2015 Elections: Dabiri-Erewa Seeks End To 'Tragic' Leadership
ABUJA, July 26, (THEWILL) - Chairman of the Federal House Representatives Committee on Diaspora Affairs, Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa has urged all Nigerians, both home and abroad, to prepare ahead of the 2015 general elections, because the country deserves a change for the better.
Dabiri-Erewa, who spoke in Abuja at the 2012 Diaspora Day celebration, expressed disappointment that the country could be lagging behind in all facets of development despite its enormous human and material resources.
“Year 2015 is not far away. You need to be involved. You don't necessarily have to contest but be part of the process. Demand for your rights as Nigerians. We don't need violence but we need peaceful change,” she said.
“It is a shame that some of the best doctors in the world are Nigerians yet our hospitals are in a despicable state; it is a shame of nation that the best railway engineer is a Nigerian yet our railway cannot function; it is shame that some of the best academics in the world are Nigerians but our schools are in a terrible condition.”
She lamented that the country lacks good leadership that could transform the lives of ordinary Nigerians.
“What is wrong with us? I believe to an extent that it boils down to bad leadership. The tragedy is that it is going to happen again if you don't demand for that change. You have to demand for it.
“What happened in Edo State was not about party; but the people just decided that there should be no more godfatherism, no more selection, no more imposition and it happened.”
Dabiri-Erewa disclosed that the Diaspora committee was working assiduously to ensure the passage of the Diaspora commission bill into law, adding that the time has come for Nigerians in Diaspora to be given the opportunity to vote.
“I want to assure you that the Diaspora Commission bill will still be introduced in the House and we will ensure that it is passed into law.”
Earlier in his welcome address, secretary of the Nigeria Diaspora Alumni Network (NIDAN), Engr. Suleiman Yakubu Bassi disclosed that there are about 3.25 million Nigerians living in America out of which, 115,000 are medical personnels, 174,000 are IT professionals, 87,000 pharmacists, 49,500 engineers and over 250,000 legal, financial and real estate professionals.
He said what is expected from government is to create an enabling environment for Diaspora participation in national development. He said the “Bangalore magic, the Irish wonders, and the American dreams will be repeated here in Nigeria through our brain gain, and generations yet unborn will remember us as having built an everlasting bridge of hope for this nation.”