign language interpreters. Assistive devices will be made available at the polling stations, including magnifying glasses and chairs that are set aside for people who might struggle to stand for long periods. Another first is that polling stations will be present in communities of persons affected by leprosy.
There have been a lot of changes to bring our electoral system in line with the principles set out by the UN’s Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability, but it is summed up simply by one person who came to us and said with excitement, ‘I now have my permanent voters’ card!’ For many affected by leprosy and disability, having a voters’ card for the first time is a uniquely powerful moment.
Jika: We’re only a few weeks away from Nigeria’s first truly disability-inclusive election, but it has been a long road to get to this point.
At the start of this journey, two years ago, we began a process of self-advocacy training with disabled peoples’ organisations (DPOs). That was an important place for us to start because disability in Nigeria is conflated with charity, handouts, and begging. We did not want this issue to be addressed in this way. This is a human rights issue and persons with disability needed to lead from the front by having their voices heard.
As the DPOs grew in experience and confidence in their self-advocacy skills, we began to set up meetings with the electoral commission (INEC).
Sadly, it was not as simple as having one meeting and reaching an agreement to have inclusive elections. It required consistent follow-ups and the engagement of strategic partnerships.
Because our ask was a rights-based issue, we engaged the National Human Rights Commission as a key stakeholder. With their backing, our message to the electoral officials was much stronger. The same was true when we engaged the media and began to educate them in some of the areas of discrimination and stigma that they were perpetuating with their coverage of disability and leprosy issues.
There is a lot of stigma and taboo surrounding leprosy and disability in Nigeria and people do not want to talk about it. A mother could take her child with disability to the hospital for treatment and a healthcare worker will ask her why she bothers caring for the child. That attitude is common across the country and it was the attitude we faced with our initial interactions with INEC officials.
With the collective push from partners and DPOs, the INEC officials were faced with pressure from several angles. The National Human Rights Commission brought their weight, the press began to report on the issues, and then the Federal Ministry of Health came on board to offer crucial legitimacy. The Ministry of Health helped us to show INEC officials that conditions such as leprosy and other neglected tropical diseases can be treated, and medication is free and available for all.
Progress was slow, but it escalated quickly when the leading DPOs organised a march which ended at the INEC Headquarters. When the INEC leaders saw persons with disability marching on their building, they quickly moved to deescalate the situation and we start to make faster progress.
Since the march, TLM Nigeria has hosted meetings and workshops with INEC officials while also facilitating visits to communities of persons affected by leprosy. Perhaps the most significant step is that INEC has established a disability and inclusivity department and assigned desk officers in each of the 36 states. These desk officers will have the duty of ensuring that the electoral concerns of persons with leprosy and other forms of disabilities are addressed.
Jika: The most powerful element of this process was the engagement of DPOs. Their voices set the tone for change.
One of the moments that has stood out to me is when a lady said to election officials, “My disability doesn’t seem to matter when you come to take my taxes, so why does it suddenly matter when I want to cast my vote?” You can’t put a price on the power of voices like this.
We combined the power of this voice with the strength of the National Human Rights Commission, the Federal Ministry of Health and the press. Bringing about systemic change is never easy, but it is possible when you approach it through multiple key and powerful stakeholders.
