The Nexus of Freedom, Human Rights and Poverty in Nigeria’s Democratic Experience

Abstract

The problems of poverty and corrupt practices are some of the fundamental challenges of Nigeria's democratic
experience. Poverty represents a lack of material possessions or the necessities of life. Nigeria's democratic
experience is characterized by some kleptocratic practices such as elitist regime, godfatherism, monetized politics
and the looting of Nigeria's national treasury. This paper aims to reveal that some political leaders have infringed
upon the freedoms and rights of Nigerians through democratic manoeuvres. The spirit of this paper is that freedom
and rights are essential elements for human emancipation. Today's political leadership in Nigeria is in a pitiable
condition. The Nigerian elites see poverty as a weapon to subjugate the freedoms and rights of the Nigerian people.
This paper advocates the need for Nigeria's democratic stabilization and economic liberalization. The infringement
on the freedoms and rights of Nigerian citizens has been a challenge that ought to be holistically addressed by
democratic stabilization and economic liberalization. This paper adopts the analytical framework and hermeneutical
methodology to discuss the nexus of freedom, human rights, and poverty in Nigeria. The findings, however, show that
Nigeria lacks an ideological direction, legal framework and effective political structure. Democratic sustainability is
the only solution to Nigeria's current socio-political, economic and security challenges. This paper concludes that the
gross violation of human rights has serious negative implications for Nigeria. This paper, however, recommends that
the Nigerian government should reduce poverty to its barest minimum by ensuring social welfare schemes to
ameliorate the plights of the Nigerian people.