Nigeria's Human Rights, 54 Years After...

21 October 2014
opinion

Nigeria's attainment of independence on October 1, 1960 came with a lot of promise, hope and expectations on the rights of Nigerian citizens. Chidi Odinkalu examines the nation's human rights regime 54 years after and submits that not much has been achieved and that the Nigerian state has not lived up to its expectation.

What was the promise of Independence to the average Nigerian and how far has that been realised 54 years after? Two things defined colonial administration: the absence of Nigerian citizenship and the denial of our entitlement, as Nigerians, to constitute a government of our choice. These two areas also provide the best measures for how far we have progressed in the protection and defence of human rights in Nigeria 54 years after Independence. For, although human rights apply to all human beings irrespective of origin, their protection requires a capable state able to exert itself on behalf of its people and those that live within its territory. Evidence of such capability is found in the extent to which we are able to protect citizenship rights and in the legitimacy with which government is constituted.

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