Andrew Efemini.
The Bill of Rights is a source of inspiration to any person working on consolidating democracy in any part of the world. The Bill of Rights is a restatement of rights that further defines the limit of government power on the individual.
In the United States, the Federalists and anti-Federalists differed on powers of government to interfere with certain rights; right to worship, right to bear arms, right to fair punishment, etc are some of the amendments of the Constitution that form the Bill of Rights.
In Nigeria, politics should focus on promoting basic rights and liberties of citizens. The right of all rights is the right to life. There is no doubt that with multiple killings going on in Nigeria, the right to life is under serious threat.
No State worth the name of a State can coexist with the hundreds of lives lost to violence in all parts of the country. The boko haram killings, the herdsmen and farmers clashes, brutal killings in the South and in the North are instances of threats to life which politics must address.
In a third world country like Nigeria, right to food as a means of preserving life should now be regarded as a fundamental concern of politics. The available statistics indicate that over 65% of Nigerians are below the poverty line. Hunger and starvation are necessary consequences of earning less than $2 a day.
An all encompassing description by Hobbes of the purpose of government is the preservation of life. I will like to add that life should not just be preserved at the base level but that the quality of life in Nigeria should be comparable to those in other modern Democratic States.
The politics that can preserve life with the anticipated quality must offer access to quality education for citizens; for all citizens liberals like John Rawls would argue.
Besides quality education, life cannot be preserved without access to quality healthcare for all citizens.
In the present day Nigeria, millions of people do not have access to doctors. Millions also resort to self medication even for serious medical conditions.
The politics of human rights must secure the basic needs for the citizens. As a state, Nigeria must be governed to reduce the pains of citizens in terms of access to food, clothing, shelter, etc.
Democratic politics is best positioned to promote human rights in Nigeria. Democratic politics would for us be politics that is based on:
1. Constitutionalism.
2. Rule of law.
3. Free and fair elections.
4. Accountability of power to the people.
All Nigerians must take conscious steps to promote the politics of human rights. It will not come through hate campaigns or docile expectations of heavenly gifts to us.
Politics of human rights will come from organization, dialogue, focused party activities, etc. The ball is on our court.
Andrew Efemini is a Professor of Philosophy of Development, University of Portharcourt.
