Scholars Question Religiosity at HAPSTA Conference

---participants urge Human Rights Education promotion

The important positions human rights occupy in the quest for development in Africa have been recently emphasised. This was reiterated on Saturday 17th August at the 2013 HAPSTA International Conference held at Roseboom Hotel and Resorts, Eket where scholars converged to discuss Africa’s quest for development in the 21st century. 

At the conference with the theme ‘Superstition, Human Rights and Development in Africa’ organised by the Humanist Association for Peace and Social Tolerance Advancement (HAPSTA), issues pertinent to development were examined by scores of scholars from various institutions who presented papers bothering on pervading superstition and prevalent human rights violation at the face of notorious religiosity in the continent. Some of the scholars argued that religiosity should be played down if development is to be sustained in Africa.

Presenters at the conference include Dr. Essien Essien Daniel, Dr. Hassan Bello Ann Medekong, Adeyemi Johnson Ademowo, Umoh Umoh, Barr. Pius Madaki, Akpan Promise Asuquo,  Ediomo-Ubong E. Nelson, Adegoke Peter Damilola, Diana-Abasi Ibanga, Abdul Hassan Bello, Anthonia Essien, Ayobami Ojedokun, Elegbede Babatunde, Anthonia Essien, Osagbemi Olumide, Temidayo Oladipo, Uchechukwu Ilo, George Ogbonna Mbarah and Tola Layode.

In all, the conference can be adjudged to have made the projected impact because new ways of combating the witchcraft menace were discussed and it affords like-minds the opportunity to meet for the sake of secularism, human rights and development in Africa

HAPSTA Increases Staff/Volunteers’ Capacity to Fight Stigmatisation

Humanist Association for Peace and Social Tolerance Advancement (HAPSTA) upped efforts to fight superstition and eradicate the stigmatisation of children accused of witchcraft by expanding the frontier of knowledge of her staff and the alert volunteers at a training which took place at the CRARN/HAPSTA Transit Centre Eket on Friday 16th August 2013. The staff and the alert volunteers were trained on strategies of sensing and identifying dangerous situation(s) threatening to the life and wellbeing of the children.

According to one of the organisers of the training, Mr. Ayobami Ojedokun, the need for increasing the capacity of the personnel is expedient at this time due to the changing patterns of child abuse and witch labeling observed in recent times; therefore, the volunteers needed to be kept abreast of time in order to understand the changes. The training had in attendance trainers who are social workers, experts in science education and scholars in the field of culture; among whom are Adegoke Damilola, ’Tola Layode, Adeyemi Ademowo, Oladipo Temidayo among others.

The annual staff/alert volunteers training is funded by HAMU, Norway.

HAPSTA 2013 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

Theme: 
SUPERSTITION, HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA
Speakers include:

Ann Medekong 
AdeyemiJohnson Ademowo
Umoh Umoh
Barr. Pius Madaki, "Legal Incuberances
Akpan Promise Asuquo
Yomi Ogunsanya
Ediomo-Ubong E. Nelson, et. al
Adegoke Peter Damilola
Diana-Abasi Ibanga
Abdul Hassan Bello
Ayobami Ojedokun
Elegbede Babatunde
Essien Essien Daniel
Osagbemi Olumide
Temidayo Oladipo
Ajigboye Oyeniyi
Uchechukwu Ilo

George Ogbonna Mbarah
Anthonia Essien
Tola Layode
Moruff Mudashiru

Date: 16-17th August, 2013

Venue: Roseboom Hotel and Resorts, Eket/Oron Road, Eket, Akwa-Ibom State

Time: 9:00am - 6:00pm

Participation is free!
In conjunction with CRARN, Eket
Sponsored in full by HAMU, Norway (including the book that will be published afterwards!)

O’HAWK Town-Hall Meeting Kicks Off In Ekiti

The HAMU supported project – Omuo Humanist Against Witch-Killing and Stigmatisation (O’HAWK) of the Humanist Association for Peace and Social Tolerance Advancement (HAPSTA) kick started its series of town hall meetings with the people of Omuooke-Ekiti and the Kota-Ekiti Youths. The enlightenment meetings tagged ‘Safeguarding Human Rights and Addressing Superstition for the Sake of Development’ were successful as they bore immediate fruits.

As the people of Omuooke-Ekiti celebrate the new yam festival with the traditional breaking of new yam by his Highness, Oba Valentine Otitoju, on Tuesday 30th July, 2013, the members of the community were enlightened on the need to protect ‘accused witches’ rights as failure to do so retards development. The people of the town who gathered in large number at the palace of Oba Otitoju were sensitised on human rights, evils of superstition and the quest for development in modern Nigeria. The message generated debate among the people as they were divided on the ‘supposed rights of accused witches’, however, the enthusiasm showed by some of the audience who volunteered to partner with the organisation on the promotion and protection of the rights of accused persons testifies to the optimism that the meeting would go a long way to affect the orientation of members of the community positively.

Earlier on Monday 29th July, the youths of Kota-Ekiti, a neighbouring community that shares border with Omuooke-Ekiti, were enlightened on the same subject by members of the organisation. The youths numbering about fifty four (54) at the NURTW Hall, Kota, the venue of the Youth Town Hall meeting questioned the appropriateness of allocating any rights to accused witches and the protection of such when the ‘accused witches’ are perceived as enemies of the good people of the community. Their question was however answered by bringing to their understand, the fundamental issue that the ‘accused witches’ are primarily human and so has the rights as every other humans regardless of what they are being accused of, and hence, their rights must be guaranteed and protected.

The youths who at the end of the enlightenment meeting showed appreciable understanding of the universal allocation of rights exhibited their understanding by volunteering. The meeting produced five (5) volunteers.

As a testimony to the success of the meetings, Major E. K. Ogunsakin (rtd), an indigene of Araromi Quarter in the area and a man considered as the custodian of “peoples’ rights” met and discussed with members of the organisation and promised his full support for the organisation on the project.

- By Seun and Babatunde (O'HAWK)