Four British Nigerians eye Parliament as Britain decides today
British Pm, David Cameron
FOUR British politicians of Nigerian parentage are among those eyeing parliamentary seats as Britain goes to the polls to elect their next Prime Minister and Members of Parliament , MPs, on Thursday . Out of these, one , 46-year old trade union activist , Kate Osamor , is making her debut on the national stage.
Three, including Osamor are flying the opposition Labour Party ‘s flag. The fourth, Helen Grant , is a current Conservative Member of Parliament ( MP ) seeking to retain her seat.
Although there are at least two others of Nigerian descent seeking parliamentary seats on the platform of smaller parties like the Green Party, it is believed that they do not have any realistic chances of making it to Westminster .
“Some are just running for the sake of it,” one politician of Nigerian parentage said .
Meanwhile, former Mayor of Lambeth Council, Councillor Ade Aminu, spoke exclusively to The Guardian about Thursday’s elections, tipping his Labour Party to win and take over at No 10 Downing Street , from Friday .
“Labour will win the elections ,” he said, when asked for his views on Wednesday .
He also tipped all four British- Nigerians flying Labour and Conservatives flags to make it to the House of Commons.
On Osamor, he said: “It is a safe Labour seat, so she should have no problems wining it.”
He also predicted victories for the duo of Labour’s Chi Onwurah and Shadow Business Secretary, Chuka Umunna , incumbent MPs for Newcastle and Streatham (South East London) respectively . Though Grant is from the party Aminu’s Labour hopes to defeat at the polls, the former Mayor said she too should retain her seat and make her way back to the Commons.
Of the four, trade union activist, Osamor , a practice manager at a doctor’s surgery in North London is perhaps the one with the most interesting political lineage and one to watch out for, should she make it to the Commons.
Apart from having a mother – Martha Osamor – who herself is a staunch Labour and community activist , her selection to vie for the Edmonton seat looks like a compensation and victory for the family.
Reason is that her mother was to be the Labour candidate for Vauxhall in the 1980s, until she was vetoed out by an influential Labour leader.
The seat her mother was prevented from contesting for has remained in the hands of Labour ever since, and is currently occupied by Kate Hoey,.
Meanwhile, two newspapers, the London Evening Standard and City A.M have thrown their weight behind the ruling Conservative Party,
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4 Comments
If Nigerians can contest and win elections in a foreign country such as United Kingdom, why should Nigerians living in another state other than their state of origin in Nigeria be disfranchised from vying for an election in his or her state of residence on the common premise that he is not a citizen of the state, even when he was born, schooled, doing business and paying tax in the state of domicile. Nigerians should learn from what is happening in other climes a chance to get root in this country. I know that similar thing has happened in Lagos State where some non indigens contested and worn elections. It is commendable but it must be deepened so that Nigerians would be proud to be of their state of domicile.
That is the dilemma of this fraudulent contraption called Nigeria. The term non-indigene is not used in these climes. A Lord, Knight etc cannot make the kind of statement attributed to an Oba in Nigeria. Just hope GMB have an idea of how to redress these anomalies.
With due respect, Nigeria is NOT a fraudulent contraption. Would you call Britain a fraudulent contraption just because it as a Union of England, Wales, Scotland and Nothern Ireland? I guess not. Trust me, Nigeria will get better towards a perfect union. It is a journey and not a destination. As any American would tell you, it is always towards a perfect union – every generation personalizes what this means. I bet you were not there when Nigeria was formed/unionized, we inherited it, you and I can make it better for us and the coming generations by being better people individually and collectively working to make it a better place for all, for the advancement of Nigeria & the human race.
You raise a very important question and it should be the case. For Nigeria, Some states that have arrived at this important stage are Lagos, Kano, Kaduna – Rivers have made moves..the rest are mostly in intractable situations with some actually being very rabid in their rejection of assimilation from a local leadership standpoint and as someone who have lived everywhere in Nigeria, I found that strongest in the SS and SE – and you may argue that is OK too….you have varying level of liberality like that all over every country. In the US, the coastal states tend to be more liberal than the heartland for example.
We will review and take appropriate action.