 Welcome to The Advocate on Plus TV Africa, your weekly reminder that important conversations are a necessary tool for a saner society. Today, I'm educating us on Down syndrome, Felix talks about Nigeria's government in competition with its youth, Juliette wants us to diversify our earnings and Kayadeh is talking about issues concerning Nigerians. As always, your panellists are here to share ideas aimed at provoking thoughts with no holds barred. Stay with us. Down syndrome awareness. Do you know that October is Global Down Syndrome Month? Well it is. So let me tell you a little bit about Down syndrome. The scientific name is Trisomy 21 and it is a genetic condition where a baby is born with an extra copy of chromosome 21. That means instead of having 46 chromosomes, 23 from the mom and 23 from the dad, they are born with 47 because of an extra copy of chromosome 21. Common characteristics of the condition are upward slanted eyes, flat face, low muscle tone, developmental and learning delays. Down syndrome is not contagious. You can't catch it from someone like COVID. It is something you're born with. Approximately 40 to 60% of those diagnosed will have some kind of heart condition as well. They are also prone to other health challenges such as poor hearing, eyesight and dental issues. This is what most medical professionals will tell parents who find out their fetus or baby has this condition. Many will also say that the child won't walk, talk, be able to attend school and will be a burden to you and family. On the cultural side of things, it is regarded as a white man's condition. Parents will be told to take the child to church for a cure, to pray and fast and even put the baby on a fast. They are advised to send the child to the village or an orphanage since the child will be an imbecile and useless. Even the blame is put on the mother that she did something during her pregnancy or that a curse was put on them and so that is why they have such a child. Frequently the child with Down syndrome is hidden and kept indoors away from prying eyes. This is just a quick summary of the kind of things that go on. So I'd like to tell you another story of a beautiful baby girl who was given a late diagnosis of Down syndrome, who almost died because of heart failure as a result. But by the grace of God is now six years old, thriving, breaking myths, prejudices and stereotypes about Down syndrome. That baby girl is my daughter Simone. As some of you know I am a children's book author as well as content producer and aggregator of kids content on my platform Simone's Oasis. Our slogan being empowering the African child through entertainment. I entered this unexpected pivot in career directly as a result of having a child with Down syndrome. I wrote and published a book for children called Ugo and Simpsons What is Down syndrome? Based on a conversation I had with my son about his sister. I understood early on in my special needs journey to speak up about what it is like to raise a child with Down syndrome. To hold the light and the truth up to the blatant lies and myths that permeate the discourse. I want to let you know that people with special needs have a right to be cared for, loved, invested in and given a chance to be fully functioning members of society. My role as an advocate is to make the way for my daughter and others like her. You see the problem isn't with them, it's with us, the larger society and our assumptions about their capabilities. Do you know that people with Down syndrome can read, write, go to school, have jobs, get married and have quote-unquote normal children? Yup, they can. It's all about changing our mindset about their capabilities. Investing and nurturing such children, for example, with early intervention and vocational training means we can help them fulfill their full potential and their right to be upstanding and responsible members of society. I am tired and fed up of the attitude that Down syndrome is equated with suffering, with curses, as a result of sin. I am tired of hearing about Down syndrome children being neglected, not being sent to school, whilst his or her siblings who are neurotypical get an education and are invested in. I'm tired of the exploitation of people with special needs, shown, for example, in the disastrous Lagos state data capturing exercise for people with disabilities in regards to COVID-19 relief funds brought to light just a couple of months ago on this show. In my experience with early intervention, investment, time and love, my daughter is flourishing. She is a gift from God and has brought such light, joy and purpose to our lives. I am blessed and honoured to be her parent. The fact is that 25% of Nigeria's population has some kind of special need. We must invest in the education and care of these individuals, as it will make us better society as a whole. That was long. You know, it's not about the length, it's about the content. The content was deep. Yeah, it was. And it was heartfelt. It conveyed the right message. And it just gets one wondering that, OK, so this is one of the things we are missing as a people, as a government. The first thing that comes to mind is that my wife is into early years education and a lot of times I've seen recruitment where, but of course not in Nigeria, where people, whether it's a call out for teachers that have expertise in handling children with special needs. And whenever I see that, the question always, I will stay there and say, OK, how many people in a climb have that expertise? So even from the ongoing, I know there's one around Igbobe, because I knew a parent that travels far every single day to take the child there. It is stressful. It is, I can't even imagine what the kind of pain she goes through. And she has to go there every single day. But the question then is, even at that, I can't remember the name, I don't even know where it is, but I know the parents. Even at that, what is the quality of education that has been given to the kids? Do we treat them like you said? We treat them like, oh, we're just helping them out so that they don't waste. Or do we treat them like they're part of us and they can do. And what you said about, I was going to shoot a documentary some years ago on Down syndrome, but I never came to write. So I did some research on Down syndrome. I saw the different classes and different types of Down syndrome. And I realized that in some parts of the world, the kids, because they are very deep thinkers and they are able to focus. So at times they give them a regimental kind of work and they are very active. But we don't even consider them here at all. No education. And this is coming from what I think Tonya said, and I now understand the fact that mothers are made to hide them. That's why you don't see them. Because the stigma and maybe I shouldn't say this here, but I'm really, really, really proud of you. I mean, for standing out and standing up for something that is rare, because you could actually take off your child in private without actually coming out. You could take each other abroad. You could do a lot of things. But you decide not to fight for just Simon, but to fight for all the kids as well. And help other mothers to come out from the closet. Because when you keep hiding these children, you're just making a bad situation so much worse. So thanks Tonya. I think you are my MVP for this interview. I'm just... All the times I've been going through your work and social media, I'm usually challenged, tossed. I don't know what to say, but what I'm going to say to us as a people is that we should learn to grow beyond superstition. Let's solve our problem based on research and scientific base. The superstition. Scientific big reasons for things to solve problems. And then use the art, just like what you did. The right stories and those to actually tell, make people understand it better. So let's not be too spiritual or necessary, overly spiritual or necessary. I'm very proud of you Ma. Oh, thank you. So this is one of the things that I think it's really important to highlight is the cultural stigma, the superstition element and the role that religious organizations have in perpetrating this myth. There's nothing wrong with believing in God, in being a spiritual person. I'm a Godly person, a spiritual person. However, we as whatever, whether you're Muslim, Buddhist, Christian, Catholic, whatever it is, you have a responsibility to your community to speak the truth and not perpetuate lies. And the fact is that these lies are being perpetuated and they are destroying people's homes and they're destroying people's lives. And for example, telling a baby to fast. A baby. I'm sure we do believe that God cannot even ask wickedness. Do you understand? You have malaria, you go to the hospital, you have typhoon, you go to the hospital. Then you have a special-made child and you go to church. I mean, then the child is made too fast. Who is responsible? Is the poor parents that brought her to AIDS or him or her to AIDS? Just like the Sikhs say issue, the man and the woman who is responsible for the child. Rather, they said in local parlance, oh, he or she is an Obanje. Not those things, we should stop it. Unless they're responsible. I understand this. Yes, we know what the Bible says about sickness. Okay, this is not a sickness, but we're talking about sicknesses generally. We know that exists, but we still go to the hospital. We know that God can do a miracle. Anything can happen, but you still play your role. But I'm going to say something. This Down syndrome is my miracle. So I would never take it back. I would never ask God to take it away because why would I take away my blessing? For me, it's been the biggest blessing given to our family, both my in-laws and myself. It's this child. This child has been. A blessing. So I just think it's important to change people's perception. Just the mindset. Well, we'll just try to look at it by the way we do our lives. We're doing what you do. Thank you. So up next is the wonderful Felix.