Realizing The Right To Development In Nigeria: An Examination Of Legal Barriers And Challenges

Abstract

The United Nations General Assembly has, through several
Conventions, emphasized the need for the full realization of the right
to development, alongside the rights to food and clean water, the right to
shelter and the right to housing. According to the United Nations, if
Economic Social and Cultural Rights (ESCR) are violated, the right to
development is also violated. However, the realization of ESCRs in
Nigeria continues to face challenges, therefore, the realization of
development remains germane both in Nigeria and the international
community at large. The search for development in Nigeria, therefore,
requires the grasping of the conceptualized Right to Development (RTD),
and dealing with the barriers and legal challenges, which affect the
realization of the RTD. This article, therefore, aims to analyse the content,
commitment, and nature of the right to development and examines the
barriers to its implementation in Nigeria. The article discusses problems
such as governmental corruption, lack of resources, lack of institutional
capacity, poverty, internal conflicts, judicial performance, lack of
implementation and enforcement of laws, and concludes that the goals of
sustainable development in Nigeria cannot be fully realized without a
conscious effort towards reduction in corruption which can practically
serve as a panacea for achieving meaningful development.