Group seeks engagement of mobility, orientation officers for visually impaired persons in Nigeria

A Non Governmental Organisation, Total Inclusion Limited, TIL, has charged the Nigeria Association of the Blind, NAB, to employ mobility and orientation officers in its offices across the country, who will train members on the use of white-cane.

The Chief Executive Officer of TIL, David Okon gave the charge on Thursday during the commemoration of the 2025 International White-Cane Safety Day in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State with the theme, “Vision Beyond Sight”.

The event was organized by Akwa Ibom branch of NAB in partnership with Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs.

Okon who described white-cane as not just a tool for navigation but a symbol of independence, dignity, and self-reliance for blind people; said the essence of the gadget could be defeated if blind people do not know how to use it.

He said proper orientation on the use of the white-cane would allay the fears of an employer who employs a person with visual impairment on how he or she would be coming to work or going back from office.

He also called on governments across all levels to employ these officers who, according to him, would give proper orientation to a blind or a visually impaired person in a community on how to get from one place to the other, from the house to a nearby school, market or any place of interest without much difficulty using the white-cane.

His words, “It is good to have a white-cane, but without proper training and usage, it is useless to you. In addition, my president, chairman and coordinator, we should advocate seriously to the state government, to the federal government, to the local government that each local government in Nigeria should employ mobility and orientation officer who will be informed when a blind person, a visually impaired person, moves into their community. It will be their responsibility to fish him out, give him the proper orientation with his mobility cane to know the environment, to know how to get from one place to the other, at least from his house to the post office, train station, to the nearby school or wherever around.”

Okon who is also a blind person and top Director in First Bank called on the public to stop removing manhole covers and the government to stop leaving drainages open saying that such poses a threat to visually impaired persons.

Earlier in his remarks, the Akwa Ibom State chairman of NAB, Nsikak Edet Udoh said the 2025 celebration signifies a commitment to accessibility, inclusion, and empowering persons with visual impairment through collaborative efforts and impactful actions.

Okon said though the cane grants access, it was society’s responsibility to remove barriers both physical and attitudinal that contend the entrance for visually impaired, even as he expressed hope that the society would move from policy to practice and from intentions to impact.

While commending the Akwa Ibom state government for inclusion of persons with disability, the chairman said, “To the government of Akwa Ibom State, we commend your leadership and urge you to continue in your disability inclusive development.To our partners in this movement, your work is transforming lives. Let us deepen this collaboration and bring in more alliance.”

On his part, the National President, NAB, Stanley Onyebuchi expressed gratitude to Akwa Ibom government and called for training and ICT support for members. He also emphasized the importance of daily use of the white cane for the visually impaired community and urged members not to be ashamed of using it.

One of the resource persons in Australia who spoke virtually, Ubong Udo harped on education for blind persons with neccesary learning tools and accessible environment.

He added, “Our problem is not that we are blind but the inability of the sighted to recognize our opinion and want to think for us. Is the Nigerian government giving us all the education we deserve and what is the ideology of employing a blind person without giving him tools to work? is employment based on charity?” He queried, adding, ” We want Akwa Ibom where we have employment without necessarily going on protest, Akwa Ibom were everybody is equal and has equal education.

The highpoint of the event was the distribution of white-Canes to visually impaired persons at the occasion.