7th June, 2015
Some Nigerians resident in South Africa on Sunday urged the Federal Government to tackle insecurity, unemployment, epileptic power supply and poverty facing the country.
The Nigerians made the call at the sidelines of the inauguration of the National Secretariat of the Nigerian Union in Pretoria, South Africa.
Prof. Dele Braimoh, a retired professor of Adult and Distance Education, University of South Africa, urged the Federal Government to tackle insecurity in the country.
“Many Nigerians in the Diaspora are afraid of going home because of insecurity.
“I appeal to the government to win the war against Boko Haram to bring peace to the North Eastern part of the country,” he said.
Braimoh also said many Nigerians in the Diaspora were willing to return to contribute to the development of the country in various fields.
Rev. Harold Anagu, Senior Pastor, Jesus The Breathe of Life International Ministry, Pretoria, urged the Federal Government to work for the unity of the country.
“We thank God for a successful election and inauguration of a new administration in Nigeria.
“We also want the government to ensure unity, empowerment and understanding among the people.
“Nigerians in South Africa want a relationship with the Buhari administration to enable us contribute to the development of the country,” he said.
Mr Chikaodili Nwanedo, Chairman of the Nigeria Union, NorthWest Province Chapter, called on the government to tackle epileptic power supply in the country.
He said inadequate power supply had taken its toll on Small and Medium Scale businesses in the country.
“Nigerians also need good health care and efforts should be made to tackle poverty,” he said.
Mr Mathew Okafor, the Chairman of the Nigerian Union, Gauteng Province Chapter, urged the Federal Government to tackle insurgency and improve on intelligence gathering.
Okafor, an IT specialist in Johannesburg, commended Buhari for relocating the command centre of the armed forces to Maiduguri in order to effectively insurgency.
“To me, this is a step in the right direction. Nigeria has a good army. We need to equip our army to make it fight the new enemy that is using guerrilla warfare.
“Guerrilla warfare is alien to us and I believe we will defeat the enemy,” he said.
The President of Arewa in South Africa, Mr Nimram Longbap, said Nigeria was blessed with resources to make her the leading economy in Africa.
“Buhari has a track record of performance and we believe he can still do it again.
“The Federal Government should embark on massive road construction aimed at opening up the country such that each state would be linked to its nearest neighbour,” he said.
Longbap also said that the Federal Government had the potential to win the war against the Boko Haram.
“I appeal to other intelligence agencies in the country to sit up and assist the armed forces in intelligence gathering to overcome the insurgents,” he said.