Nigerians have been called upon to always stand for and demand for their rights from the government and other duty bearers. In his message to mark the 2023 Human Rights Day, Dr. Tony Ojukwu SAN, Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission remined Nigerians that “human rights are not only fundamental, they are also God-given natural endowments that cannot be taken away by the authorities or non-state actors without recourse to the law.” He urged Nigerians to remain steadfast and vigilant in the defence of their fundamental rights as enshrined in the Constitution and other national and international human rights instruments to which Nigeria has enacted or is obligated under international law.
The 2023 Human Rights Day is also the commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, described by the NHRC helms man as “a unique document which proclaimed dignity, equality and justice as common standards for all people and all nations” and whose 30 articles “constitute a promise and a set of gifts for humanity which guarantee dignity, life, security, access to education, healthcare, employment, fair pay, voting rights, gender equality, the values of free speech, privacy, and mutual respect irrespective of gender, race, ethnicity, or religion.”
The Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria’s National Human Rights Institution also used the occasion to call on governments at national, state and local levels to prioritise the fulfilment of human rights through “budgetary, policy, legislative and programmatic” investments that will implement the “Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy enshrined in Chapter 2 of the Constitution, by placing the security and welfare of Nigerians above personal, partisan, ethnic and religious interests and considerations.”
