Nigerians in the United Kingdom have called on political leaders in Nigeria to Focus on good governance and pay less attention to the 2015 elections.
While expressing their expectations from the Nigerian government in 2014, they called for security of lives and property and modest politics.
They stressed the need for the government to focus on restoring the confidence of Nigerians home and abroad in their ability to deliver on the promises of development.
The view of many of them who spoke with Channels Television’s UK correspondent, Doris Okenwa, was that the rising opposition movement should focus on ideologies and not mudslinging” they said.
For some of them, insecurity, political wrangling, inequality, corruption and infrastructural deficits were some major challenges that stood out in 2013.
A PHD Student of University of Leicester, Genevieve Bosah, said that the insecurity in the northern part of Nigeria was giving Nigerians in UK great concern.
“Let there be jobs. We keep hearing about different programmes, different movements. But yes, let there be an increase. Let Nigeria be able to compete with the world and not just Africa.
“Now, on corruption, let us understand what our money is being used for. Let the people responsible for this corruption problem be dealt with,” she emphasised.
The Nigerian High Commission to the United Kingdom, Dalhatu Tafida, emphasised that attaining grater status of security would enable Nigerians grow the economy.
Also speaking on governance in Nigeria, the Chief Executive Officer, Business in Africa UK, Christian Udechukwu, called on the opposition parties in Nigeria to offer Nigerians a better option.
He said: “It is not enough for people to say there is an opposition. What does it mean to have one and what are they offering that is different from what the ruling party is offering.
“That is a sort of quality of debate because most of what we find these days is that people say; oh, the Peoples Democratic Party has not done this, has done that…”
The year 2014 is very strategic for Nigeria, as some state governorship elections are scheduled for this year. It is also a year for campaign for the general election that will hold in 2015 but in between are the people who desperately need to see more fulfilment of the promises of past elections.