I am miffed about the attention-seeking attitudes of the human right groups in Nigeria. I make bold to say that they are good at fighting causes that direct attention to their groups rather than engaging in moves that will make life more abundant for the average Nigerian.
Why this perception of mine? Months back when a man was arrested for naming his dog Buhari in Sango Ota, Ogun State, more than five human and social right groups announced that his rights had been trampled upon and that they had taken up his battle.
The recent seizure of rice by the Customs Service, ban on second-hand vehicles and the recent opening of the Obasanjo Presidential Library have all drawn their attention. They want the government to see them as the credible opposition to all its moves.
Itinerant traders popular called Alajapa have, for over four years now, been crying aloud that that the revenue regime in Ogun State is literarily killing their business and seriously contributing to the high cost of food in markets.
For about two years now, they have been on radio stations in Ogun State almost on a daily basis, making their cases public and asking for help from all Nigerians to appeal to government for a clampdown on illegal and irrelevant tickets on the roads but nobody seems to care.
I am of the belief that if the human and social right groups were actually fighting for the masses, they should have been at the forefront of any move to save local traders from bad government policies.
Abiodun Rauph
Sango Ota,
Ogun State.
and then