SHOCKING: See How Buhari’s adviser Lost His Sight
Dr. Samuel Ankeli is Senior Special Assistant on Disability Matters to President Muhammadu Buhari, and he headed the Directorate of Persons with Disability of the Buhari/Osinbajo APC Presidential Campaign in 2015.
He speaks on how he was diagnosed with blindness while lecturing in the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria. He also speaks on his relationship as well as role as the liaison between the President and persons with disabilities. Excerpts
My mandate is to assist the President on all issues of disability in Nigeria and beyond and secondly to take care of the welfare and wellbeing of people with disabilities, to mobilize them for national development and finally to protect and promote their rights and privileges in governance and the society. The summary of these is to see good governance translate into the larger society.
DT: What plans have you put in place to actualize this mandate?
Actually, the assignment is not mine; I am only assisting the person with the vision and his vision is to have a society where disability is not a barrier or stigma but an opportunity for development. He is leading a country now whereby disability is a challenge and a serious stigma but the president wants to make a more disability-friendly nation. To be able to do that in governance I have to look at areas that are key to us and I am placing myself as a person with disability because I am visually-impaired person.
I serve as a bridge between the government and persons with disabilities and other Nigerians. In this privileged position I intend to do certain things. With approval of the president already we want to embark on data collection. Currently we don’t have correct figures of people living with disabilities in the country. Second, is to change the attitude of the public to PWDs and
