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“…the political will that has been lacking will be influenced so that Nigerians abroad can be able to vote and be voted for.”
Perpetua Egesimba
Olawale Odutoye is the United Kingdom Coordinator, Legacy Initiative International, a socio-political organisation. He speaks on Nigeria politics.
What efforts are you and those in the Diaspora making to move Nigeria forward?
Legacy is not the first initiative I have been involved with to move Nigeria forward. I remember when the former president, Olusegun Obasanjo was the president, we came together to form a group because we liked his leadership skills, which we called Obasanjo Leadership Forum. The aim was to bring responsible Nigerians together and seek good governance. When he left, we set up Umaru Musa Yar’Adua/ Jonathan Leadership Forum. I was one of the major conveners, we were always on target about issues that concern the country and what could benefit the masses. We brought some professionals together and researched on the lasting solution to the electricity problem in Nigeria. Then, I met with the former president, Yar’Adua but unfortunately, he died. What we achieved then was to advise him that, you cannot be generating, distributing and transmitting at the same time. When the Jonathan government came in, he built on the advice we gave to Yar’Adua and that is why we have the Ibadan and other Discos today. These are the efforts that those of us in the Diaspora are making. We believe hat Nigeria is our country, that we have no other place to call home. Hence, we have always been on this project.
The need for Diaspora voting
Election is just around the corner. Don’t you think the formation of this group, Legacy, is coming late?
It is not late. We have our short, medium and long time projects. What we have now is for the election and thereafter. What we seek is good governance. Part of what we want to achieve is for Nigerians in the Diaspora to vote. That is on course. As far back as 2007, we won the case in court for Nigerians in the Diaspora to be able to cast their votes. That nobody will be disenfranchised but it is just the implementation which we believe with the calibre of people on Legacy, the political will that has been lacking will be influenced so that Nigerians abroad can be able to vote and be voted for.
Do you think that Nigerians in the Diaspora are interested and are aware of what is happening politically in the country?
I need to correct the impression that most people in the Diaspora are not aware of the political happenings back home. I will tell you that we are more aware than the people back home. And that is because we have constant electricity, to be able to get more information. I remember that most times, I am the first to tell most of our people that this is what is happening. Nigerians in the Diaspora loves this country and they are interested in the things about this country. That is why you see our politicians coming to London and other places to campaign. You will be surprised to find out that every political party here have their affiliations in London and the US.
Our problem as Nigerians is that we don’t experience things, we only perceive most of the time based on what people say. We could be practicing democracy in Nigeria but we are not participating. So Legacy Initiative has always been, let’s sensitise people to know that they are important. The little you can contribute is to go and vote. If you are not part of those voting, then you will be part of those suffering because, there will always be an implication of you not voting.
Now, over there in the diasporas, people wants to participate more because, there should be joy in voting. We have left it for the riffraff and miscreants for too long. If most of us can come down during elections, this is the perfect time. Let’s come around and stay in the crowd and convince people that the N200 the politicians are giving out will not change their lives but their votes will have a lasting implication. Legacy is about changing the attitude of the people towards governance.
What kind of president would you want for Nigeria next month?
We want a president that would think of himself as a servant to the people, a president that is ready to serve the needs and yearnings of the people. A president that can articulate what governance is all about. A president that can be able to reach out to the people when there is any crisis and also a president that will be able to know what is happening to a hungry man in a village in Adamawa, not a president that is sitting in Aso Rock. We want an active president that has good relationship with people in the House of Assembly and the Senate. And know how the country can move forward.
