INTERVIEW: I’d have died if not for education, says visually-impaired UNILAG graduate

Moses Allinson, who is visually impaired, earned a postgraduate diploma (PGD) from the University of Lagos (UNILAG) in 2024. He was trained at a vocational training centre for the blind in Oshodi, Lagos state.

In this interview with TheCable’s YEMI MICHAEL, Allinson shared his thoughts on how he lost sight, coped with daily activities, and how stakeholders can help people with disabilities (PWDs).

TheCable: Tell us about your family and educational background.

Allinson: My name is Moses Adeniyi Allinson. I bagged a bachelor of arts (BA) degree in English from UNILAG in 2016. I am the second child from a family of four.

TheCable: If you’re comfortable sharing, could you tell me how you lost your sight?

Allinson: There was no precise cause initially. I was in class 4 in secondary school as a commercial student. The incident happened on July 2, 2002, the day we started our third-term exams. From there, we went for a medical test. After a series of tests, I was advised to go for rehabilitation to continue my education.

We tried other means of medical care. We went to different hospitals for medical solutions, but it was unsuccessful. So, I spent four years looking for a solution. It seemed like a daydream.

I decided to go for rehabilitation at the vocational training centre for the blind in Oshodi, Lagos. I did a two-year training so that I could read and write as someone with visual impairment.

I think they said the problem was retina detachment. So, I proceeded to complete my secondary school education at King’s College, Lagos. After my rehabilitation, I sat for the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and passed the exam in one sitting.

However, I couldn’t gain admission into the university immediately due to an error by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB). I think it was because I applied for English and chose Economics instead of Christian Religious Studies (CRS).

So, that was how I missed the admission for that year. I sat for another JAMB exam, passed and UNILAG offered me admission in 2012.

After my graduation, I did voluntary teaching at a home for the visually impaired on a part-time basis for one year, and I was paid. I taught CRS-Christian Religious Studies and English Language. After working there for one year, I worked there voluntarily without pay for another two years.

TheCable: How were you coping financially during the time you were doing the voluntary work?

Allinson: While I was doing my rehabilitation, I was trained on how to do textile design, popularly known as tie and dye. I have been doing that business for some time now. I have been to Lagos state trade fair two or three times.

I was making some money when I started. However, the economic hardship made people consider buying food before buying clothes. So, the patronage has really reduced.

I am a pastor. I have an online ministry. God has been providing for my needs.

I make some little money from my tie-and-dye business.

TheCable: How would you describe the experience of living with visual impairment?

Allinson: Living with it is a journey of two-edged sword. I mean, life is not easy generally. Now, being someone who cannot see at all is a different and difficult life. When I looked for employment, I was rejected because of my condition and not because I was not capable. That alone is discouraging and disheartening.

But, I usually encourage myself regardless of the rejections. To God be the glory, things have been working positively for me.

Those years of rejection were nothing to me because God has helped me. I am a songwriter with two songs to my credit. The songs are online. I wrote the songs and featured an artiste. The titles of the songs are The Lord’s Presence (2021) and Cry for Justice (2022).

TheCable: What are the challenges you face in your daily activities, and how do you deal with them?

Allinson: Well, life itself is full of challenges. I cannot say because I have lost my sight and then not try to better my life.

There is a popular saying that when the going gets tough, the tough gets going. Despite the failures I have experienced, I do encourage myself.

Sometimes, when I want to go out, I have to wait at the bus stop for a long time before I can get a commercial motorcycle (okada) or a commercial vehicle that will convey me to my destination.

TheCable: Apart from the problems with your mobility and survival, are there other ones?

Allinson: I have no problem with food. The major issue I have is how to make my business a good and regular source of income. I have registered it with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).

TheCable: What can you say about the perceptions and awareness of disability issues, and how has this affected you?

Allinson: I called myself a visually impaired man. So, I don’t feel bad if someone is acting strangely or unkindly to me. I feel some of them are ignorant.

The rate of awareness is about 30 or 40 percent. People who are educated and have interacted with PWDs may have some good awareness compared to people who see PWDs as common beggars.

For instance, many people find educated PWDs who act in a dignified way strange because what they are used to are PWDs who are beggars. I always feel that in my class, even if I am not the best student, people don’t treat me unfairly.

In class, I contributed to discussions intelligently. During my undergraduate days, I was the only visually impaired student in my class. I graduated with a second-class lower honours (2.2) and I can defend my results anywhere.

I did a PGD programme in education. The programme was designed for people with different backgrounds in their first degrees but who want to study education or become teachers.

The Nigerian government has established the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), the body responsible for providing certificates for teachers. If you are not certified by TRCN, it means you are not qualified to teach. I did the PGD because I wanted to be a professional teacher.

TheCable: Do you plan to do a master’s degree?

Allinson: Yes, because knowledge empowers people. If not for knowledge, I would have died. Education has helped me a lot to navigate the storm of life. It has helped me in my ministry. So, I will have more education so that I can be more knowledgeable and relevant.

TheCable: I think the media in Nigeria don’t report disability issues enough. A handful of newspapers just allocate small spaces for disability news and this negatively affects the level of awareness of disability issues. What are your thoughts on this?

Allinson: Frankly, some of these media houses are owned by private individuals and they are into the business to make a profit. If they are reporting disability news without profits, it will be hard for them to survive and sustain their businesses.

You cannot force them because they have to sustain their businesses first before they consider Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR) for PWDs. If they do something in this regard, they just do it voluntarily, and they cannot get sufficient financial patronage. We can only appeal to them. I think some of them are trying.

TheCable: How can the government, private sector, disability organisations and others help PWDs?

Allinson: Well, the government has put in place an Act. You know, without policies, PWDs cannot claim anything. There is no all-encompassing law on disability in the 1999 constitution. The one that makes provisions for PWDs is the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act, 2018, which gave us hope, but it has not been adequately implemented.

The implementation of these policies has been tardy. Quite slow. The government should appoint the right people to the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities (NCPWD) to manage PWD affairs.

For instance, visually impaired persons are not given the opportunity to manage their affairs. We have registered as PWDs for almost four years now. We have not been given identity cards. Let them also provide facilities that make mobility easy.

There is also a need for a robust disability awareness campaign through religious bodies, media houses and the National Orientation Agency (NOA).

Disability organisations such as the Joint National Association of Persons With Disabilities (JONAPWD) should do more sensitisation on disability matters and empowerment of PWDs (educated and uneducated ones), providing assistive devices, financial support, vocational training (teaching them how to make money/equipping them with skills) and enlightening people to buy products made by PWDs.

Some people believe that they might become disabled if they buy things made by PWDs. That is not true. Buying things made by PWDs can help PWDs to survive and live better. Disability organisations should also unite to promote their rights and needs.

Employers should not use disability to conclude that a PWD is incompetent because of their condition. They should give PWDs the opportunity to prove their abilities. Employers should not base their recruitment on physical disabilities. They should test PWDs to know how competent they are.

If a PWD fails a test, be honest and encourage them to put in more effort next time. Don’t be sympathetic. Be empathetic. A lecturer once told me that I failed a course and that I had to rewrite it. I rewrote it.