Olusegun Obasanjo was criticized by the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) for officially endorsing Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) for president.
The group reminded these people that Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights guarantees their right to freedom of expression.
The rights organization claimed that anyone, group, or person criticizing Obasanjo’s open backing of Obi is not a true and genuine democracy but rather an anarchist.
The group claims that the politicians who are against the endorsement are exhibiting early indications that, if they were elected Nigerian President, they would be intolerant of differing viewpoints and would eventually turn into autocrats.
Obasanjo suggested Obi to Nigerians in his New Year’s address because, in his opinion, the politician from Anambra has undeniable credibility in all areas of leadership.
The endorsement, however, has drawn criticism from rival political parties, who stated that it was startling that lawmakers who had previously sought Obasanjo’s endorsement are now ignoring it as irrelevant.
Therefore, the human rights advocacy group urged candidates to be more tolerant of differing viewpoints.
The group, led by Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, its national coordinator, declared in a statement that “Constitutional democracy thrives under the atmosphere of the free exercise of the entire scopes of the fundamental human rights provisions enshrined in the Constitution and codified in the diverse international human rights laws, treaties and conventions signed by Nigeria and domesticated into our local statutes and laws.”
