On November 5, 2022, in Lagos, the delegates to the Committee for the Defense of Human Rights (CDHR) Annual General Conference (AGC) deliberated at length.
In a unanimous resolution, the organization’s leaders expressed their displeasure with the state of democratic government in Nigeria under President Muhammadu Buhari of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.
During his talk, CDHR President Dr. Osagie Obayuwana voiced his dismay at the worsening security situation in Nigeria, the growing wealth gap, the increasing concentration of wealth in the hands of a tiny minority of the population, and the scandalous scale of crude oil theft that occurs under the watchful eyes of the country’s security forces.
At CDHR Conference, Comrades Obayuwana, Aremu, and Falana Disapprove of General Lack of Safety and Poor Administration.
The keynote speaker and special guest of honor, Comrade Abiodun Aremu, as well as the Chairman, Board of Trustees, Mr. Femi Falana, SAN, the immediate past President and member of the Board of Trustees, Comrade Malachy Ugwummadu, and Comrade Debo Adeniran, Secretary Board of Trustees, all spoke out against the deteriorating quality of management of public affairs, subsidy scams, and the non-functioning and non-part
They all complained in one submission about how bad things had gotten because of poor leadership.
Comrade Idris Afees Olayinka, National Publicity Secretary, CDHR Nigeria, made a communiqué, signed by National President Dr. Osagie Obayuwana, available to the National Association of Online Security Reporters, NAOSRE, in which the organization demanded that the federal and state governments of Nigeria take social and economic measures that would bring reliefs to the teeming populace as a panacea to insecurity, insurgency, banditry,
There are approximately 20 million children in Nigeria who are not in school despite having the legal right to do so, and they have urged the Buhari government to take action to solve this problem.
The Center for Disaster Human Rights called for immediate action to be made to battle floods and achieve the aims for which the ecological fund was formed, as well as a full audit of the money to prosecute anyone who may have participated in their looting.
They pointed out that the disaster that hit many communities in various parts of the country as a result of the recent flooding can be traced back to the federal government of Nigeria’s negligence and called for immediate equitable compensation for all the families who lost loved ones, homes, and means of livelihood.
In regards to the budget, CDHR has criticized Buhari’s two terms in office for their lack of inclusiveness, specifically their exclusion of key interest groups such as the labor movement, civil society, and professional organizations from the budget formulation, implementation, and monitoring processes.
Similarly, CDHR has criticized the possibility and unwillingness of different levels of government in Nigeria to pay retirees lump-sum payments, sometimes for as long as 20 years after retirement.
The group emphasized that this treatment of those aged 80 and up is not just heartless, but a crime against humanity.
They reaffirmed the right of all people in Nigeria to enjoy Social and Economic Rights without discrimination, including but not limited to housing, healthcare, employment, etc., and they expressed disapproval of the continued non-payment of the minimum wage in various States of the federation in contravention of the Minimum Wage Act, especially in light of the worst inflationary rates ever witnessed in Nigeria.
The Committee on the Defense of Human Rights (CDHR) in Nigeria has made a decision regarding the upcoming general election in 2023. This decision states that periodic elections are important from the perspective of the oppressed in Nigeria only insofar as they relate to the enjoyment by the majority of the citizenry, of socio-economic rights.
Using their track records as a yardstick, voters must evaluate political parties and candidates based on how they’ve handled these issues in the past. The 2023 elections are not a magic wand, but the ballot box must be used to promote this struggle.
At the opening ceremony for their new branch in Kano State, CDHR said, “the organization’s leaders charged members to build more units in neighborhoods in the existing CDHR branches, and to establish more branches in other regions of the country, especially in the Northern portion of Nigeria.”
They called on members across the country to devote themselves fully to the fight to overthrow corrupt leadership and put an end to human rights abuses in Nigeria.
