“Turn left, turn right, now go straight,” came a babble of directions. I had just picked myself out of a drainage filled with murk. I was wearing my favourite piece of short-distance clothing—red shorts with three pairs of pockets down the sides and back—for the last time. No one came to hold my filthy hands to lead me back home. The onlookers dodged traffic and continued their journey. This was 16 years back. I have slipped my limbs into Lagos’ open drainages a few more times since then, but that was the only incident when all of me went in. My interaction with open drainages and the fear of being knocked down by a bike or car has trained me to endure hunger and deprivation, while waiting for a sibling or neighbour to help me make purchases. To the left or right of many blocks in my street are uncovered gutters. Parked beside these drainages are vehicles. This setting fills me with anxiety that one trip to a shop could create an unpleasant scene.

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“We all don’t have the same disabilities. Hence some people get abandoned by their parents. Some, their fathers run away and rain curses on their mothers for bringing them into the world. Some people with disabilities are being treated like dogs. Some can’t even leave their own homes while some are completely ignored. There are so many challenges as some are even seen as ‘forbidden’.” Inaccessible Cities – Lagos | Aljazeera Contrast