Fundamental human rights are rights every person in a country enjoys by virtue of being human. Examples of fundamental human rights are; the right to live, the right to property, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and so on. Fundamental human rights are entrenched in the constitution of a country. Sadly, these fundamental rights are mere words on paper in some countries. These rights are meant to ensure free and fair governance in a country. In so many countries in the world (my country is not an exception), citizens are deprived of their rights and no one is doing anything about it. Over the years, news of protests about rights deprivation has filled the air in so many countries.
Every day, humans are poised with countless choices. We are faced with the decision to choose between two things. Deciding on which alternative to go for can sometimes be a messy tug of war. Have you ever been in a situation where you had to spend hours deciding on what to choose between two equally important things? Like, working a job you love but for less pay, or a job you don’t like but for more pay. Choosing between taking fifty million instantly, or 5 thousand dollars every day till the end of time. These are “this or that” choices that we sometimes face in our daily activities.
Choosing between two equally important fundamental human rights is a big decision to make. It is not the type of decision you make hastily, but the type that requires good decision-making skills. To make this type of decision, we have to organize our thought processes and carefully consider our options.
Choosing between one’s freedom of speech and right to privacy is the last decision citizens of any given country would choose to make. These are equally important rights. There’s no doubt that these rights are important to citizens. Forgoing one right for the other is really a tough decision to make. Losing your right to privacy means everyone would have access to your business, even your personal life. It is like putting a huge amount of money into a big house with no doors. Losing your right to privacy means anyhow can have access to marital decisions, financial decisions, the list goes on and on. Again, it is like opening a hive account, working on it, and later, publishing your keys out in one of your posts.
In the same vein, freedom of speech is equally important. Citizens express their grievances on certain itchy subjects in their country, this is because freedom of speech is entrenched in their constitution. Losing your freedom of speech means you get trampled on over and over again and cannot do anything about it. It is like having your voice locked up and your opinions tied up to a Baobab tree.
As I mentioned earlier, freedom of speech and the right to privacy are equally important fundamental human rights. If I were to choose between these rights I would go for the right to privacy. Yes! I would sacrifice my freedom of speech for my right to privacy. When making these types of decisions, it is important to consider one’s country. Here in my country, it is safer and wiser to choose your right to privacy and forgo freedom of speech.
Here in my country, it is boldly written in the constitution that citizens have the right to express their grievances. Citizens have the freedom of speech and the police are your friend, so they say. So, why do people lose their lives in the process of expressing their grievances? Citizens voice out when policies and decisions made by the government aren’t favorable. If it is their right, why should they get slaughtered for doing it?
2020 was a messy year for humans, especially Nigerians. After dealing with Covid-19, the country got into another state of turbulence. Police brutality got to its peak. The citizens could not bear it any longer and they had to express their grievances. EndSARS protest, we tagged it. Till today, Nigerians still remember the fallen heroes who lost their lives during the EndSARS protest. What wrongs did the citizens do? Expressing their grievances, is that a new crime? Why open fire on unarmed people? What a cruel and sad world we live in. A few years ago, I also experienced what freedom of speech could get you in this country.
I go to school at a university where the power supply is extremely poor. How do you expect students to learn well in an environment with poor electricity? We wrote so many letters to the government, but they all fell on deaf ears. We decided to switch things up a little bit by protest. A peaceful protest. In return, we got nothing but bloodshed. I know there are disadvantages to choosing to lose your freedom of speech. However, in my opinion, forgoing your freedom of speech for your right to privacy is the better option.
Thanks for reading.