A 300-level Law Student of the University of Abuja, Mr Adeyemi Sky, has won the Amnesty International and French Embassy Debate competition for students in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The debate was organised by Amnesty International in partnership with the French Embassy to commemorate the 2024 International Law Day and to advocate rights to education.
Ms Barbara Magaji, Programme Manager at Amnesty International, who spoke during the competition on Tuesday in Abuja, said that every child had the right to education irrespective of location or economic power.
“Today is the International Law Day; and to commemorate the day with the French Embassy in Nigeria, we have partnered to organise this debate.
“As an organisation committed to promoting human rights, Amnesty International believes that the debate would improve legal knowledge and raise awareness on human rights.
“The programme equally serves as a platform for students to engage in critical discussions that will challenge the status quo and propose actionable solutions on educational rights.
“The event is also important because these students get to know their rights and how to demand for it and safeguard it,” she said.
Magaji said that certain rights were attached to every human being-which should not be considered as privileges that could only be granted by others-but rights that were deserved and should be demanded for.
According to her, education is one of such rights which should be demanded especially by young people.
Magaji advocated that access to education should not be restricted or limited to big cities alone but should be made available and accessible to everyone irrespective of location or social strata.
On her part, the Cooperation Attaché at the French Embassy, Ketty Ris, said that education was a fundamental human right recognised globally.
According to her, article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child all affirm every child’s right to education.
“With more than 18.5 million children out of school, 60 per cent of them girls, this is a sad record and not just a statistic, but the unrealised potential of millions of young people whose future depends on realising their right to education.
“Through this debate, we aim to encourage critical thinking and advocacy skills in tomorrow’s young leaders.
“As we continue the debates, let us not forget that education is not a privilege, but a right; it is the foundation on which societies are built; essential to developing a peaceful, prosperous, and just world,” she said.
Dr Nasir Muktar, Director of Clinical Legal Education at the University of Abuja, said the right to education was embedded in the constitution and should be enforced through frameworks.
Muktar said that there was need to adopt local education system in order to meet Nigeria’s indigenous system, culture and people.
On his part, the 300-level law student and debate winner, called for more budgetary allocation to education.
“UNESCO advises that more than 15 to 20 per cent should be given to the educational sector, which is not being complied with; and it is leading us to having so many children who are not going to school,” he said.
Mr Shigusa Dankudara, winner of the Secondary School debate segment, commended the organisers of the debate for the imitative and called for continuity to broaden the horizon and boost learning.
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