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By; Mohammed Kawu, Bauchi
Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi has commended theTinubu-led Federal Government for it’s immence care to the people living with disabilities, observing that it has not been so with past successive central governments in the country.
He said, “Anybody coming here to see what is being done will appreciate the fact that the Federal Government being led by President Tinubu is doing well with people living with disabilities.
When we talk in retrospect, it has never been like this, but today they are being taken care of very well to the effect that they are having a sense of belonging in the society”.
The Governor spoke through the state commissioner of information and communication, Hon. Usman Garba Dan Turaki Monday at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU), Yelwa Campus Centre of the Joint Admission Matriculation Board (JAMB) where blind candidates are currently sitting for the board’s examinations.
“Now can you imagine, people living with disabilities coming to the JAMB examination from the hotel where they were accommodated, with their bills been paid and a lot of things being done to them. In fact, that should even motivate you as a person who is not having that kind of problem”, Dan Turaki said.
The commissioner further stated, “I emphasize to confirm beyond reasonable doubt that my coming here is in tandem with the feeling of His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Bauchi state, Senator Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed who has serious concern for people living with disabilities”.
“Therefore anywhere we are invited, we see it as a responsibility binding on us to come and interact with this group, share our love with them, show them the desired concern, and appreciate the JAMB equal opportunity group to have done so much in uplifting the standard of their lives”.
Hon. Garba Dan Turaki recalled that even in the recent palliative distribution, the physically challenged group was the first to be considered in the exercise, hence his coming to the exams centre is a testimony to the fact that they must be seeing giving the disabled the encouragement that with their support the society would move from strength to strength, and to the pride of all Nigerians.
Also speaking, the JAMB coordinator of the Bauchi centre that comprised the states in the Northeast, Professor Salusu Shehu disclosed that 44 blind candidates from the four states of Bauchi, Borno, Gombe and Yobe Are sitting for the examinations with almost half of the figure coming from Bauchi.
He explained that 42 of the number have been confirmed to be blind in toto while the remaining two are candidates with some special needs like down syndrome and special difficulties, stressing that the three-day exercise is going on smoothly without any hitch.
Professor Salisu Shehu however said that the exercise has multi-faceted challenges especially as regards logistics in terms of transporting the candidates from their free-paid bills hotel to the exams centre, and taking them back to their respective states after the exercise.
“There are also aspects of academic matters as regards screening of candidates, getting the required personnel to handle the exercise, getting them ready and seated in the exams hall, getting th e resource persons that will read the question papers, and initially contacting them to come for the exams, as one can phone a candidate five times all to hit switched-off line, among others”, Shehu added.
The coordinator called on the blind candidates to conduct themselves well, abide by the rules and regulations, avoid being emotional when they come to sit for the exams, that they should feel motivated and less emotional so that they can write the exams very well.
Prof. Shehu also appealed to the state government to create awareness to educate parents on the kinds of arrangements JAMB has put in place to encourage and motivate them so that the board will get more candidates in the future.
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