By Bimbola Oyesola
Members of the human rights organisation in Nigeria, Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR), have been urged to constructively engage with the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration to banish poverty and create mass decent jobs for the youths within the context of the 8-point agenda.
Director General of Micheal Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies, ( MINILS) Ilorin, Issa Aremu made the call in Ilorin in his good will message to the 2023 Annual General Conference of the CDHR.
Recall that Tinubu had unveiled 8 point agenda that include food security; poverty eradication; growth, job creation; access to capital; inclusion; rule of law; and fighting corruption.
While commending CDHR for its acknowledged historic struggle to terminate military dictatorship and enthrone democracy, AREMU said it was time for the progressive forces to move from the margin of agonizing and lamentations about the imperfections of democracy to constructive engagement with elected governments to urgently alleviate poverty and build sustainable prosperity for Nigeria.
“If you are not at the policy making table, you will possibly be part of the menu at the lunch time,” he told delegates human right activists drawn from 29 states of the federation adding that they must embrace policy dialogue as distinct from “permanent policy contestation”.
Citing how both the NLC and TUC had extracted presidential wage award through dialogue, the Director General observed that democracy with all its shortcomings offers credible platform to advance human rights than military which he said, “once under developed West Africa sub region.”
Against the backdrop of coups in Niger and Mali, Aremu urged CDHR to compliment ECOWAS to ensure nobody rules any African country again without the freely given mandate of the electorate.
He said, “Insufficient democracy calls for more and more democracy not military dictatorship”.
The Director General, also announced annual Micheal Imoudu lecture series to promote the legacy of the legendary No 1 Labour leader in defence of trade and human rights, struggle for independence and democracy.
Aremu who was also a delegate of the 2014 national conference called for the implementation of the recommendation of the conference that chapters 2 and 4 of 1999 constitution dealing with fundamental human rights be justiciable.