The immediate past president of the Committee for Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) Dr. Osagie Obayuwana, has observed that the government’s announcement of some palliatives, including the N25,000 cash transfer was not commensurable to the hardships Nigerians are experiencing, describing it as unreasonable and a “misplaced priority.”
He declared that the palliative introduced by the government in the wake of the removal of fuel subsidy was not enough to rescue or cushion the hardship Nigerians are now going through.
Speaking at the 2023 Annual General Conference of the CDHR, in Ilorin, Kwara State, at the weekend, Obayuwana, lamented that citizens of the country were now going through unprecedented socio-economic hardships ever known in the history of the country.
The event which was held at the Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies had in attendance delegates from state branches, members of the National Executive partners, collaborators, associates, observers from Labour, the Nigeria Labour Congress, Kwara State branch, as well as the Federation of Female Lawyers (FIDA),
The theme of the 2023 Annual General Conference was: “Our Rights: Non Negotiable”
Obayuwana said Ngerians deserved a system that bequeaths citizens basic amenities that will develop their psyche and automatically compel and ignite their inbuilt patriotism, adding, “Erratic electricity supply, lack of accommodation, poor healthcare service and general breakdown of life-enhancing facilities can never be remedied by palliative.”
He explained that the pay rises that successive governments have constantly announced were tactless, noting that “Imoudu was always agitating and seeking pay rise tied to the existing inflation rate for workers.”
“We have resolved that our rights are non-negotiable. We want a new Nigeria of which its resources would be used for the generality of all Nigerians,” said Obayuwana.
“Petrol may soon go for N800 per litre, just as the exchange of a dollar is now N1, 200, the hardship is too much and Nigerians cannot accept the current situation.
“We want a new Nigeria where the resources will be used to develop the country for all citizens.
”Nigeria used to have millionaires but now, we have trillionaires” apparently referring to the deep corruption in the country while the masses are suffering.
He said the CDHR has resolved to defend the rights of Nigerians and that the masses must stand by the human rights body.
” Let us play our roles as citizens of the country, for us to have a Nigeria that will serve the people,” he added.
Dr Obayuwana, a former Edo State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, said Nigerians being hungry is a violation of citizen rights, adding: “An attack on our conditions of living, is an attack on our human rights.”
He said the ever-rising inflation and Naira devaluation have drastically shot up the prices of drugs leading to needless deaths in the country. He paraphrased Matthew 8:20, saying: “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but many Nigerians have nowhere to lay their heads.”
Also speaking, the President of the foreign relations think tank, Society of International Relations Awareness, SIRA, Owei Lakemfa, said, ‘ ‘in saner climes, comrades fight for human rights to develop the country but in Nigeria, you fight for human rights to lose your life.
He said in Europe, it is different to fight for human rights unlike in Nigeria or Africa. He saluted the CDHR members who fought against the military dictatorship and particularly remembered those who lost their lives, like the 118 killed in Lagos on July 6, 1993, following the massacre by the military.
He asserted that human rights emanate from natural rights, the most fundamental being the right to life. "Life is irreplaceable and once taken, cannot be restored; once it snaps, it cannot be returned.
"This is partly why some of us are opposed to the death penalty because life, once taken, even if by judicial error or prevailing circumstances as in the case of Ken Saro-Wiwa, can never be restored". He said.
He ended by cautioning that human rights should not be taken for granted as eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.
The Director General of the Michael Imoudu National Institute of Labour Studies, MINILS, Issa Aremu, who was the Chief Host, said since workers are not just workers, but are also citizens with fundamental human rights, the MINILS will introduce human rights into its curricular.
He also announced that the institute would inaugurate an annual lecture in honour of "Labour Leader Number One", Michael Imoudu, after whom MINILS is named.
Aremu said labour and the human rights movement should be actively involved in partisan politics like Imoudu was from colonial times. He added that without political power, all struggles will come to nought and urged that a struggle be waged to make the fundamental principles of the Constitution justiciable.
The DG said never again should the military be allowed to rule Africa, “regardless of our experiences in democracy; if there is any problem with democracy, what you need is more democracy, not less.”
The International Federation of Women Lawyers, FIDA, Kwara State Chair, Gloria Okodua, said Nigerians in fighting for human rights, are fighting for themselves.
While commending CDHR for its acknowledged historic struggle to terminate military dictatorship and enthrone democracy, AREMU observed that it was time “for the progressive forces to move from the margin of agonizing and lamentations about the imperfections of democracy to constructive engagement with elected governments to urgently alleviate poverty and build sustainable prosperity for Nigeria.
“If you are not at the policy-making table, you will possibly be part of the menu at lunchtime,” he told delegates human rights activists drawn from 29 states of the Federation adding that they must embrace policy dialogue as distinct from “permanent policy contestation.”
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