HUMAN RIGHTS IS NOT A FOREIGN LANGUAGE. IT IS YOUR DAILY BREAD.

We throw around the words "human rights" like it is something for lawyers in suits in Abuja, or for people in Geneva on TV.It is not. Human right is when you wake up in the morning and you can speak your mind without fear that someone will knock on your door at night.Human right is when your small sister can walk to school and come back safe. Human right is when you go to the hospital sick, and they treat you first before they ask you to go and bring deposit. Human right is not big grammar. It is daily life with dignity. I have seen a man in a bus park being slapped by a policeman because he asked "why are you taking my phone?" No crime. Just a question. And everyone in the park looked away. We have trained ourselves to look away.We say "leave am, na police." We say "no put yourself for trouble." And slowly, we have normalized that some people have rights and others have privilege. But let me tell you the truth no one likes to say: A country where the poor cannot get justice is not a poor country, it is a broken country. Think about it. A child hawking pure water on a Tuesday morning when she should be in Primary 3 ; her right to education has been taken.A young boy kept in a cell for two years without trial because he cannot afford a lawyer ; his right to fair hearing has been taken. A woman beaten in her marriage and told by her family to "endure, na marriage be that" ; her right to safety and dignity has been taken. A graduate who submits 100 CVs and is told "bring 500k for slot" ; his right to equal opportunity has been taken. None of these things make loud noise. They don't trend. But they kill a country slowly, more than any bomb.And the painful part? We have become used to it. We beg for what should be given to us freely. We thank a governor for building a road with our money. We thank a senator for buying borehole with constituency allowance that is already ours. We thank people for doing their job. Because we have forgotten that we have rights. Human rights is not about being rude. It is not about fighting everybody. It is about remembering that you are a human being first, before you are a Nigerian, before you are Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa, before you are Christian or Muslim. You were born with value. Nobody gave you that value. So nobody should be able to take it.So what do we do? We start small. If you see someone being harassed, don't just bring out your phone to record. Ask, "Oga, what did this person do?" Your voice can be the shield someone needs.If you are an employer, pay people as humans, not as slaves. That your sales girl standing from 8am to 9pm for 25k — she has a right to rest. If you are a landlord, police officer, teacher, bus driver , in that small power you have, use it to protect, not to oppress. And if your own right is being violated, speak. Even if your voice shakes. Even if it is just to one person. Silence has never saved anyone.One day, that little child in the image; that small hand reaching for light will grow. What kind of country will she meet? One where her hand is pushed back down, or one where her hand is held?That decision is not for the President alone. It is for me and you. Because human rights will not come from Aso Rock. It will come from our bus stops, our markets, our homes, when we decide that every human being deserves to be treated as human.

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