By Yusuf Mohammed Lawan, Gombe
29th October, 2025
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| Most Rev. Bishop Stephen Dami Mamza in the middle planked by other diginitaries during the opening ceremony in Yola recently. Photo credit: ANN |
Yola, Adamawa State - Penultimate Thursday, the 'Land of Beauty' city of Adamawa State was agog with intense excitement and celebrations as hundreds of Deaf individuals from all the nooks and cronnies of the North East geopolitical zone thronged together at Women Development Centre, Jimeta, Yola, Adamawa State to commemorate the 2025 Intertional Week of the Deaf (IWD), 5th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Adamawa State Association of the Deaf (ASAD) and 2nd North East Association of the Deaf (NEAD) Summit.
The three day conference which commenced on 14th and ends on 17th October, 2027 proved vital for extensive discussions on sensitive issues pertaining to the progress of Deaf community in the North East zone and especially Adamawa State to be collectively made by concerned Deaf leaders and members of Deaf community of the zone, Ability News Network understands.
Speaking Thursday as a special guest of honor during the formal opening ceremony, the National President of Nigerian National Association of the Deaf (NNAD), Hon. Haruna Muhammad Tsafe(Garkuwan Kuramen Arewa) who was ably reprented by the NEAD president comrade Bashiru Usman Kellumi, expressed immense gratitude to the Adamawa State Governor His Excellency, Alh. Ahmadu Umar Fintiri, for championing an inclusive leadership that carried the members of Deaf community of Adamawa State along in the administration of the state affairs.
Tsafe, also congratulated the Chairman of Adamawa State Association of the Deaf (ASAD) Mr. Colman Christopher and his entire state Excos, prominent elders of Deaf community in the North East zone, zonal Excos of the NEAD, partnering NGOs, CBOs and other collaborative partners on the unprecedented success of the event.
Acknowledging the gigantic impact of sign language in promoting and enhancing inclusive living, accessibility and Societal integration of Deaf individuals and groups in the mainstream society, Tsafe, highlighted the NNAD's untiring push to facilitate the recognition of sign language as the official language in Nigeria, "emphasizing that the just concluded National Sign Language Convention organized by NNAD in Abuja is aimed towards agitating for the official recognition of sign language in all aspects of national life in Nigeria"
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| NEAD president Comr. Bashir Usman Kellumi delivering a point of interest shortly before given a merit award to Most Rev. Mamza |
He added, "the NNAD under my leadership remains committed to promoting and championing Inclusive environment for Deaf Individuals in Nigeria"
"We will continue to foster fuller collaboration with various state branches associations to achieve our collective objectives and support gunuine initiatives that fosters Inclusivity for Deaf Nigerians from all walks of life" the NNAD's president remarked.
Interestingly, the chairman of the occasion, Rev. Bishop Stephen Dami Mamza, the renowned Catholic Bishop of Yola Diocese, stole the show during the formal opening ceremony of the summit, with his magnificient display of outstanding proficiency in manual sign language - as he chose to present his speech in sign language - thereby taken the entire audience by surprise as he signed every word skillfully to the admiration of everyone in the conference Hall.
In his remarks, Mamza advocated for the immediate recognition of sign language as a lingua Franca in Nigeria, stressing the urgent need for all political heads, religious and community leaders in Nigeria to strive to keep abreast and familiarize themselves with knowledge of sign language in order to communicate effectively with the Deaf, appreciate the distinct cultural linguistic heritages of the Deaf and fosters Inclusivity for all.
Earlier, the chairman of Adamawa State Association of the Deaf (ASAD), Comr. Colman Christopher described sign language which uses handshapes, gestures, facial expressions, and bodily language to convey meaning - as not only a tool for breaking the lingering communication barriers existing between the Deaf and the larger society - but also a vital part of Deaf cultural identity and heritages.
Colman noted, "today we celebrate the resilience, strength, and diversity of the Deaf community. We recognize the significant contributions Deaf individuals make to our society, breaking barriers and pushing boundaries in various fields"
"This year's theme, Breaking communication Barrier in North East: Sign language Recognition as a Pathway to Inclusive Development" resonates well with the global demand for innclusive equality for all persons.
Colman futher stressed the urgent need for each individual in the society to endeavour to learn the art of sign language, describing it as a language that unites rather than divide along ethnic, tribal or cultural lines.
His words"learn sign language today and you can successfully interact with a variety of people instead of being hindered by communication barriers"
"I want you all to always remember that sign language is for everyone"
Highlighting some of the exciting benefits that might be acrued by an individual mastering the art of signed language, the ASAD leader maintained that "learning sign language is an attempt to promote inclusivity and accessibility for people who are Deaf or hard of hearing, and to bridge communication gaps in situations where speech is impossible or impractical"
Elsewhere, the Borno State Association of the Deaf (BOSAD) Chairman, Mal Adamu Gaji Bukar while drawing the attention of fellow leaders of Deaf community in the zone reminded them on the importance of patience as a panacea for effective leadership.
He stated, "Patient is paramount for every leader - because weather you do good or wrong members must abuse you as a leader"
"I therefore call on us all as leaders to exercise greater amount of patience in handling Deaf affairs in our various states in the North East zone" Bukar added.
On his part, the state Chairman of Gombe State Association of the Deaf (GOMSAD), Mr. Blessed Charles while explaining a point of interest on the need to strengthen leadership and unity among leaders and members of Deaf community in the zone, urged the NEAD leaders to always embrace the principle of inclusiveness in handling the NEAD affairs.
He stated, "it's high time for the NEAD leaders under Comr. Bashir Usman Kellumi to always ensure that they work hands in hands with the entire North East elders and stakeholders"
"This, will foster greater unity, increase the spirit of teamworks and togetherness among the entire North East Deaf family at large" Charles remarked.
In their separate speeches, the duo of Taraba State Association of the Deaf (TSAD) Chairman, Mal Ibrahim Haruna (represented by TSAD vice chairman, Bishara Ephraim) and Youth Leader, Junaidu Falalu Barau, recounted the bitter leadership experiences they encountered immediately after assuming office recently, expressing deeper concern that such challenges if not adequately addressed by the NEAD leadership, is capable of twarthing the progress of TSAD as a bonafide affiliate of the NEAD.
According to the duo, TSAD leadership in the past few months is grappled with the myriads of persistent challenges including the challenge of tie - tight-executives who doesn't want to locate office after serving their tenure, lack of support from state government officials, challenge of Partnership with NGOs, institutional corruption especially among government bureaucrats, discrimination of Deaf community by Joint National Associations of Persons Disabilities (JONAPWD) officials, among other graveous challenges.
Meanwhile, the Naational Assistant Secretary of Nigerian National Association of the Deaf (NNAD) Comr Sagir Ibrahim Tilde, used the opportunity availed him by the conference to shower unreserved praises on Bauchi State Association of the Deaf (BSAD) excos for hustling to establish office accommodation for BSAD in Bauchi state. He urged other other states leaders across the zone to emulate the good example set up by the BSAD leadership. He however advised the NEAD leadership on the importance of prompt and timely dispatching of Annual General Meeting (AGM) invitation letters to various states asscociations, stressing that any delay could hamper the chance of states participation in future summit.
The joint summit, Ability News Network (ANN) understands, provided a solid ground for extensive deliberations on issue-based things affecting the progress of Deaf community in the zone as paticipants expressed deeper concern over the continual marginalization of Deaf community even in the two states (Yobe and Gombe) that have already enacted the disability law and established the Disability Rights Commission in place.
A major take away from the joint summit as reported by our correspondent including the unanimous agreement reached to allow an Individuals contesting for an elective office to either choose to form a group or contest individually, it was further resolved that in the event of official exclusion, discrimination, denial of rights etc meted against the Deaf in particular location across the zone by individuals, gruops or governments, Instead of embarking on protests, the Deaf should write official complain letters and forward same to the authorities concerned for possible solution. Members of State Executive Council of all the six states branches associations were also cautioned to wake up, be more vigilant and proactive in order to fight for rights and inclusion of Deaf community in all aspects of government projects in in the zone.
Finally several merit awards were presented to various outstanding individuals and organizations including the executive Governor of Adamawa State, His Excellency Alh. Ahmadu Umar Fintiri, Hon. Commissioner of Women Affairs and Social Development, Adamawa State, Hon. Neido Geoffrey Kofulto, Most. Rev. Bishop Stephen Dami Mamza, former ASAD chairman Nuhu Liman, JONAPWD Adamawa State, NNAD National President Hon. Haruna Muhammad Tsafe, NEAD president, Bashiru Usman Kellumi, NNAD National Youth Leader, Ashiru Abubukar, former GOMSAD Chairman, Musa Jauro, ASAD chairman Mr. Colman Christopher to mention but a few
