As Nigeria joins the global community to mark the 2026 International Day of Sign Languages, the Katamaran Deck of the National Association of Seadogs, popularly known as the Pyrates Confraternity, has stepped up its advocacy, demanding that the Federal Government officially recognise Nigerian Sign Language (NSL) in the country’s constitution.
In a statement to commemorate the special day in alignment with the global 2026 theme, “Declaring Deaf People’s Human Rights,” the Katamaran Deck comprising Ijebu-Ode and Remo, argued that with an estimated three million deaf or hard-of-hearing citizens across Nigeria, lack of official status for NSL remains a core barrier to fundamental human rights, inclusion and systemic equality.
Cap’n of the Katamaran Deck, Comrade Jamal Apena, who signed the statement, stressed that language recognition is not merely an issue of social welfare, but a profound legal obligation.
The deck stated that lack of official constitutional status for NSL compromised access to justice, medical care and public participation, referencing recent milestones like localised interpreter support during elections as grossly inadequate.
The statement partly read, “For the Deaf community, sign language rights are human rights.
“Without the legal framework recognising NSL, millions of Nigerians are effectively locked out of healthcare, quality education, employment opportunities and the judicial system.”
The Katamaran Deck Cap’n noted that the domestic theme for this year’s commemoration, “Declaring Deaf People’s Human Rights through Nigerian Sign Language Recognition,” underscored the daily systemic friction experienced by the hearing-impaired.
He expressed regrets that although civil society organisations, including the Friends of the Deaf International Foundation (FDF) and the Centre for Disability and Inclusion Africa, have voiced shared concerns over the country’s sluggish implementation of disability inclusion frameworks, not much had been done on the part of the authorities to fast track the process.
The Katamaran Deck stated while the passage of the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act marked a historical milestone for structural inclusion, key state institutions—ranging from public hospitals to federal courts—still lack qualified sign language interpreters.
It pointed out that the absence of these services has left deaf individuals highly vulnerable, routinely stripping them of their rights to fair legal representation and informed medical consent.
The Katamaran Deck also stated that efforts at localised inclusion have only shown flashes of progress, adding that during recent regional elections, grassroots deployments of sign language interpreters at polling units allowed dozens of Deaf citizens to cast their votes independently.
It, however, insisted that sporadic interventions cannot substitute for a comprehensive national policy.
Therefore, as part of the ongoing International Week of Deaf People, which coincides with the 75th anniversary of the World Federation of the Deaf, the Katamaran Deck urged the National Assembly to initiate amendments that elevate NSL alongside spoken national languages.
“Inclusion begins when every hand can speak and every voice is given the legal space to be heard,” the statement added.
The Katamaran Deck Pyrates concluded that as the global spotlight remained fixed on expanding accessibility, true national development is impossible as long as millions of citizens are left behind in silence.
