Makafin Dala: Inside story of community of visually impaired persons

Makafin Dala, as the name implies, is a community in Dala Local Government Area of Kano State densely populated by visually impaired persons. 

However, there are some healthy people in that community, but according to Sarkin Makafin Kano, there are not less than 300 visually impaired persons there. 

Anyone familiar with the Dala area of Kano will understand that many visually impaired persons who beg in the neighbouring areas like Gwammaja, Kurna, Kofar Mazugal, Jakara, Koki and other areas, are from Makafin Dala. 

What most people do not know about these people is that, apart from begging, they also earn a living through vocations, such as knitting and carpentry.

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But they lament that although they were trained on different vocations, they were abandoned without hope due to government’s inconsistency, so they were left without any option than begging.

Ado Halilu Abdulkarimu, the Sarkin Makafin Kano, traced the history of Makafin Dala to the time of Emir Abdullahi Bayero, who reportedly gathered all the  visually impaired persons in Kano and settled them in Dala.

“At that time, the then Emir of Kano, Abdullahi Bayero decided to take all our people to a single settlement. Those that were in Danbatta, Bichi, Dawakin Kudu, Sumaila and other areas were relocated to Dala.  And Malam Abdulkarim, being an Islamic scholar, was made their chief. He fixed time for his people and was teaching them Islamic books .They went about begging but would go back to Sarki Abdulkarimu and learn Islamic knowledge.”

The Sarkin Makafi said that at that time, the visually impaired persons did nothing for a living except begging, until when the then Kano State Government decided to change the trend by sending some of them to be trained on various vocations.

He claimed that he was among the first set to undergo training on vocational skills in Lagos and Enugu.

“We were selected and sent to Lagos and Enugu to learn different vocations. We later came back and train our people on what we specialised in. I can remember vividly that I used to make local baby bed, mat and several other things. We really benefitted from that scheme. Many of our people stopped begging as they engaged in doing one vocation or another,” he said. 

Sarkin Makafi also said that many of the visually impaired persons’ guides attended school.

“Many of our guides attended school. We sponsored their education. Although we were not educated, we understand the value of education.  Normally, when they finished begging in the morning, they would go to school in the evening,” he explained.

Muhammad Inuwa Naira Dubu said he was among those that were trained on knitting in those days, but the centre was closed down and they were disengaged, leaving them with no option than to beg for alms.

“I can remember that during the Abubakar Rimi administration, we were kept off the streets and trained on knitting; and God so kind, during that time, people patronised us. We don’t know why the government decided to disengage us and subsequently closed down the centre. Since then, we returned to our normal begging,” he said.

He said government was no longer ready to cater for their needs as it was in the past.

“When the training centre established during the Abubakar Rimi regime started, the state government used to give monthly allowance and took some responsibilities for us. But this stopped for long,’’ he said. 

He added that if the government would revisit that idea of training the physically challenged persons, they would leave begging forever.

“Many of us beg in the streets because the government abandoned us. I believe that since I have the skills and competence, there won’t be any limitation for me, and I will say goodbye to begging,” he said.  

According to Naira Dubu, one gets satisfaction if one works to fend for oneself and is self reliant.

“It is good for someone to give and not to always depend on other people. In fact, I prefer to work and earn a living instead of begging,” he said.

The community called on the government to look into their plight and reinstate their allowances and make education affordable to encourage visually impaired children to attend schools and become better equipped for the future.

The Sarkin Makafin Kano said he single-headedly sponsored his eight children’s education.

“As a person with visual impairment, I am the one taking care of my children’s education. I don’t get any assistance from anybody, even from the government,” he said.

Naira Dubu further urged the Kano State Government to revive the vocational centres for the physically challenged persons so that they could fend for themselves. 

“We have the centres across the 44 local government areas in the state, it is just for the government to revive and equip them with facilities so that our people can be self-reliant in the society,” he added.  

Jamilu Isyaku, one of the  visually impaired persons who has been struggling daily to make ends meet, said his ambition to become a political scientist hit the rocks due to lack of sponsorship to further his education. He said he was forced to abandon school for begging as the state government failed to support him. 

“I did my O’level in the Special Education Centre, Tudun Maliki. I wanted to further my education but as I come from a less privileged family, so I could not afford to continue.

“My father was the one who sponsored my education, but now, due to old age and economic hardship, he can no longer afford to continue supporting me, that is why I opted for begging. 

“It is painful that since 2020 when I finished from secondary school, I cannot continue with my education.

“Even now, if I have an opportunity, I will leave begging and pursue education for a brighter future,” Isyaku said.

Shedding more light on the plight of visually impaired persons in the state, the chairman of the Nigeria Association of the Blind, Kano branch, Malam Musa Muhammad Kura, who had the opportunity to acquire western education and now teaches in the Special Education Centre, Tudun Maliki, explained that the prevalence of poverty amongst visually impaired persons is not unconnected to lack of access to education.

According to him, in developed countries, such as the United Kingdom, the rights and welfare of physically challenged persons are protected.

He lamented that the Nigerian government had failed in its responsibilities to the special population, comprising people living with visual impairment. 

“I can remember that there were several committees set up by the federal and state governments, where they came up with a lot of recommendations that would boost the lifestyle of physically challenged persons, but the government is yet to implement it,” he said.

He said there was the need to explore the potentials of the special population for the economic growth of the country, adding that the state owes a duty to ensure that they earn a living, especially if they had made efforts to go to school. He also said that in developed countries of the world, people in that category are catered for in a special  way.

He called on the government to train physically challenged persons who do not have the privilege  to attain formal education in different vocations and give them capital to start their own businesses, which he said would grow overtime and the state would benefit as they would pay taxes and even employ people. 

“We want the government to establish a commission that will take care of our needs and preach against discrimination. And the commission should be under the control of a physically challenged individual,” he recommended.

He blamed the society for the plight of physically challenged persons who do nothing other than begging.

He said, “The society is not helping matters as it encourages physically challenged persons beg. Majority of them find themselves in that business without any option.”  

But Dr Ali Tamasi Muaz, a lecturer in the Department of Special Education, Aminu Kano College of Islamic and Legal Studies, Kano State, said physically challenged persons should change their belief and attitude in order to help themselves and the government.

“Honestly, the government is trying its best for them. The government made their education free. The situation will never change for the better until when they change their belief and attitude. They should shun this begging culture and engage in one trade or another so that they can be independent in the society,” he said.