Albino Foundation Event On World Albinism Day Themed: “Strength Beyond All Odds”

• Share:

REMARKS BY HIS EXCELLENCY, YEMI OSINBAJO, SAN, GCON, THE VICE PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA AT THE ALBINO FOUNDATION ON WORLD ALBINISM DAY THEMED: “STRENGTH BEYOND ALL ODDS”, ON THE 13TH OF JUNE, 2021

PROTOCOLS

I am currently using the lounge where I landed because I am actually in transit, but I thought that I had to absolutely attend this meeting and ensure I made my own remarks, and give my own congratulations. So, thank you very much for the kind invitation to be here.

I feel particularly privileged to address the celebration of World Albinism Day.  And I must begin by thanking my dear friend and brother of many years, Mr Jake Eppele founder of this Albino Foundation for this opportunity.

He is one of the most eloquent and influential spokespersons for the rights, protection, and welfare of albinos in Nigeria and the world over.  I first Mr Jake Eppele, whom I call Pastor Jake by the way when I pastored the Jesus Centre in Ikoyi.

I invited him several times to preach at Jesus Centre, and I am a great admirer of his depth and understanding of the gospel. It was at that time that he started the movement for recognizing the special needs of Albinos and creating the right environment for enabling them to live their best lives without discrimination and with support for whatever deficiencies they suffered as individuals.

This was then and is still an important cause as almost 2%-3% of Nigerians are affected by Albinism. There is a need to see it for what it is, a genetic difference not a contagious disease or a public health problem. I think it is the hard work of people like Pastor Jake and in response to the numerous challenges faced by the Albinism community in the country that led to the adoption in 2012, of The National Policy on Albinism.

The objective of the policy was to assist persons with Albinism and provide them with as conducive an environment as possible for their self-actualization. A year later, in recognition of the universal nature of the constant life-threatening attacks and discrimination against people with Albinism around the world, the United Nations Human Rights Council adopted the resolution on Albinism in June 2013, and subsequently adopted June 13th as the “International Albinism Awareness Day.”

In our country in 2019, Mr. President approved the inauguration of a technical committee to review the policy in order to assess its success since implementation and facilitate the access of persons living with Albinism to social services, particularly education and healthcare.

Quite a lot has been done and written and I think the stage in Nigeria is set for changing the narrative on Albinism, we must now have some frank and robust conversations around the protection and empowerment of our compatriots that live with Albinism.

These conversations will drive change on two levels – in the public domain, where sociocultural perceptions of Albinism that are rooted in ignorance and superstition can finally be laid to rest. This is not going to be an easy task because superstition and sociocultural issues take a while to deal with, but we must aggressively begin to present counter-narratives to the socio-cultural misconceptions about Albinism.

These interventions must be designed to improve the lives of people living with Albinism.  The time is now to do more to reverse negative mindsets and socio-cultural stereotypes about Albinism in our society. We must also go further to take deliberate steps as private individuals and public servants by giving them equal opportunity in the workplace and in social settings as well.

So today, as we celebrate World Albinism Day, we need to highlight the difficulties our fellow citizens face on a daily basis, and the dangers of living with Albinism, so we can all take deliberate action to do right by them. This is the only way by which we can begin to provide “Strength Beyond All Odds” (which is the theme of this celebration) for our brothers and sisters living with Albinism.

I challenge us all to join this community in the fight against the discrimination of people living with Albinism in Nigeria. We all have a part to play in guaranteeing their safety and wellbeing and in ensuring that as much as it lies within our power, that they have access to opportunities.

Remember, change begins with each and every one of us.

Thank you very much for listening and happy celebrations.

References:

https://www.un.org/en/observances/albinism-day

https://www.jmedtropics.org/article.asp?issn=2276-7096;year=2018;volume=20;issue=1;spage=68;epage=73;aulast=Roli

https://alternativeafrica.com/2019/04/11/nigeria-begins-review-of-national-policy-on-albino/