Nigerians in the U.S. have appealed to political leaders back home to ensure they deliver on their campaign promises to the Nigerian people so as to alleviate their sufferings.
The Chairman, Board of the Organisation for the Advancement of Nigerians (OAN), Mr Yinka Dansalami, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in New York that Nigerian leaders should also be transparent and address corruption in the country.
Dansalami said failure to address corruption in the country could lead to agitation by the youth who “bear the brunt of unemployment the most.
“It is high time they (leaders) stopped corruption. If they don’t stop it, there is going to be agitation all the time,” he said.
“And if the youth don’t have jobs, there is going to be agitation. So, stop corruption. Leaders should also find a way of creating jobs for the citizens, especially the youth.’’
Dansalami urged Nigerians in the diaspora to be involved in politics, saying,“for those of us here, it is a high time we got involved; we don’t just sit on sidelines and allow things to pass by us.’’
He also advised Nigerians to “vote your conscience in 2023 elections. Vote for those you think will deliver. Vote those that care for your interests and your welfare.
“Do not vote someone who wants to give you a bag of rice, a bag of garri and that is what you are going to eat for the next four years.’’
Dansalami, also the Chairman, Nigeria Independence Day Committee, said OAN had been organising parades and carnivals annually to commemorate Nigeria’s independence in the U.S.
The Nigerian community leader said the annual parade commenced about three decades ago as part of an effort to challenge some negative stereotypes about Nigeria and Nigerians in the United States
Dansalami said the 2021 edition of the annual Parade and Carnival was celebrated only with the carnival component because of COVID-19.
“Hopefully, next year, we will be able to put at least 300,000 people on the street of New York to have both the parade and the carnival. Our target is to reach one million people,” he said.
He also spoke on ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire?’ segment of the virtual parade as part of the 2021 Independence Day events.
Dansalami explained that someone was able to answer questions worth about 750,000 naira in the programme that drew Nigerian participants from across the globe.
He expressed confidence that the organisers would improve on the programme in subsequent editions.