Poet uses words in the battle for inclusion
A Poet from Nigeria is using his work to draw attention to the need for the wider inclusion of people with disabilities.
Advocacy's Poet
Duro Onota is a teacher at a secondary school in Abuja, Nigeria and he also works in Advocacy with CBM.
"Advocacy is the bedrock of work carried out in the field of disability", says Duro.
"[It] is full-time work for me. I'm forever meeting disabled people who have been ostracised because of their physical condition and they need the encouragement to not accept the social stigma that has been forced upon them".
Duro is passionate about advocacy and its importance in Nigeria to help remove the stigmatisms surrounding disabled professionals throughout the country. He uses this energy to write his poetry.
Let me have my say
As the spirit inspires
As my soul interprets
The divine messages
Let me be uncelebrated
Refusing to tread beaten trails
But always be remembered
To have had my say, my wayFrom 'Having My Say' by Duro Onota.
'Health Problems'
Duro was dismissed from his teaching post in 1985 due to 'health problems', which he is sure was just another way of saying 'because you're blind'.
At the age of 10, Duro started to lose his sight - noticing a loss in peripheral vision and 'night blindness'. Whilst this loss was slowed down by adjusting his vitamin intake and reviewing his diet, it continued to deteriorate until he finally lost the ability to read printed texts in 1991.
Despite this, he has now completed his Master Degree in Special Education and plans to finish his PhD in the next few months.
There is still a long way to go before people with disabilities in Nigeria are treated fairly but it is clear that Duro won't be giving up for a long time yet -
"Whatever your achievements may be, sometimes you're still ostracised. We need to reform public opinion".
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