'Nigerians in UK not okay with agitation for Biafra'
Sodiq Oyeleke
A Nigeria-born British politician, Dr. Abbey Akinoshun, has expressed the dissatisfaction of Nigerians in the United Kingdom over the renewed agitation for Biafra.
He said this at the second series and public lecture tagged, 'Bi-cameral legislature in a developing economy: burdens and benefits' organised by the Campus Connect Initiative in Osun.
Akinoshun, who was the Green Party's parliamentary candidate at the concluded 2015 general election in UK, urged the Federal Government to ensure equal representation in governance.
He said, "In the UK, we are not okay with the recent agitation for Biafra. When people feel marginalised, they will protest and that is why there should be able to produce their own representation to avoid protest.
"In Nigeria, we should be talking about quality and not tribe but we won't be happy to see everyone from a region. The position of the constitution should be acknowledged and worked towards so that everybody can feel represented. Any tribe that is aggrieved or marginalised will not contribute to the development of the country."
While hailing President Muhammad Buhari move against corruption, Akinoshun lamented that there was need to review the salary being paid to Nigeria lawmakers.
He urged Nigerians to emulate the West on the part of ensuring that legislators get sentenced for offences such as public in-transparency.
He added, "In the United Kingdom, we are applauding what President Buhari is doing against corrupt politicians, who are now running helter-skelter. I think that this is the starting point. Nigeria senators are not doing much and are the highly paid. Nigeria politics lacks transparency. We want to see more open process where constituents can know how much their representatives are earning.
"Some Nigeria politicians come and buy housed that takes us (public office holders in United Kingdom) 25 years to buy. It won't mention names, but they bought them cash down. The houses are locked up because they only come there once or twice in a year."
President of Campus Connect Initiative, Mr. Awosusi Kehinde, noted that the programme was organised to address lacuna in governance.
Written by NEWSTRAWL ONLINE UPDATE
Sodiq Oyeleke is a Media, Human Resources, Project Management and Public Relations Practitioner
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