Zulum, Wike Win 2021 Human Rights Award

Michael Olugbode in Abuja

The Governors of Borno and Rivers States, Prof. Babagana Zulum and Nyesom Wike respectively, have among others emerged winners of the 2021 Human Rights Awards.

The Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Tony Ojukwu, made this disclosure in Abuja yesterday as the commission prepares for the commemoration of the 2021 International Human Rights Day celebrations.

The commission had on November 12 announced the commencement of a voting process to be done online. The commission in partnership with a civil society organisation, The Citizens Advocacy for Social and Economic Rights (CESER) employed the new media platform to request members of the public to vote for nominees of their choice.

A special web domain www.nhrcawards.ng was dedicated for the exercise in demonstration of the commission’s commitment to public participation and transparency in the process of selecting the awardees.

A statement by the commission yesterday said the awards were in three categories namely: Federal Government Agencies, Governors, and Civil Society Organisations, which have distinguished themselves in the advancement of human rights in Nigeria.

At the end of the voting process, the following emerged winners: in the state governor’s category, Borno State Governor, Prof. Babagana Zulum, and Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, emerged top as the best performing governors in the area of improving the livelihoods of citizens and providing the enabling climate for protection of their human rights in the northern and southern regions of Nigeria respectively.

In the MDAs category, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHDA) emerged winner as the best human rights compliant government agency of the year, because its work has impacted the lives of the people who voted for them.

In the category of Civil Society Organisations, Women Advocacy Research and Documentation Center (WARDC) won as the best CSOs in promoting and advancing human rights in Nigeria.

The statement said the objective of the award was to among other things, encourage respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in all spheres of life, as nations are judged today by their human rights records.

Ojukwu used the medium to call on Nigerias to play a role in building a culture of respect for human rights in order to have an egalitarian society. “Human right is justice and justice is peace,” Ojukwu added.

The winners will receive their awards on December 10, 2021, which will also be the third edition of the human rights awards. Some NGOs which are runners-up in the CSOs category will be given certificates of recognition to encourage them to continue in their efforts of promoting and protecting human rights in Nigeria. The runners-up are Prisoners Rehabilitation and Welfare Action (PRAWA), Action Aid Nigeria, Global Rights Nigeria, Project Alert on Violence against Women.