Dr Ahmed Popoola of the Physiotherapy Department, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, has called on Nigerians to help people with disabilities and make them productive members of society.

The physiotherapist urged Nigerians not to neglect people with one form of disability or another, but rather, they should show love and empathise with them.

Speaking at the Ifeoluwa Cerebral Palsy Initiative's end-of-year get-together in Ilorin, Kwara State, on Saturday, Popoola said people owe it to those with disabilities to help them live a decent life.

The lecturer, who stated that no one is immune to disability, regretted that Nigerians celebrate the dead more than the living, adding that “the reverse should be the case because those living are more useful and can still contribute their quota to society.”

“We need not turn away from assisting people with disabilities; we should support them morally and financially, we should show them love and encourage them and make them productive members of society,” he said.

Another physiotherapist from the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Aishat Ibrahim, said parents should show love and allow children with cerebral palsy to mix with other children as well as reach out to other members of their family.

Foluke Bolu-Steve, a counsellor at the University of Ilorin, in her words noted, “CP does not affect the brain, and victims can become anything and be useful to society if properly trained and exposed to the environment,” Bolu-Steve said.

She advised parents of such children to give them a good education and expose them to society.

In his welcome speech, the founder of initiative, Mr Ifeoluwa Anishe, said, “Significantly, this foundation would have the responsibility of creating more awareness about the precautions and management of cerebral palsy not just in Kwara State alone but in Nigeria as a whole by touching down to every home with cerebral palsy victims and rendering medical and financial support as it may be required,” Anishe said.

He appealed to government agencies, philanthropic organisations and individuals to come to the foundation's aid, as it would require office space for easy access to CP victims.