Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), yesterday, blasted those politicians criticising the public endorsement of Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, describing them as anarchists.
The group said the antagonists were showing early sign that if elected, they would be intolerant to dissenting opinions and could progressively become dictators.
Obasanjo had issued a letter recommending Obi’s candidacy because, in the thinking of the respected statesman, the former Anambra State government “is amenable to corrections if he goes wrong because he is responsive and receptive to corrections; and the Labour Party candidate has indisputable credibility in all facets of leadership and, therefore, can be trusted to deliver quality leadership if elected Nigerian President in the coming presidential poll.”
HURIWA recalled that the endorsement has attracted criticisms from the other political formations such as the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), even as the APC standard-bearer, Bola Tinubu, reportedly said he pitied Obi, as his endorser (Obasanjo) “cannot win his polling unit, hence Obi is at risk for associating with the former President and as such, the endorsement is meaningless.”
In a statement by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, HURIWA, while expressing surprise, challenged Tinubu that he had visited Obasanjo not long ago in his Abeokuta, Ogun State home to curry his support.
The statement reads: “The right to freedom of expression is enshrined in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which sets out in broad terms the human rights that each of us has. It was later protected by a raft of international and regional treaties. Freedom of speech or freedom of expression applies to ideas that may be deeply offensive. While international law protects free speech, Chapter 4 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) is replete with sections that speak to the necessity of all governments and individuals to accord the greatest respect to fundamental freedoms, chief of which is the right to freedom of expression in Section 39, which specifically provides that every person shall be entitled to freedom of expression, including freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information without interference.”
