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A Nigerian-British Councillor in the UK, Adedamola Aminu has said that the system of democracy in Nigeria needs to be overhauled to make it service-oriented and make politicians accountable to the people.
In an interview with the Daily Trust in London, Aminu, who is chairman of Nigerian-British councillors described Nigeria’s democratic situation as “really sad” because elected representatives are not serving their people or communities, and are not accessible to them.
“If you stay far away, how are you going to be close to the people? How are you going to understand their problems?”
“I think it should be made as part of conditions to stand for election that you must live in the constituency that elects you”, he suggested.
He also suggested that the councillorship positions should be made part-time because in spite of the huge money they are paid, “they are still doing nothing” and not making positive impact on people’s lives.
“They should have a job and still serve their people (part time). And if they want to do it full time as they have it now, people should be able to feel a big difference”, he stressed.
On the state of insecurity in Nigeria, Councillor Aminu stated that trust and intelligence were vital in checkmating the menace of Boko Haram and other acts of criminality in the country.
“They say report to the police, but people don’t trust the police because if you report to them, your identity may be revealed. But if you have numbers which people should call for free without being identified, people would be feeling free to report crimes to the authorities.”
Author: Chief Editor
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