…Launches Anyakwee Nsirimovu Human Rights Education Fund
… Awards scholarships to five students
The Anyakwee Nsirimovu Human Rights Education Fund has been formally launched with five students; Jessica Osemere, Emmanuela Enyinna, Patience Nkiri, Obinna Dike, and Wisdom, emerging the first set of recipients of the scholarship fund to study Human Rights Education at the Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law (IHRHL), Port Harcourt.
The event which held in Oak Haven Hotel, GRA Phase 2, on Thursday August 25, 2022, began with a symposium themed: “Human Rights Education; A Tool for Combating Rights Violations”.
Delivering his speech on the occasion, vice chairman of Nigerian Bar Association, Port Harcourt branch, Emmanuel Okpala Esq., said human rights is fundamental and a very serious one in any given society, revealing that the international communities are donating millions of dollars in this area to ensure people are not necessarily oppressed or their rights taken away.
Okpala thanked the executive director of IHRHL, Mrs. Carolyn Anyakwee Nsirimovu and the organizers of the event, saying “it will lead us to somewhere”.
According to him, “the vice chairman of Nigerian Bar Association is the chairman of Human Rights Committee in all the states of the federation, and here in Port Harcourt Branch, I’m the chairman”.
He appealed that when next they are organizing an event like this, consideration should be given to NBA Port Harcourt.
Okpala stated that the rule of law is enforcement or respect of human rights, and nobody should be subjected to arbitrary use of power by government, hence nobody is above the law.
“We’ve been able to confront security agencies in Port Harcourt to stop violating human rights, to respect human rights. It is so fundamental because it is the ground norm in the constitution; it is God that created these rights, that is why we say it is our inalienable right inherent in human race and has to be respected. We must all come out to claim and to defend these rights
“We want to drive this process so that police and security agencies will come back to their senses to respect human rights because it is there in the constitution, which is the highest law in the land. It is there in the United Nations declaration of human rights, it is there in the African Charter on Human Rights and all these rights are legalized”, he explained.
The NBA executive congratulated the beneficiaries and urged them to continue to do what is best advising, that on graduation, they should come and join the institute to also contribute to the advancement of human rights.
In her keynote address, daughter of the late human rights activist, Miles Anyakwee, extoled the virtues of her father and expressed joy that they were able to actualize his vision for human rights education. She assured that his legacy would be sustained. She thanked all for honouring their invitation and wished the gathering a smooth deliberation.
Lecturing on Human Rights Education, the guest speaker, Mrs. Abah of the University of Port Harcourt said when one is educated he has a better understanding of human rights, adding that as far as one has blood running in his veins, he has human rights because it is natural.
Human rights, the lecturer at the University of Port Harcourt, recalled, came as a result of all the atrocities that happened in the past, pointing out that they under pin humanity.
