The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has charged president Bola Tinubu to elevate the practice of promotion and protection of human rights and adherence to the principles of the rule of law to the front burner of governance following the just awarded Nobel Prize in Economics which demonstrates the nexus between national development and government oppressive practices that undermine the enjoyment of constitutionally guaranteed human rights by the citizens.
HURIWA stated that without any fear of contradiction, the longstanding vicious abuses of the democratic freedoms and the human rights of the citizens by government officials and security forces, are directly linked to the poverty situation in the Country and the lack of economic advancement of the country.
The Rights group pointed to the disgraceful statistics that show that Nigeria is populated by well over 133 million multidimensionally poor households as found out by the National Bureau of Statistics in 2018, which the Rights group said are directly a result of lack of respect for human rights and the rule of law by government.
HURIWA recalled that around 12 noon on Monday October 14th 2024, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the 2024 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel to Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James A. Robinson “for studies of how institutions are formed and affect prosperity.”
This year’s economic sciences laureates – Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James Robinson – have demonstrated the importance of societal institutions for a country’s prosperity. Societies with a poor rule of law and institutions that exploit the population do not generate growth or change for the better. The laureates’ research helps us understand why.
When Europeans colonised large parts of the globe, the institutions in those societies changed. This was sometimes dramatic, but did not occur in the same way everywhere. In some places the aim was to exploit the indigenous population and extract resources for the colonisers’ benefit. In others, the colonisers formed inclusive political and economic systems for the long-term benefit of European migrants.
The laureates have shown that one explanation for differences in countries’ prosperity is the societal institutions that were introduced during colonisation. Inclusive institutions were often introduced in countries that were poor when they were colonised, over time resulting in a generally prosperous population. This is an important reason for why former colonies that were once rich are now poor, and vice versa.
Some countries become trapped in a situation with extractive institutions and low economic growth.
The introduction of inclusive institutions would create long-term benefits for everyone, but extractive institutions provide short-term gains for the people in power. As long as the political system guarantees they will remain in control, no one will trust their promises of future economic reforms. According to the laureates, this is why no improvement occurs.
However, this inability to make credible promises of positive change can also explain why democratisation sometimes occurs. When there is a threat of revolution, the people in power face a dilemma. They would prefer to remain in power and try to placate the masses by promising economic reforms, but the population are unlikely to believe that they will not return to the old system as soon as the situation settles down. In the end, the only option may be to transfer power and establish democracy.
“Reducing the vast differences in income between countries is one of our time’s greatest challenges. The laureates have demonstrated the importance of societal institutions for achieving this,” says Jakob Svensson, chair of the committee for the prize in economic sciences.
Reacting, the HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) through the National Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko stated that the findings should be adopted and passed into a national law to further support the essence of adherence to the principles of justice and the cornerstone of the rule of law as the centerpiece of governance.
The Rights group said the National Assembly should provide a set of legal sanctions for government officials and public office holders who deviate from and willfully violate the extant laws governing administration of their mandates.
HURIWA said the fact that even the president acknowledged that some of his ministers are performing poorly, demonstrate the urgency of government embracing the extensive researched conclusions by the team that has just won the 2024 Nobel Prize in Economics.
“We in the HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA commend the organisers of the Nobel Prize for its thorough decision to reward these economists for achieving a groundbreaking investigation that establishes the nexus between the gross underdevelopment of nations with the bad governance issues afflicting such nations.
The Rights group believe that Nigeria as currently badly governed is a living proof of that illustrious research finding that has just won the year 2024 Nobel Prize for Economics.
“It is expected that this spotlight on bad governance should become the litmus test that would spur on the current president and his poorly performing federal cabinet and the corruption infested state governments in most of the 36 states of the federation and the FCT, to take a walk away from administrative corruption and stop all oppressive policies including the cases of police extrajudicial executions of protesters, gross human rights abuses and the widespread corruption in the electoral system of Nigeria so the Country can be able to quicken the migration from a poor and grossly underdeveloped nation to an advanced society in line with the well considered evidence-based finding of the group of Economic scientists that have just won the year 2024 Nobel Prize in Economics.”
