By: Joshua Weng Chuwang
The Centre for Infrastructural and Technological Advancement for the Blind (CITAB) has condemned the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) over its newly released ATM Accessibility Guidelines for not fully delivering inclusion for persons with visual impairments.
In a statement signed by the Executive Chairman of CITAB, Jolomi George Fenemigho, it was noted that the guideline does not guarantee the accessibility and financial independence of visually impaired Nigerians.
“For the blind community, being given crumbs instead of a rightful place at the table remains the reality. Real accessibility features like audio guidance, Braille instructions, and universally accessible controls continue to be ignored. By sticking to limited measures and ambiguous language, the CBN keeps genuine financial independence out of reach for the disabled community in Nigeria.”
The group believes that the requirement that only two percent of Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) be fitted with tactile graphics symbols and a listing of accessible locations only indicates a shallow approach to representing the population of blind residents in the country.
“It is a troubling irony that while banks parade superficial accessibility, many visually impaired Nigerians are still denied access to the very ATM cards that ought to help them. The result is a forced dependency that strips them of privacy, dignity, and financial autonomy, while making a mockery of CBN’s financial inclusion rhetoric,” the group lamented.
