From Christy Anyanwu in London
Adedamola Aminu, former mayor of London Borough of Lambeth is concerned about the situation in Nigeria, particularly education, lack of electricity, bad roads, exchange rates, among others.
Looking at his sojourn in UK, he disclosed that he started his political tenure, when he was elected Councillor of the Labour Party to represent Tulse Hill Ward, Brixton, Lambeth where he served for 12 years and later elected Deputy Mayor in 2013-2014 and later served as the Mayor of Lambeth in 2014-2015.
He has been the President of Association of Nigerian Academics UK (ANAUK) from 2009 to date.
He is the author of a book: Nigerian-British politician in United Kingdom and Ireland.
Aminu is also the principal partner of a Management Training and Consultancy Limited, as well as the director of Emerald Care and Services Limited.
Recently, he was a recipient of an award tagged: Most Distinguished Ibadan Indigene UK (2022).
He spoke with Sunday Sun in his Brixton office, looking at politics in the UK, Nigeria, the way forward in the 2023 elections in Nigeria, among other issues.
As a former Mayor in the UK, what does the role entails?
The duty of Mayor is just to chair the Council meeting and to represent the Borough within the Borough and outside the Borough as number one citizen. Most of our role as a Mayor is ceremonial. Attending meetings, events, opening offices, shops, and supporting the community generally That is our responsibilities as Mayors. It’s more or less ceremonial, but at the same time we are the chair of the council so when the Council wants to sit for a meeting the Mayor chairs that meeting.
What led you to become a Mayor?
The only way you can change things and make it better is to get involved. As I have said, being an academician myself, many years ago, I was looking for a good school for my son. I couldn’t find a good one within the Borough. I said it’s not good enough, I need to do something about it. I became a school governor. School governor are people that run the school with the teachers and head teachers. We advise, we guide, and we support the teaching staff in terms of the standard, finance, implements about school and things like that. This is where we have a say and influence how things are run within the schools. I became a school governor and after that, I said that may not be enough, let me start as a Councilor where I have more to say in policies that affect everything within the Borough and that is why I joined politics and became a Councilor. Before you can become a Mayor you have to be elected as a Councilor first and I was elected in 2006. The first year, I was a Deputy Mayor and after the tenure of the previous one, I now took over as the Mayor of the Borough. Funny enough, I was the first Nigerian to become the Mayor of Lambert. It’s good experience that wherever you live you have to be part of the system.
Having stayed in the UK for years as a politician and seeing what is happening in your country, Nigeria, what do you intend to do, any hope of returning to Nigeria someday?
Of course. No place like home. I have hope of returning to Nigeria. Though I do travel to Nigeria most of the time not less than twice a year. Sometimes three or four times a year depending on what I have to do. I believe in Nigeria and I have hope for Nigeria, I believe things can be better. What I can say of Nigeria is that the politicians we have in Nigeria, both past and present, have done their best, but it is not good enough. Look at the state of Nigeria now, things are not going on well. Things are getting worst. The teachers are on strike now for almost five months , no electricity, business cannot thrive without electricity, road is bad, government is not providing water either, so what is their role when they call themselves government, when ordinary citizens cannot benefit anything. They cannot see what you are doing to make life easier, to make life better for them. For me, all the people parading themselves for the next election, many of them have been in government for many years, in and out in some cases. What have they done to make life easier for the people? So when people want to cast their votes, they ought to start asking them questions. You have been there before what did you do? The way they cross carpet, they jump from one party to the other that means they don’t have principles, they don’t have clear objective of what they want to do for the people. If you believe in one party manifesto or principles because you didn’t get a seat or offer a political position, maybe you want to contest as a governor or chairman or house of assembly or president, if they can’t get it in one party, they cross to another party. If people behave like that, that means they don’t have the interest of the people at heart. They are only interested about themselves hence jumping from one party to the other. We need to change that. For me, the current crop of politicians we have, I think they have failed Nigerians. They tried their best but their best is not good enough because life is not getting better for ordinary citizens in Nigeria.
Then what are the Diaspora doing to help?
Over the years we have tried to engage with them. Either in areas of training, workshop, partnership, or collaboration to do things together. We are doing well in a foreign land, how come Nigeria is not using the pool of talents they have in the Diaspora either in the UK , America, Europe or any part of the world. We have Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM). For me, NIDCOM, I don’t understand their role. We have distinguished Nigerian nurses, doctors, engineers, architects, academicians, are they engaging these individuals or groups. Okay, let’s work together, what you need for you to come to Nigeria and offer your service. In some cases, the Diasporas are not asking for the government to pay for everything they want to do, but if the Diaspora’s said okay, meet us halfway – maybe to pay for our flights or few days I’m going to stay to implement few things to work together. Just pay for accommodation and flight, because they are coming to use their knowledge to better things in Nigeria. Are they ready to do that? No. We have been talking of Diaspora voting for many years, this is 2022 and nothing has happened. You need our money, but when it comes to having a say in the affairs of our country they knock us off. All the Senators and House of Reps members, they keep on postponing things and nothing happened. If they really value the contribution of the Diaspora they need to engage us more. And they need to look out for the key stakeholders within the Nigeria Diaspora who have excelled. These are the people you need to bring back home and if they don’t want to come back home find a middle way where they can work together to make changes and get things better in Nigeria. Not until that is done, I don’t think we are moving forward. In terms of representatives, here in the UK, they gave us the influence to be elected as member of Parliament, as a Councilor, as a Mayor without discrimination that we are Africans. In the UK, they look at what you can offer and the quality of what you can do to make life better for your area. But in Nigeria , they will tell you, you are from the South, you are from the East, you are from the West etc, you are Christian, you are Muslim, all these things will not help Nigeria to grow. We are just saying one Nigeria. Nigeria has never been one. Nigeria is still divided based on ethnicity, religion.
2023 is by the corner, what’s your take on Muslim-Muslim ticket or Christian-Christian ticket?
I don’t think that should be a problem provided the candidates are good ones, experienced ones and they have good CV. To me, we shouldn’t bring religion into politics. For me, I don’t have problem with that. What if I’m the best candidate and I’m a Muslim that means I cannot be in that position. The problem is that the way things are in Nigeria we don’t see each other as one. Look at the current situation in the country in terms of “appointments”, it’s lopsided, its skewed to the North. The South is crying, the West is crying and the East is crying that their people are neglected. You cannot run a country where some people are ignored or neglected. For me, it’s about fairness, it’s about equality, and whatever you want to do you should be fair with everybody. Not just based it on tribe, look for the best. I don’t care where people come from , if I’m the president of Nigeria today, I don’t care where you come from, I care about what you can offer, what you can do to make life easier for ordinary citizens. That is what I care about. If you are the best person I will give it to you but you have to deliver. But Nigeria’s case is based on tribe, religion and on who you know. It happens everywhere, but the degree at which it happens in Nigeria is just alarming.
We heard in some quarters that there might be a Diaspora party to contest for election in Nigeria, how true is this?
The Diaspora party is projection for 2027.We would have a Diaspora party that would be registered in Nigeria. But most of the candidates in the party will be people in the Diaspora because we are not going to play the type of money politics they are playing in Nigeria. We have credible candidates, people with good CV, good background, who really want to come to serve Nigeria, not like the recycled politicians. Election is coming in 2023, why do you want to vote for a candidate that has been there; all they do is share money, give you bag of rice, oil and N5,000. For instance, I would suggest people should vote for ADC because most of the candidates there are more or less new. They are not recycled ones, they might not be perfect, but most of the candidates coming out from that party are people of like-minds that want to do things differently. Let’s try ADC, I’m saying this not because I know people there. I have a lot of friends in People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and in All Progressives Congress (APC), but I think enough is enough in terms of the same people representing us from 1999 when the new democracy started in Nigeria. If you look at the crop of politicians, they have been there since 1999. They are still there up till now. I think it’s time to change that team to new ones. That’s why I’m rooting for ADC. The crop of people there are new. Let’s see what they can offer and then compare to the old politicians that are making life difficult for people in Nigeria.
What is your advice to uneducated electorate for 2023?
The system has failed them. Everybody suffers in Nigeria. Whether you are a civil servant, police officer, or you run your own business, the system has failed everyone. From my academic background, how can you expect teachers to be on strike for so long and government didn’t say anything? They send their children abroad and they come here to attend their children graduation, neglecting the education sector in Nigeria. We are saying we want to come and work in partnership with them to improve the education in Nigeria, but they are not listening to us. We send them proposals, they sit on it, or they will expect you to give them something before anything is done. Is that life? Is that how to get things improved. My heart aches when I think about Nigeria. The opportunities are there to get things better. Use the pool of resources and talent you have got all over the world to make that country a great nation, but our leaders don’t care. It’s about themselves and their family alone. What I know is that we come with nothing and we go with nothing. All these wealth they are acquiring, if you drop dead today that is the end of it. Look at the education system in Nigeria, children should talk to their parents to vote wisely and ignore the old politicians. They are the problem of that nation. My heart bleeds when I think of Nigeria. They cannot continue their academics because of strike and for the graduates, no employment, their parents still have to feed and clothe them. Is that life?