NHRC partners A’Ibom tricycle operators, owners on rights advocacy

THE Executive Secretary of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Prof. Bem Angwe, has identified human rights and good governance as the twin pillar of democracy.

He made this observation while declaring open a two-day training for tricycle operators in Human Rights Advocate held at Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital.

At the programme, which is the first in the country, he charged the tricycle operators that, as human right advocates, training would empower them in this democratic dispensation to ask for accountability and transparency from their leaders in government.

Addressing about 1,000 tricycle owners and riders in the state, he said the commission decided to partner with them because Nigerians come in contact with them on daily basis, noting that at the end of the training they would be able to educate others whose rights are violated.

The objective of the training, he stressed, is to let them know the basics of human rights and assist the commission disseminate information about its activities and to use them to improve accessibility to the commission’s services.

“If we empower you with the skill to disseminate information openly about human rights and its enforcement, that is how people can seek redress for compensation when their right is trampled on.

“We will at the end of the day succeed in using the instrument of this partnership to improve the services of the human rights commission by referring those who are affected emotionally, physically and mentally to the commission.

“It is not by accident that we have decided to partner with tricycle riders, we are using you as human defenders instead of becoming human right violators in our society. We are using you as flag bearer of everything that is positive in Nigeria; we are taking you away from being participants in negative conduct in our society. Today, we are hanging on your neck the protection of human rights so that you will not be violators of human rights,” he said.

Earlier, the chairman on the occasion, Senator Ita Enang, who was represented by one of his aides, Elder Monday Tom, said that sustaining democracy involved managing internal tendencies especially security and human rights issues.