We, the elite, deny Nigeria development, says Niger senator

Senator Aliyu Abdullahi representing Niger North has fingered the selfish tendencies of the elite, which he is part of, as cause of the country’s problems.He alleged that local government, as the third tier, only existed on paper, while the states squandered the finances meant for them.

Abdullahi made the speech during a press conference at the Senate Media Hall after sponsoring a bill on Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit and Local Government Finances.Governors, he said, have crippled local governments and the Houses of Assembly have held that tier of government at the jugular, to the extent that elections into the local councils are withheld and caretaker arrangements are foisted on the people, bypassing due process.

On the issue of federation, he asserted that there was always an elitist gang-up against the masses.“We bring in languages that were not created by us and we try to use them to punish our people. “I don’t understand. Today we are talking about federation; does poverty know federation? Does kidnapping respect those things you are talking about? Do the bandits and the terrorists respect that? They don’t.”

According to him, the whole idea is for the structure of governance to make division of labour possible.His words: “We have countries that do not have constitution, but everything is working; so why all the cry about constitution.“I have always maintained that if every single Nigerian would be honest to see himself implementing what the present constitution says, we would not see the problems we are encountering.”

The constitution says welfare and security are the primary purpose of governance, but how much of it have the leaders implemented? he queried.He touched on the issue of nepotism, which many Nigerians had been accusing the presidency of.

“Somebody will become a chief executive of a parastatal, and 150 out of 200 staff are from his family. Did the constitution say that is what he should do? The constitution is clear about it, but he is trampling on the constitution.”