NIN Registration : NIMC Officials Chased Us Away, Tore Our Forms – Ago Ireti Residents Laments

• The community, which was established in 1943 houses lepers across the State
• The residents of Ago Ireti (Camp of Hope) in Akure, Ondo State have had their fair share in the stigmatization that greets people living with leprosy.
• They live on monthly stipend from the Ondo State government and alms and donations from individuals, charity groups and organisations.

The Spokesperson and Secretary to the community, Mr Tunji Oluwatimilehin spoke to the Reporters on their experiences.

Oluwatimilehin, who revealed that there was apprehension among the inmates due to their inability to get registered for National Identification Number, (NIN) so as to link it with their mobile lines, revealed that they were scared their lines would be blocked, cutting them off from their loved ones since their mobile gadgets are the only channels of communication they have.

He also revealed that when they visited the office of the National Identification Management Commission, NIMC sometime ago to register for NIN, they were stigmatized and asked to go,  EKO HOT BLOG gathered.

The commission promised to visit the community to do the registration but nothing was done since then.

“One of us was already on the scale at the NIMC office and was being attended to. So, one of us, that had some of his limbs damaged went to their “Oga” to tell him that we came from Ago Ireti.

“Immediately he heard we are from Ago Ireti, they asked all of us to go. Despite the fact that many of us had filled the forms and waiting for capturing, they told us to go

“They said they would come and do it here. We protested that we were almost done with the registration. They said all of us from Ago Ireti must go.

“That’s stigmatization. They collected our forms and tore them” he revealed.

While commenting on people’s relationship with them, the community Secretary said that although some people relate well with them, many others still stigmatise them.

“That (stigmatization) is unavoidable, especially when we park our bus. Some people will stare and read the inscriptions on the bus. Once they see it is Ago Ireti, they just wave to greet us from a distance” he said

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