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Protecting the right of Nigerians

December 10 2018 marks the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a historical document that proclaimed the rights which every human being is entitled to. As stated in this document, 'all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.'
The fact that protection of human rights is imperative to national stability, growth and development cannot be over-emphasized. No nation can grow without the rights of its citizens being protected. Since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, many countries have provided for security measures to protect its citizens from threat, discrimination and oppression. These security measures prevented further human rights violations. Apart from this, principles derived from the Universal Declaration of human rights has helped to reduce the rate of war and genocide in most countries. In fact, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted to prevent the horrors of world war 2 from occurring again.
However, in Nigeria the human rights have been facing a lot of violations. Such violations include rape, restriction on freedom of speech, child abuse, child sexual exploitations and lots more. Survivors of insurgence and criminal activities in Nigeria, the internally displaced persons are left without source of survival and are forced to live in unhygienic and indecent places. All these and more contradicts the dictates of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Furthermore, violations of human rights not only contribute to delays in national growth and development. Therefore, adequate protection of human rights should be made available. If the Nigerian government creates an avenue where all these violations and issues facing the human rights of its citizens will be punished duly, growth in Nigeria is imminent. The government can also create workshops to sensitize its citizens on their rights and how to avoid cases of human rights violations. Also, the leaders in government should support and strengthen the capacity of human rights defenders.
The right to freedom of expression is not just there alone. Everyone should exercise this right if he witnesses a violation of any of the human rights and report to the appropriate quarters. I strongly believe that if all these measures are taken appropriately, National Stability, Growth and Development will be realized.

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