How Nigerian Banks Shut Out 22 Million People With Disabilities –Investigation

In this report, DAYO OKETOLA examines the plight of the over 22 million Nigerians living with disabilities majority of who cannot access banking services in the country A proverb which says: “When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade,” captures the reality confronting Kayode, a physically-challenged man who sweeps the Ikeja Bus Stop pedestrian bridge on the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway. Things began to look up for Kayode when he was engaged by the Lagos State Waste Management Authority as a sweeper on the pedestrian bridge. He is paid a monthly stipend but Kayode augments this with the occasional naira notes dropped beside him by magnanimous passers-by, who appreciate him for keeping the ever-busy pedestrian bridge clean. ADVERTISEMENT Kayode’s daily work of keeping the bridge clean may be stressful as he crawls from one spot to another but one of the things he cannot endure is the stress of going to a bank to collect his monthly stipend. So, when he was asked by his employers how he would like to be paid, he promptly suggested he be paid in cash. “I don’t have an account; I keep my money very safe because I cannot undergo the stress of going to the bank. It is like the banks are not built for people like us. Have you ever seen a physically-challenged person trying to get into a bank for business transaction? The rigour I experience trying to crawl into the banking hall is just not worth it,” he said. Though Adebayo Kolawole, who is also one of LAWMA’s bridge sweepers, runs a bank account, the hassle he is facing in assessing Nigerian banking halls is discouraging. He said “I have an account with a commercial bank in Ojuelegba but because of the stress, I usually send my brother to help make withdrawals. It is not easy passing through the security doors. The distance and the stress in entering the banking hall and moving up and down are a major issue for me. To limit the stress of going into the bank, I collect my salary in cash from LAWMA.” Kayode and Kolawole are not alone. There are over 22 million Nigerians living with one form of disability or another due to birth defect, accident, abuse, neglect, or disease. For these people, Nigeria can be a very difficult place to live in because they are hardly considered when public buildings are designed and roads constructed. Unlike what obtains in many advanced countries, public institutions such as banks, schools and hospitals do not have ramps access for easy entrance by PWDs. Toilets are also not designed to accommodate them in most of these institutions. Commuting from one place to another is a difficult thing for PWDs in Nigeria as there is no easy access to board commercial buses. As such, PWDs struggle daily with inadequate or lack of physical access to the workplace, schools, clinics, public transportation and public buildings. Of particular concern, among others, are the over 6,133 branches of banks in the country. Godwin Emefiele Godwin Emefiele The 21 Money Deposit Banks in Nigeria have over 6,133 branches with Access Bank Plc controlling 366 branches, Citibank Nigeria Limited, 21; Diamond Bank Plc, 249; Ecobank Nigeria Plc, 1,305; Enterprise Bank Plc, 160; Fidelity Bank Plc, 220; First Bank of Nigeria Plc, 560; First City Monument Bank Plc, 270; Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, over 230; Heritage Banking Company Ltd, about 11 branches; Key Stone Bank, over 200; and MainStreet Bank, about 217. Others are Skye Bank Plc , 260 branches; Stanbic IBTC Bank Ltd, over 60; Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria Ltd., 41; Sterling Bank Plc, over 100; Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, over 400; United Bank For Africa Plc, 607; Unity Bank Plc, over 240; Wema Bank Plc, over 125; and Zenith Bank Plc, over 500 branches. For the PWDs, the rising number of banking halls does not mean financial inclusion for them. For instance, a wheelchair racing athlete, Terrence Abba from Cross River State, does not have a bank account because it is difficult to access the facility. In an interview with our correspondent, she said, “I don’t have a bank account. When I even went to a bank at Barracks Bus Stop in Surulere, Lagos, I had difficulty climbing the stairs. I was looking for how I could open an account but I couldn’t climb the stairs. Somebody later came to attend to me, but I was too tired at the time to do anything again.” Lamenting the general environmental unfriendliness towards PWDs in Nigeria, Aliu Adebayo, one of the national coaches for wheelchair racing, said, “I have travelled to so many places within and outside the country but if you compare Nigeria with other places the situation is really terrible. “I could remember when we travelled to India for the Commonwealth Games some years ago, the banks were very accessible likewise the supermarkets and other public facilities. There were special parking spaces for the physically challenged. “You would find signs on the ground to indicate to that effect and nobody dares to park in such places if they are not physically challenged. There are also pathways for people using wheelchairs. Trespassers are seriously sanctioned. But those facilities are not available in Nigeria.” On his bitter experience in the bank, he said, “There was a time when I wanted to push the money of my athletes; I was given a cheque to sort out the salaries. The government of Rivers State gave me a cheque of about N30m, can you believe that I was kept outside the banking hall to withdraw that large amount of money. That was in Lagos. “I had to call the bank manager to tell him that he was exposing me to risk. It happened three years ago at a branch of a bank at Bode Thomas in Surulere, Lagos. “When we complained to the bank manager, he only solved the problem temporarily, there is no permanent solution. If you come another day, you would encounter the same situation and be kept outside unnecessarily. It is like many people in the society look down on the disabled and think that they should be beggars who can never taste wealth. “As a result of this hostile treatment, I started closing some of my bank accounts. I am only operating two bank accounts now and that is because the people there are more cooperative and friendly. They put people like us into consideration before doing certain things. For example, the ATM of the bank I use now is not too high so it is very convenient for people like us. This is unlike other places where we are forced to expose all our details to strangers just because we want them to help us withdraw from the machine.” Margaret Oluwakemi achieved one thing many persons living with physical disabilities may find challenging – she graduated from Lagos State University, Ojoo. Undaunted by life’s challenges, she went ahead to get involved in disabled sports, which she has been doing since 2002. But determined as she is, Oluwakemi’s banking experience will always be a disappointing topic for her. She said, “I opened an account with a branch of Access Bank but I find it disappointing that I have never seen the inside of the banking hall. Whatever I need, the bank’s officials attend to me outside. They said that my aluminum wheelchair cannot enter through the bank’s door. “The first day I went to open an account with the bank, I spoke to the manager and made him understand my situation. I guess that is why the officials even still take their time to attend to me outside. If not, maybe nobody would have even cared about me.” Narrating her experience, Jumoke Olajide, another female disabled athlete, said, “It has been so bad. Sometimes when you go to the bank and it is raining, there would be nowhere to stay for people like us. “Many times I have been drenched because I was never allowed to go into the bank or at least stay in a safe place that would shield me from being drenched by the rain. This has been a very discouraging thing for many of us.” When asked how she copes with the ATM, Olajide said, “I don’t even use them because the stairs in some banks automatically restrict access. It all adds to our problems and I think the banks should do something about it fast.” December 3 has been set aside as the International Day of Persons with Disabilities to promote global awareness on disability. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities strongly backs the full integration of persons with disabilities in societies. According to the World Bank, persons with disabilities as a group on average are more likely to experience adverse socio-economic outcomes than persons without disabilities, such as less education, worse health outcomes, less employment and higher poverty rates. A country’s economic, legislative, physical and social environment, according to the World Bank, may create or maintain barriers to the participation of people with disabilities in economic, civic, and social life. The World Bank puts these barriers to include inaccessible buildings, transport, information and communication technology; inadequate standards, services, and funding for those services; and too little data and analysis for evidence-based, efficient and effective policies. The World Bank explained that disability may increase the risk of poverty, through lack of employment, lower wages and increased cost of living with a disability. Therefore, UN disability rights body insists that equal access to banking services should be granted to all. The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 makes it unlawful to discriminate against people on the ground of disability in the United Kingdom. According to the Financial Ombudsman Service, an independent service in the UK for settling disputes between businesses providing financial services and their customers, it has been declared unlawful since December 2, 1996 for service providers, such as banks to treat disabled people less favourably than others for a reason that is related to their disability. Unlike developed nations, Mrs. Esther Andrew, a blind delegate who represented Persons Living With Disabilities at the recently concluded National Conference in Abuja, decried Nigeria’s socio-economic and environmental unfriendliness to PWDs. Andrew was a former treasurer of the Nigerian Association of the Blind and a one-time Women Leader with the Nigerian Association of the Blind. She was also a former Director of Socials in Kaduna State and the Secretary-General of the African Union of the Blind with its headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya She said, “Actually, it is not only in banks that we encounter problems in terms of movement; we also encounter problems when it comes to school environment like tertiary institutions, business places where you have to climb stairs before you can transact. A person on wheelchair or who is blind has challenges going to such places as there are no ways through which their wheelchairs can pass through. “The banks too don’t build structures that are in our favour. For instance, the banking doors are not designed in a way that someone on wheelchair can go through. I entered a bank recently in Lafia, Nasarawa State and the bank’s officials asked me to keep my walking cane outside and this is what I have been using right from primary school. They told me I could not enter the banking hall with my cane and I was going to deposit money for my child who is in school. “I asked them why I could not enter the banking hall with my cane and they could not give me any reason. They insisted I drop it outside if I wanted to enter the banking hall, which I had to do. None of the staff could even show up to direct me to where I needed to deposit the money. They did not know who I was because I was well-dressed and had glasses on. I did not have to tell them I was visually-impaired before they needed to help me. “Some of them were not even friendly. But the thing is, if I had my cane, it would have been easier for me to walk in the hall and they could have known. I was not happy. I had to cry out for help before I could get someone’s attention, but I was not happy I had to do that. It is not good at all. “The banks are not fair to people like us. It was even one of the issues we raised at the national conference – that people living with disabilities should be put into consideration when public spaces are built in order to have access. They are meant for everyone. We have our rights. “In our daily activities, we yearn for changes but yet nothing is being done. We have been crying out. Schools also do the same thing. They should put us in mind when they build their structures. I want the government to make sure it finds a way of helping us by enforcing that banks and other public places construct special passages for us so that we too can access such places. “We need some marks on our currencies to be able to differentiate among them. The government is trying but we need more help. There are many graduates among us who need jobs and we want a situation whereby all sectors of the economy will be able to employ persons living with disabilities.” Similarly, the Director, Centre for Citizens with Disabilities, Mr. David Anyaele, said, “We have called a forum to have an inclusive banking system. In 2012, we found out that 98 per cent of all the banking halls in Nigeria are not accessible to persons living with physical disabilities. Only two per cent has a little consideration for us. Virtually all banks have no communication facilities that can help the blind to perform any banking transaction. It is like a denial of our rights. “The fact that they are rendering public services means that they should consider us when they are building their structures. In fact, we are highly worried because they deny us many services that we would love to be involved in. They are promoting stigmatisation which is against human rights. “As an organisation, we have contacted the Human Rights Commission to help prevail on banks in Nigeria to protect us against discrimination and inequality. The attitude and the environment are not friendly to us. In Section 51 of the constitution, it says that no person living with disability shall be discriminated against either by an individual or an institution in any manner. “It is an injustice that banks among other places are not accessible to people like us. It is highly disheartening. There should be equality in the respect that they only cater for people who are able; they are not only overlooking us, they are abusing us. We are members of the society too and we have rights.” On what the government should do, he pointed out that sections 15 and 42 of the constitution are silent on discrimination against persons living with disabilities. “All these should be amended so that we too can enjoy the rights every other person enjoys,” he added. Mukaila Adigun, a basketball and wheelchair racing athlete, who lent credence to what others have said about the role of government, said, “In all aspects of the society, the government and country as a whole must understand that we are also humans who have our own special needs. So, any policy or project whether in the banking sector or not must make adequate provisions to accommodate us. This is very important as it would make life easier for us.” Adebayo, the coach, lamented that PWDs had nobody in government that could advocate for them. “We are not represented in government. We are not even recognised by the system. So, we need people who would promote our interest in government. That way, government and the society can address some of the challenges that we face on a daily basis,” he said. Olajide also said, “The government must also do something about our roads because we on wheelchairs suffer a lot trying to move around. If they can help us in these areas, it would go a long way in easing our pains.” When asked about the disability policy of the bank, the Head, Media Relations, UBA Plc, Ramon Nasir, said, “The bank, in recognising the challenge faced by people living with disability, has put in place a policy to ensure that every person has access to its banking facilities nationwide. This policy introduces the provision of ramps in all our business offices to which end, the bank has commenced with the introduction of ramps across all its branches. You would also notice the disabled chair lift installed at the entrance of the UBA House (Marina side) and Ramp (Broad street side).” Similarly, the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, First Bank Plc, Mr. Bisi Onasanya, said the bank had designated over 20 branches with access to wheelchairs across the country. They include Yaba, Broad Street (Elephant House), Magodo, Owode (Ikorodu), Kano Hadeija Road, Kaduna Main, Birnin Kebbi, Kaduna South, Yenagoa, Abuja Maitama, Abuja Asokoro, and Ijede Ikorodu, among others. He explained that the intervention was in line with the bank’s effort towards providing financial services for people living with disabilities. The Head, Marketing & Corporate Communications, Folake Ani-Mumuney, said, “The bank would remain committed to promoting sustainability and corporate responsibility programmes.” Keystone Bank recently opened an Automated Teller Machine gallery specifically built to accommodate customers with disability. The Bank’s Executive Director, Mrs. Yvonne Isichei, said the institution decided to locate the ATM gallery at its Maryland, Lagos branch because it is a very busy area. According to Isichei, some customers experience difficulties using ATMs, especially the physically challenged. She said, “We want to make financial services accessible. Financial inclusion is about encouraging everybody, taking it near the people as much as possible.” She said the bank introduced the ATM gallery as part of its corporate social responsibility, as well to align with the goal of sustainable banking, which is all about being conscious of the needs of those around its environment. With the bank’s ATM gallery for the physically challenged, Isichei expressed hope that the 2020 target of achieving significant financial inclusion in the country would be met. But the Chairman, Spinal Cord Injuries Association of Nigeria, Mr. Obioha Ononogbu, lamented that there are still more to be done by the banks as far as PWDs are concerned. He therefore urged other banks to emulate Keystone Bank and look in the direction of PWDs. The Special Assistant on Sustainable Banking, Central Bank of Nigeria, Dr. Aisha Mahmood, reiterated CBN’s determination to implement the Nigerian Sustainable Banking Principles among which is the promotion of financial inclusion of communities and groups with limited or no access to the formal financial sector. In an interview with our correspondent, a former Deputy Governor, Operations Directorate, CBN, Mr. Tunde Lemo, said, “Two years ago, the Central Bank came up with issues surrounding gender and people with disabilities. In fact, we did two things then. First, on the new notes printed two years ago, we provided a sign on each of the notes that was recognisable to the blind. There is a particular edge where you can feel and know the particular currency for those with visual impairment. This we did then. “Not only that, the banks were also told to make their banking halls accessible to those on wheelchairs. In fact, the first thing we did was that the employment policy should accommodate those who are disabled and the CBN did the training by recruiting those with visual impairment. There was one we did two years ago when we employed someone who was totally blind but was very brilliant. We also have some on the wheelchair that we recruited. In fact, we have a quota now for the PWDs among those who are employed by the bank. “It is to prove that disability does not mean being useless. We also told bank CEOs that at least there must be a branch in the city devoted to those who are disabled. That was made compulsory two years ago. Like in Lagos, one should be on the Island and another on the Mainland. We also have disability compliance offices on Broad Street on Lagos Island and another one at Yaba in the mainland. They are accessible to those on wheelchairs. “So, the CBN and the commercial banks have been working together on this issue to make life easy for those with disabilities.” When asked to comment on the enforcement of the directives, Lemo said, “I left the CBN in January this year and would not know much now. But until January 2014, in every bankers’ committee meeting, there used to be a report on this and banks did give update. We can do better but it is not to say we have not put these measures in place. It might have started late but the process can be sped up. “It would be good for every bank branch in the country to be accessible to those on wheelchairs and other disabled, but it is a gradual process. We all travel abroad and see things. We will get to that stage too.” Lemo also said that it is unfair to overlook the 22 million persons living with disabilities in the country. Experts agreed that 22 million Nigerians living with disabilities are more than the population of Abia, Adamawa, Akwa-Ibom, Anambra and Cross River states put together. According to the World Bank, one billion people or 15 per cent of the world’s population, experience some form of disability. One-fifth of this estimated global total or between 110 million and 190 million people are said to encounter significant disabilities. Addressing the needs of these people has attracted global attention and for banks, it is the right thing to do. Globally, some banks are taking the lead. For instance, Scotiabank in Canada had since 2003 renovated its branches and facilities to meet the needs of the physically-challenged persons. On its website, the bank said it is targeting 100 per cent accessibility in all public areas of existing branches and has exceeded 90 per cent as of 2013. In the Dominican Republic, St. Kitts, St. Vincent, Turks and Caicos, Puerto Rico, Colombia and Panama, the bank said branch accessibility was enhanced throughout 2013 as part of renovations and new branch construction. Similarly, 84 per cent of banks owned by HSBC, a British multinational banking and financial services company, were said to have level access so that wheelchairs can get into its branches. The bank has an ongoing programme to extend this facility. Santander is another UK bank that has either a low level or drop-down shelf in its branches to be accessible to wheelchair users. Experts are of the view that Nigerian banks need to emulate banks that are mindful of the challenges facing people with disabilities. PUNCH