As Nigeria’s inflation rate rises to 26.72% as at October 2023, making it the highest in 18 years, cost of living; prices of goods and services has astronomically has also increased leaving the common man battling to survive, including people living with disabilities (PLWD).

People with disabilities are persons who have any impairment that causes some difficulties in carrying out tasks or going about their daily businesses.

With the situation in Nigeria, these persons have felt the heat even more due to their condition. Some of them who spoke to Kristina Reports in Port Harcourt, Rivers State on Friday, October 19, 2023 narrated how the high cost of goods and service affects them.

Victor Cletus, a shoemaker who resides around Wimpey axis of Port Harcourt, said that he is no longer able to afford three square meals, complaining that with the spike in transportation fares he cannot trek due to his condition.

“The inflation of the economy is affecting me in a very cumbersome way, my petty business that I am doing, I’ve not been able to cope up, even in the food aspect, person like me that always eat at least three to four meals a day, now if I happen to eat twice, that means to the glory of God”.

“It’s bothering me, not only me but people with disabilities, I don’t know how I will cope up, it is affecting me financially, physically and all round”.

According to Victor, he suffered from Polio when he was three years old, which paralysed his right leg making him unable to walk.

Polio is a virus that causes paralysis in the muscles and nervous system which may be caused by contact from faeces, poor hand washing behaviour or contaminated food and water.

A visit to Biara Community in Gokana Local Government Area exposed the challenges People with Disabilities in the villages are going through.

A security guard at the General Hospital, Biara, Saturday Nmoncha lamented that he is unable to use his left leg, explaining that he faces difficulty going to work.

He said he needs support to establish a business because sometimes his leg pains him so much that he cannot move or go to work, stressing that given that there is no one to take care of him, he still struggles to be at work when he can.

“It has been so traumatic because there are times when my leg disturbs me to the point I can’t go to work, so I will just stay at home but if it was my business, when it disturbs me too much I will just rest”.

If government wants to support us, I’ll ask for a business, so that when my legs disturbs me like this I will just manage it, it’s not easy because I have to fend for myself, everybody is going to farm, my people have tried for me too but they have to do other things to keep food on the table so I have to hustle too”.

Saturday said he was using his legs well before he was affected with stroke but during treatment, he was not properly treated and that’s why he couldn’t walk with that leg anymore.

A lady, who only identified herself as Leedeebabari, and who is unable to use her hands, said life has been difficult and more difficult because of the inflation in the country.

“Before I will see people that will dash me money but now everybody is reserved and every penny matters now, I can’t use my hands to work, life has been difficult for me, one woman that use to give me oil said things are hard now that she can’t give me anymore.”

Leedeebabari said she was born with her hands like that, and has experienced difficulties in her daily living with trying to put on her clothes but she has learned to cope. But it pains her that she can’t really do much with her hand.

“I saw myself like this, my mum who is now late told me this is how I was born, it wasn’t any accident or sickness, it hasn’t been easy for me with my daily tasks but I’m trying every day to cope, to put on my clothes is a big issue.”

“Some days I don’t even bathe, but that’s not the issue, what pains me most is that I can’t do anything with this hand, I need support, they said it’s fuel that is making the prices of goods high like this, what is our fate now with the way things are going, are you sure I will survive this regime.”

Speaking of deliverables, he has put in place for people with disabilities, Chairman of Gokana LGA, Confidence Dekor, discountenanced the notion of ‘people with disabilities’, noting that they are normal people with sound mind, stressing that for those willing to do something for themselves, he has rolled out a scheme to empower them.

“First of all, let me say that even if we call them that name; they are very able, they are humans, they breathe the same air with us. For Gokana local government, what we have done is to make sure that we have them involved in the list of people we pay stipends to.”

“Of course, we are putting together some kinds of skills acquisition, but it’ll be for who is interested because lately what I have found out about here is that if you carry out such programs and you force people into them, if it’s not something that is out of their own will to be part of, you end up not doing it.”

“So what we are doing as we speak is that we are sending messages to people to come and register on the kind of skill you want to be involved in, it is not limited to only people with disabilities, it’s for everybody. We have a data of them and we have already appointed one of them as SA on people living with disabilities.”