COVID-19 AND FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN RIGHTS: PROJECTING NIGERIA'S LEADERSHIP RESPONSE TO THE PANDEMIC

Gbenga Owoeye (), Olanrewaju O.P. Ajakaiye, Kehinde Abdul-AfeesAyantunji, Racheal Ojeka-John, Jubilee Apalowo, Oluwakemi E. Akerele, Oladapo Joy Kem and Ayanrinde Racheal Tijesunimi
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Gbenga Owoeye: Department of Political Science and International Relations, Postal: Landmark University, Omu-Aran
Olanrewaju O.P. Ajakaiye: Department of Mass Communication, Postal: Landmark University Omu-Aran
Kehinde Abdul-AfeesAyantunji: Department of Mass Communication, Postal: University of Ilorin, Kwara State
Racheal Ojeka-John: Department of Mass Communication, Postal: Landmark University Omu-Aran
Jubilee Apalowo: Department of Mass Communication, Postal: Landmark University Omu-Aran
Oluwakemi E. Akerele: Department of Mass Communication, Postal: Landmark University Omu-Aran
Oladapo Joy Kem: Department of Political Science and International Relations, Postal: Landmark University, Omu-Aran
Ayanrinde Racheal Tijesunimi: Department of Political Science and International Relations, Postal: Landmark University, Omu-Aran

Ilorin Journal of Business and Social Sciences, 2021, vol. 23, issue 2, 122-129

Abstract: This paper examined the Nigeria's political leadership response to covid-19 pandemic within the context of the country's constitutional provisions of the protection and, respect for people's fundamental human rights as contained in the 1999 constitution.The entrenchment of fundamental human rights is whatdifferentiate democratic governance from other forms of government.The opposite,therefore, could have a telling impact on the basic rights of citizens as was recorded at the peak of the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome popularly known as “Covid-19” in early part of 2020. In response to the international health concern, Nigeria political leadershipjust like other countries of the World on the 29th of March 2020 officially took a drastic decision of total lockdown of the country to slow down the spread of the virus.The study, however, interrogated the current state of Nigeria's political leadership attitude towards respect and protection of human rights,such as rights to movement, and assemblage in the face of the global health challenge. Utilizing secondary data, andadopting the interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA), we gained access into scholarly views of the subject matter.The study further examined the major question of how Nigeria political leaders have fared in upholding the rights of citizen. We found out that there were obvious instances of human rights violation during the pandemic. This paper's finding is at variance with the constitutional provisions for human rights protection.The paper recommends that government should continue to sensitize, orientate, and appeal to people's conscience through various platforms on the danger of the pandemic in a consistent manner, against the use of force and intimidation. An expeditious approach of fighting the pandemic is also recommended.

Keywords: COVID-19; Nigeria; Human Rights; Leadership; Response. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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