The United States Consul General, Mr. F. John Bray, says his country’s continued support for Nigeria’s democratic process is rooted in its conviction that Nigeria “is key to Africa’s prosperity and stability.”
According to Bray, it is the belief of the US that “if it does not happen in Nigeria, it does not happen anywhere” on the African continent.
“If Nigeria waivers, everyone else will waiver,” Bray said.
He said this on Tuesday in his welcome remarks during the public presentation of “Know Your Rights Nigeria,” a user-friendly mobile application detailing the fundamental rights of Nigerians in English, pidgin, Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo languages.
The application was designed by a group, Constitutional Rights Awareness and Liberty Initiative, and “funded through a public diplomacy grant from the US Consulate General in Lagos.”
Bray said funding the application, which would make Nigerians know their rights, was “an example of what the US is doing to support human rights in Nigeria.”
“These inputs on human rights is a natural outgrowth of our natural values as Americans,” he said.
At the event, which held at the US Consulate General, Victoria Island, Lagos, a former Minister of Education, Mrs. Oby Ezekwesili, singer,
Simisola Ogunleye, and actor, Yomi Fabiyi, were unveiled as the ambassadors for the “Know Your Rights Nigeria,” mobile application.
The Leader of Constitutional Rights Awareness and Liberty Initiative, the designer of the application, Adeola Oyinlade, said the initiative was “part of his pro bono efforts as a lawyer.”
He noted that when he first conceived the idea, people told him he could make a lot of money from it, but he decided it should be a public-interest initiative.
He explained that not only will the application equip Nigerians with the knowledge of their rights, it also offers the services of 50 lawyers, who upon being contacted through the application, will render free legal advice.
He added that there is a section containing a list of agencies such as the National Human Rights Commission, Federal Road Safety Corps, Legal Aid Council, Nigerian Army Human Rights Desk, etc, which citizens could contact to lodge complaints about abuse of their rights.
In his keynote address, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Dr. Dapo Olanipekun, said fundamental human rights are not limited to those in Chapter 4 of the 1999 Constitution, but also the socio-economic rights enshrined in Chapter 2.
He said, therefore, whenever citizens see a schools without chairs, and the like, they should regard it as violation of human rights and report said.
“If you have a right to live but cannot live well, there’s no point living,” Olanipekun said.
He stressed that advocacy about human rights was not enough, but policies to ensure the respect of human rights must be put in place.
“Don’t get carried away in the circus of advocacy but bring in policies that will make a change,” he added.
Also present on the occasion was a former Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Lagos, Prof. Oyelowo Oyewo.
