BUSINESS AND RIGHT TO DEVELOPMENT By Emmanuel Onwubiko

Once more Nigeria is in the global picture over issues relating to the activities of the International Crimes Court in The Hague, Netherlands following the visit on Monday of the Sudanese President General Omar Al-Bashir who is facing indictment and a subsisting international arrest warrant over war crimes he allegedly committed against the people of South Sudan which gained Independence only last July. 

The Sudanese dictator is visiting Nigeria to attend the global health programme on HIV/AIDS and the scourge of malaria which is being hosted by Nigeria at the behest of the African Union. Nigeria was urged by the International Crimes Court to arrest and hand over the visiting Sudanese President but Nigeria resisted on the ground that the African Union's resolution which grants General Al-Bashir immunity from arrest as a sovereign head of state is pending and subsisting.

In my column today, I am not concerned about the international politics of the International Crimes Court and the so-called indictment against some African leaders including that of Sudan and Kenya but my pre-occupation is n the practical ramifications of the concept of RIGHT TO DEVELOPMENT vis-à-vis the current government's transformation agenda and the fact that an enterprising young Nigerian citizen by name Mr. Timothy Onwughai has embraced this beautiful United Nations concept of Right to development to create a thriving business which is similar to a paint revolution to create employment opportunities for many young and upwardly mobile Nigerians in line with the transformation agenda f the Nigerian Government which is a salient component of the global concept of right to development.

Right to development was first recognized in 1981 in Article 22 [1] of the African Charter of Human and Peoples Rights as a definitive individual and collective right. Article 22[1] provides that; "all peoples SHALL have the right to their economic, social and cultural development with regards to their freedom and identity and in the equal enjoyment of the common heritage f humanity". Right to development was subsequently proclaimed in the United Nations resolution as a Declaration to Right to development and adopted by the United Nations General Assembly under Resolution number 41/128. The right to development is a group right of people opposed to individual right ad was reaffirmed by the 1993 Vienna Declaration and programme of action. Nigeria has consistently mainstreamed the right to development into the formulations and implementations of various policies aimed at encouraging and creating the enabling environment for the private sector to establish businesses that will create employment opportunities for the Nigerian youth and contribute significantly in the collective development of the nation's economy. 

It is with a view to maximize the benefits derivable from the right to development that Mr. Timothy Osaho Onwughai, a remarkable man doing remarkable things has become the arrowhead of the ongoing paint revolution in Nigeria. Armed with a top quality paint brand known as Sherwin-Williams, he seeks to give the city of Abuja and indeed the whole of Nigeria a fresh colorful look with his range of high quality imported paints. Looking unassuming in his Maitama office, he shared his vision for a colorful city of Abuja courtesy of the Sherwin-Williams range of specialized, durable paints in an interview with this columnist.

It is truly an awesome product. My company is introducing this new range of paint products into the Nigerian market. The name is Sherwin-Williams Paint Products, produced in the United States of America. It is on authoritative record today that Sherwin-Williams is rated the No. 2 paint brand, both in USA and across the entire globe.

Asked to relate the product to the all-important concept of right to development, Mr. Onwughai said "Yes, of course. The brand is the second best in the paint sector; the company employs the latest technology for paint-making".

He continued thus;   "Its uniqueness lies in the fact that Sherwin-Williams paints are 100% acrylic. This means they are of a far higher quality and more durable than most paint brands. It is also important to state that this range of paints is VOC-free. VOC is an acronym for ‘volcanic and organic components’. What VOC-free means is that these paints are free of these toxic materials that have the potential to harm human beings. You know that most times, when houses are painted, they have to be left vacant for days to enable the pungent fumes disperse away. However, with Sherwin-Williams paints, there is no need for this. House owners can pack into their houses the same day that the houses are painted."

He was full of praises to the President Goodluck Jonathan for creating the enabling environment for enterprising business persons to establish cottage industries to create economic multiplier effects on the nation's economy.

Timothy Onwughai used the opportunity of our meeting to educate my audience on how environmentally friendly his range of business products are to the nation's environment given the fact that emphasis is now on green environment to reduce the effects of climate change and global warming.  His words; "We have paints for automobiles and for aircrafts too. We have marine paints specially designed for ships and oil rigs, oil tankers, and for pipelines. This is very useful to the oil and gas sector. This paint eliminates the need for annual maintenance as it coats the pipes effectively, also acting as sealant. It prevents corrosion and seals all leakages in the pipeline".

 + Emmanuel Onwubiko; head; Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria and blogs     @www.huriwa.blogspot.com; http://www.huriwa.org/.

15/7/2013