© 2007
by Ajaiye Meretighan
In Igboland, in the eastern part of Nigeria, the word deaf means "cursed by the devil." I refute this meaning of the word deaf because it is illogical, misguided and ridiculous. However, the deaf and hard-of-hearing in Nigeria are certainly cursed by a lack of services and support.
Deaf education:
Nigeria has many schools for the deaf. Christian Mission for the Deaf in Ibadan consists of a primary school, secondary school, technical school and a church. Oyo College of Education in Oyo has a school for the deaf, deaf-blind and deaf-mute. There is a special education (deaf education) department at the University of Ibadan and University of Ilorin in Kwara state. There are also Wesley Schools one and two for hearing-impaired children in Surulere, Lagos state.
Yet these and other special schools and vocational training centers for the deaf lack up-to-date methods of teaching and communication, including alerting devices and other useful technologies that are widely available in developed countries such as the United States and United Kingdom.
In some schools for the deaf, there seem to be more teachers who are not knowledgeable about deaf education than who are knowledgeable about it. It is because of these unskilled and uncommitted teachers that some deaf students perform poorly in both social and academic activities. I also blame the parents and guardians of some deaf and hard-of-hearing students for not assisting and training their children properly. Some deaf parents don't buy the essential books and learning devices for their deaf children. They also don't reserve enough time to monitor the academic performances of their children and assist them where necessary. Also, these schools for the deaf don't have up-to-date teaching equipment or facilities to make learning interesting for deaf students. As a result, a lot of these deaf students will not be gainfully employed upon completion of their studies and will not relate well with educated people in the hearing world.
A teacher at Wesley School told me that most of the deaf children are slow learners and that very few of them study up to the university level, while others don't continue their education after primary school. He also said that administrators emphasize tailoring, carpentry, shoemaking, catering and other vocational training courses so that the students who cannot continue their education can be self-employed.
Access and rights:
Deaf and hard-of-hearing graduates find it difficult to look for work in some companies in Nigeria. The Ministry of Works and Housing, Federal Aviation Authority of Nigeria, Ministry of Education and private companies employ a few of the many qualified and employable deaf people in Nigeria.
Some deaf job-seekers perform excellently in written tests but perform poorly in the oral interview stage. We all know that some deaf and hard-of-hearing people find it difficult to express themselves orally. Some are employed in some companies just for a while and are later shown the way out. I think it is because most of these employers don't understand deaf and hard-of-hearing psychology and culture that they are reluctant to employ deaf people. I want employers to realize that deaf people can contribute to the growth of organizations if only they (deaf people) are helped to bring out the best in them. I've neither heard nor read of any organization that provides hearing aids, induction loops, alerting devices and other equipment or facilities to help deaf people in the workplace in Nigeria. A lot of Nigerians (both deaf and hearing) know nothing about these technologies and I don't think some hearing people care to know about them.
The only church for deaf people that is in Somolu, a Lagos state suburb, has no multimedia projector and Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART). The use of a multimedia projector would be helpful in this kind of church.
Only a privileged few deaf people in Nigeria (I thank God I'm among them) wear hearing aids. I have never seen a cochlear implant (CI) wearer in Lagos state. One audiologist told me that I won't find anyone with this extremely costly hearing instrument in Nigeria. Even a hearing aid is not easy to buy.
Deaf and hard-of-hearing Nigerians, and those with other disabilities, are not paid a disability living allowance similar to that paid in some developed nations.
Laws such as the Americans with Disabilities Act and the United Kingdom's Disability Discrimination Act, which are meant to protect the rights of the disabled, are non-existent in Nigeria. Several associations of disabled people have been calling for the enactment of laws to protect the rights of deaf and other disabled people in Nigeria but, unfortunately, this has not been done. I've read a couple of stories in the national dailies about how deaf and other disabled people are discriminated against in workplaces and in public places. I would be delighted if the law-makers in Nigeria would enact laws to protect the rights of disabled people.
Some unscrupulous people in Nigeria disguise themselves as hearing representatives of deaf associations to make crooked and fast money. As a result, some Nigerians ignore "deaf" people who beg for money on the streets because they are not sure who the real deaf people are. A lot of deaf people are naughty and stubborn in Nigeria. Why will they not be naughty when some heartless, ignorant and "prawn-brained" hearing people regard them as people who are "cursed by the devil" and as such don't deserve to be treated like reasonable individuals.
I see deaf people every Sunday evening at a beer parlor in Yaba, Lagos state, communicating in sign language. One can obviously find resentment, frustration and doubt written on the faces of some of them. A teacher and former secondary-school classmate of mine told me that the academic performance of deaf students he had taught at a school for the deaf in eastern Nigeria was very poor. He said that these students used to sulk and ask themselves in sign language, "When are we going to marry." Who will help us?" He also said vast majority of them can't speak and write proper English. Deaf people really need help in Nigeria.
The late Dr. P.O. Mba, the first deaf Nigerian to obtain a PhD degree, agonized over the plight of deaf people in Nigeria. Successive military governments were insensitive the plight of deaf and other disabled people but instead promulgated draconian decrees and looted the treasury. Some deaf people who don't have supportive and solicitous families, friends or relatives to assist them; and who are unemployed can be found at wedding receptions, housewarming ceremonies, fund-raising events and on the streets begging for money to buy hearing aids, feed themselves, set up their businesses or fund their education.
My heart goes out to all these needy deaf people in Nigeria. I commend former civilian Lagos state governor Bola Tinubu for the efforts made by his administration in providing free meals to deaf students during school hours and for providing textbooks and stationery to the pupils of Wesley School. Celtel, a foremost telecommunication firm in Nigeria, also donated some computers and upgraded the whole school. Religious institutions and philanthropic organizations have also been assisting Wesley School and other schools and associations for deaf people. However, this assistance is inadequate.
Hopes for the future:
I want the federal, state government, philanthropic organizations and religious institutions to finance the training of teachers of deaf children in order for the teachers acquire up-to-date teaching methods, and to purchase state-of-the-art teaching, learning and communication technologies such as electronic blackboards, multimedia projectors, CART, induction loops, hearing aids, captioned telephones and other essential needs of the deaf people in educational settings, hospitals and other public facilities in Nigeria. Also, I want these philanthropists to finance the training of technicians and operators of some of these technologies. I also want government and philanthropists in Nigeria to sensitize the members of the public on the need to assist not only the deaf, but other disabled people in Nigeria. I believe if deaf people are well-treated and not subjected to awful discrimination and helped to harness, maximize, improve and reach their potential, they will contribute to the development of the society.
Government should also provide an enabling environment in Nigeria so that deaf people can have unhindered access to these above-mentioned facilities and technologies.
Finally, parents/guardians of deaf children should endeavor to seek the services of professional psychologists and social workers in order to help their deaf children rise above their hearing disability and have a positive outlook on life. All of the stakeholders in the special education sector, especially deaf education experts, should endeavor to sensitize employers on deaf and hard-of-hearing culture and psychology so that the employers will understand how to interview, hire and work well with deaf and other disabled people.