The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has urged the federal government against a second national lockdown or using security agencies to harass Nigerians over the second wave of COVID-19 in the country.
At a press conference in Abuja, the National Coordinator of the association, Emma Onwubiko, also faulted the government’s stance on using the nation’s security agencies to harass Nigerians in a bid to force them to adhere to the COVID-19 pandemic guidelines.
While saying that this may be counter-productive and violate the basic human rights of Nigerians, Onwubiko asked the government to find other ways of enlighten the citizenry to complied by conviction.
“Why is the President using force to govern us by threatening to impose a second lockdown if COVID-19 infection rates continued to rise? The President should show us the templates of what he has done to change the trajectory of the public health system to get out of the current state of dysfunctionality.
“It is better to show us your work than to always issue threats from all kinds of officials. The President should blame his task force who are incompetent and only busy “shinning on television. President Buhari should blame the incompetent PTF,” he said.
According to him, to achieve compliance, the COVID-19 task forces and committees should persuade members of the public to cooperate with the government in achieving compliance and avoid crude methods that may create resistance and resentment, thereby defeating the primary goal of the Executive Order.
He said, “The Buhari administration is most reluctant to lockdown the country and continues to emphasize the non-pharmaceutical measures and the only way to avert lockdowns is to observe these measures as put in place by the Presidential Task Force (PTF).
“Nigerians have come a long way from the dreaded lockdown and the administration is unhappy about any prospects of bringing it back as many citizens will not have food on the table without venturing out on a day- to-day business.”
He also faulted government’s official comments that though vaccine availability is within reach, the propensity of the public for noncompliance weakens the fight against the virus.
He said, “HURIWA faulted this line of argument from the President and rather tasked the government to show Nigerians what it did with the IMF Loan of billions of dollars said to be for combating COVID-19.
Faults Presidency on ‘smear campaign’ claims
The HURIWA boss while reacting to claim by the Presidency that some “elites” were out to smear the person of President Muhammadu Buhari in spite of his achievements in office, said that as the Commander-in-Chief that in a constitutional democracy, criticisms form part of the liberty citizens enjoy.
He said that freedom of expression is constitutionally guaranteed in the land.
“The President is not a monarch or an emperor that should not face criticisms. The Office of the President is such that the occupant must be willing, open and faithful to the constitution by accepting criticism going by the fundamental freedoms guaranteed in chapter 4 of the constitution including freedom of expression,” he added.
Tells Wike to Buratai alone
He also advised Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike to focus on delivering good governance to his people, rather than fixating on continuous criticisms of the immediate past Chief of Army Staff, General Tukur Buratai.
He said that having been replaced by a set of new security chiefs, Buratai and his counterparts in the former security team should be allowed some modicum of peace in retirement.
He said, “Wike is busy pointing one finger towards the direction of Buratai and other retired military chiefs who spent over 35 years of their very productive working life in public service to advance public good, but the remaining four fingers point right back at Nyesom Wike who is known to be highly intolerant of opposition politics and has shown arrogance toward opponents.”
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