Hearing impaired athletes in Edo on Monday staged a protest in Benin over the exclusion of their member from the forthcoming National Sports Festival (NSF) in Asaba.
The athletes stormed the secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in their numbers, carrying placards with different inscriptions.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that some of the inscriptions include “The Deaf are human beings, so treat us as one”, “Deaf and hearing people are one”, “No more depriving of the deaf of their rights” and “Minister of Sports should please come to our rescue.”
Dr Sunny Aimufua, Head Coach, Deaf Sports in Edo, who led the protest, said the ministry’s decision was discriminatory.
“We are protesting because the deaf have been excluded from the forthcoming National Sports Festival and our athletics made optional sport, which should not be so.
“We have the Ministry of Youths and Sports Development. You cannot be talking of development when you have optional sports.
“Also, we have three major sports committee in the world, the International Olympic Committee, International Paralympic Committee and the Committee of Sports.
“Now the ministry have favoured the two others while we are being neglected,” he said.
The head coach said that a sport could only become optional when there were no facilities for it.
Aimufua said that the hearing impaired athletes could use the tracks in stadia across the country.
“If you have a place for Athletics Federation of Nigeria para athletics, why won’t you have a place for deaf athletes.
“The ministry of youth and sports development should stop playing politics with the deaf sport athletes who are different kind of persons and need to be encouraged.
“They have been training and some of them are employed by the states,” the head coach said.
Speaking through an interpreter, Assurance Omoria, said she is the current African champion in hearing impaired long jump.
She wondered how she would further her career if not allowed to participate at the sports festival.
Omoria said she was promoted from Grade Level five to 12 by Gov. Godwin Obaseki of Edo based on recommendation arising from her exploits at the African Championship.
“I have proved my mettle in competitions.
“What we want the ministry to do is to restore deaf sport to its permanent status and ensure that the athletes participates at the NSF in Delta,” she said.(NAN)
