Disability Statute and Amenability in Nigeria: Reinforcing Enforcement and Compliance with Guidance Counselling Enlightenment

Abstract

Disability is usually delineated as a condition capable of divesting one’s potential to carry out substantial meaningful life activities following medical or physical susceptibilities. Although it might be construed as a corporeal condition which could either culminate into death or may have persisted for an elongated duration, it is hardly detachable from societal and environmental margins. Research unremittingly demonstrate that numerous Nigerians are affected by disability and the latter is commonly addressed with the charity model. Amid welfare prototype reinforcing stigma and discrimination that emit limited social, educational and occupational access for the cluster, poor governmental attention and social discrimination continue to sabotage disability rights statutes in the country. As these circumstances persist in leaving disabled Nigerians hopeless and hapless, this study aimed to find out why the extant Disability Act is not duly implemented and what could be done to remedy the situation. Doctrinal and Traditional review methods were adopted for this work in order to explore divergent disabilities that impact the lives of disabled people and how the society has contributed to such. Apart from the observation that enforcement could bring about a proper fulfilment of the legislation, it was also noted that no matter how negligible, innumerable incarcerations, pecuniary-penalisations and reparations would not be fair amid social ignorance. A key recommendation was then made that guidance counsellors should be profoundly involved in Nigeria’s disability consciousness enlightenments for a positive social change.