Nigeria Is No Haven for People With Albinism

For Nigerians with albinism, the greatest burden isn’t their condition; it’s the ignorance and misinformation around it. Widespread education and public awareness is crucial to dismantling the stigma they face daily.

In a social media post, a Nigerian X user educated another user who had requested a ‘male albino’ actor on the need to destigmatize language, specifically when referring to people with albinism, and centre their humanity rather than defining them by their condition. This post was met with criticism. The majority of the Nigerian X users who engaged with the post responded with dismissiveness, insisting that ‘albino’ was the correct term because, as they argue, it is what they have always known.

This interaction is merely a fraction of the plight of people with albinism in Nigeria, where most reports estimate that two million Nigerians live with the condition. Cultural myths and misconceptions are the most readily available resources for Nigerians to fill in the gap in their awareness about albinism. The explanations vary across regions and cultures, with most of them aggregating into branding albinism as taboo and many unfounded claims that cause people with the condition to be dehumanized, stigmatized and even targeted for violence.

Albinism is a genetic condition that causes low levels of melanin in the body, which is often accompanied by visual impairment and skin complications. While all forms of albinism involve a reduced production of melanin, it affects people very differently. With little to no widespread knowledge about how to protect themselves, the health risks that Nigerians with albinism are susceptible to are also more pronounced. Given that the majority of lower-class Nigerians work in the informal sector, where they often have to be in the open, the larger number of Nigerians with albinism who also belong in this category contend with far more dangers to their skin and overall health without sun protection. As a result, skin cancer, amongst other issues, has become one of the leading causes of death in the albinism community. All these factors compound their problems, causing them to be socially disadvantaged...