Adesola Oyinloye-Ndu, has called on every stakeholder in Nigeria’s child development landscape to shun every measure aimed at forcing left-handed and neurodivergent children to conform, and start building spaces where every child can flourish as they naturally are.
Oyinloye-Ndu, who also serves as Convener of the Lefties and Ambidextrous Care Initiative Nigeria, made the passionate appeal in her remarks on the occasion of 2026 Children’s Day celebration.
Speaking under the national theme “Future Now: Promoting Inclusion for Every Nigerian Child,” Oyinloye-Ndu, said there is a segment of the child population that remains systematically overlooked in mainstream inclusion conversations — the millions of Nigerian children who are left-handed, ambidextrous, or neurodivergent.
Daily Obstacles, Quiet Exclusion
Oyinloye-Ndu painted a vivid picture of the quiet, daily struggles left-handed children face from their earliest years. These include classroom desks and scissors designed exclusively for right-handed use, writing patterns, musical instruments, kitchen tools, and sporting techniques that all favour the right hand.
The built environment, she argued, sends a persistent and damaging message: you do not belong here as you are.
“Many left-handed children are still told ‘Use your right hand,’ ‘Stop that,’ ‘It is improper,’ or ‘You must change,’” she noted. “Some children are pressured so much that they begin to lose confidence in themselves.”
This compelled correction, she warned, is not a minor inconvenience — it is a form of exclusion that quietly erodes a child’s sense of identity and self-worth.
Tens of Millions Affected
Global estimates indicate that approximately 10 to 12 percent of the human population is left-handed. With over 220 million people, Nigeria is home to tens of millions of naturally left-handed individuals — a significant proportion of whom are school-age children navigating educational systems largely unprepared to accommodate them.
READ ALSO:
- Continuous Abduction of Nigerian Schoolchildren Signals Collapse of School Safety – Obi
- FG Seeks Nigerians’ Views on Social Media Age Limits for Children
- Millions of Children Still Out of School in Northern Nigeria, Girls Face Deepest Setbacks — UNICEF
Beyond handedness, Oyinloye-Ndu broadened her message to address neurodiversity, emphasising that human brains are not uniformly wired. A wide range of cognitive and learning profiles exist naturally within any population. She called on educators and parents to move away from a one-size-fits-all model of child development.
“Some children learn differently. Some process information differently. Some communicate differently. Some are highly creative, visual, analytical, intuitive, artistic, or deeply innovative,” she said. “Our responsibility as adults is not to force every child into one mold. Our responsibility is to create environments where every child can succeed safely and confidently.”
The Hidden Toll
When children constantly hear that something about them is ‘wrong,’ Oyinloye-Ndu stressed, they may begin to shrink emotionally. “Their confidence drops. Their creativity becomes hidden. Their voices become silent.”
She described this silent suffering as a public issue. Children mocked for writing differently, punished for struggling differently, or labelled instead of supported do not simply “grow out of it.” The emotional damage, left unaddressed, can trail them through adolescence and into adulthood, suppressing talents that society desperately needs.
Drawing on history to strengthen her argument, Oyinloye-Ndu reminded her audience that many of the world’s most celebrated innovators, artists, athletes, inventors, and leaders were left-handed or neurodivergent thinkers.
A Charge to Parents, Teachers, and Institutions
To parents, she issued a clear charge: “Protect your child’s confidence.” To teachers, whose influence on young minds is unparalleled, she offered both a caution and a challenge: “Your words can either build a child or break a child.” And to institutions, a reminder grounded in evidence: “Children flourish best where they feel accepted.”
She was equally direct in challenging what she called a comfortable but hollow conception of inclusion. Inclusion, she insisted, is not about tolerating differences at the margins — it is about genuinely valuing them at the centre.
“A truly inclusive society does not merely tolerate differences. It values them,” she said. “Inclusion is not charity. Inclusion is justice.”
The Lefties and Ambidextrous Care Initiative Nigeria, founded and convened by Yeye Adesola Oyinloye-Ndu, is dedicated to raising awareness about the lived experiences of left-handed and ambidextrous individuals in Nigeria, with a particular focus on the welfare of children in homes and schools.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist, scholar and analyst of socioeconomic issues in Nigeria and Africa. He is skilled in energy reporting, business and economy, and holds a master's degree in Mass Communication. He can be reached via @VICTOREZEJA on X