Know your Rights! Protect yourself!!

      According to the National Human Rights Commission, Rights are naturally accruable to every person by virtue of his/her existence as a human being. The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, under Chapter IV enumerates the following as fundamental human rights:-

• Right to life
• Right to dignity of human person
• Right to personal liberty
• Right to fair hearing
• Right to private and family life
• Right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion
• Right to freedom of expression and the press
• Right to peaceful assembly and association
• Right to freedom of movement
• Right to freedom from discrimination on the grounds of ethnic group, place of origin, circumstance of birth, sex, religion or political opinion.
• Right to compensation for property compulsorily acquired 

The above rights are classified under Chapter IV of the Constitution as Fundamental Rights. However, there are other rights under Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy provided under Chapter II of the Constitution. These include the right to:

• Free and compulsory education
• Adequate health care, gainful employment
• Shelter, food etc
  

The former are justiceable rights, i.e. citizens could go to court to enforce them if denied. The latter rights are however non-justiceable, i.e. these set of rights are not enforceable in the court. They are aspirations attainable if and when the State has the resources. However, the Commission believes the two sets of rights are both fundamental and complementary. This is because; the right to life, for instance, is meaningless without gainful employment or food to sustain life in the first place. The Commission has made a strong case for the upgrading of Economic, Social and Cultural rights to fundamental rights. Human Rights are interdependent, interrelated, indivisible and universal.

Above all, we owe it to ourselves to protect ourselves.Be at the right place at the right time. may we not fall victims of societal ills IJN.