Political Office holders immediate family should not be allowed to live outside Nigeria. This should be added to the conditions of office along with no foreign accounts and asset declaration. This will lead to efficiency and make the political offices less attractive to money hungry individuals.

what do you think??

of course they can live any where they choose. I see what you saying though and know the reasoning behind it. I think with time if the country adopts a check and balance attitude towards the leaders then small steps can be taken in combating fraudulent leaders. They should be made to declare their assets , once there is a watch dog for their financial activites and the judicial system is working and non existent, anyone found misappropriating public funds then can be punished and shamed accordingly.

Even in the Uk ministers and such have to declare their earnings and beleive me not just African leaders are bent, many British leaders have been caught. This is why i say making people accountable is important, because If your spending don't add up then someone's going to be asking questions and you better be ready to explain.

check out the likes of Jeffrey Archer WHO SPENT TIME DOING PORRIDGE @ HER MAJESTY'S SERVICE

OLadi:

Political Office holders immediate family should not be allowed to live outside Nigeria. This should be added to the conditions of office along with no foreign accounts and asset declaration. This will lead to efficiency and make the political offices less attractive to money hungry individuals.

what do you think??

Yeah that's true. Most of these clowns we have as leaders have their kids out of the country, where is the incentive to work for the people when your family is applying for PR elsewhere?. . . The asset declaration isn't really what I'm into, you can mask assets in different shapes and forms. I'll like to see our leaders have their families in the country so they can get to see the everyday suffering.

Good idea but who will pass the law. I can see some people claiming that their sons/daughters are now their niece, nephew and/or cousins. Nigerians can do anything to beat the system.

Hogwash!!!
Declaring an edict that public official families cannot live outside the country, will not stop the pilfering of the treasury nor create a condition for them to act in the best interest of a country.

In most countries the declaration of assets and bank accounts are a requirement for public officials and yet they still find ways to thief the public blind.
It is said that a country gets a leader it deserve. If that statement is true, then these third world countries, including Nigeria, have the leader fit for its present circumstance.

I believe that a country can only fight corruption at the highest level only if its citizenry demand moral and dignified behavior from its leaders.
To achieve that, the educational standard have to be one where the majority of the population is thinking about the common good, and not about the preservation of the status quo. As it is currently, most third world countries Intelligentsia are more concerned about the protection of their economic status than with the path their country take.

Hogwash!!!
Declaring an edict that public official families cannot live outside the country, will not stop the pilfering of the treasury nor create a condition for them to act in the best interest of a country.

Yes it will. . . Who wants his family to stay in a country that is dirty and unkempt when they can change it?

Look around you, most of these clowns we have as leaders have their kids outside the country. Helps to explain why they do not care about the state of the nation. They do not have their kids being at risk of robbery or accidents due to bad roads.

Definitely, they shouldn't be allowed to live outside Nigeria; infact, they should be forced to use Nigerian medical system and all their kids should also attend Nigerian schools.

Trust me, folks, this is the only way special attention would be paid to our medical system and standard of education in Nigeria.

Most of these folks (leaders) are selfish or greedy; you guys will see how quick our medical system and standard of education will improve if their families have to use these resources.

You are not allowed to run for any office in Nigeria if your family is too special to live in Nigeria or to utilize the Nigerian public medical system and attend Nigerian public schools.

This system will weed out the bad fruits from the real or dedicated politicians who understand their role and care about the citizens of Nigeria.

The idea sounds like a primary school thing.

otokx:

The idea sounds like a primary school thing.

How so?. . . It is legitimate. How do you expect to rule a country that you don't want your family living in?

how many Presidents of countries around the world export their families to go live in other countries. If they are true to themselves and doing what is right, why the need to fear.

How much is the salary of Mr. President - for him to be able to maintain his families expenses outside Nigeria. Is it not corruption and greed?

I do not think that it will make any difference afterall IBB had his kids in Nigeria and I believe same thing happened under Abacha and we all know the result of their stewardship while in office.

There should be a limit to what people should demand from their leaders. People's right to choose what they want should not be removed from them because they are running for elective offices.

I feel Nigeria's situation requires a radical approach, we need to create a system that will work for us, knowing the kind of people aspiring to become leaders. something needs to be done, to encourage only serious minded individuals

true i see people starting to claim family members as nieces or nephews , but this will be a kind of check

I see it working tho, only for elected leaders not people appointed such as ministers that way, LG chairmen, Governors, Senators and co will know what they are going into.

All we need is the clause added to the consitution even if its till Nigeria is removed from the 50 most corrupt countries

that will not make any difference cos some people are even living larger in Nigeria than abroad.

I see why not, if you had the money before you were elected why not let your children and family enjoy the money you had.

Well, too bad.
If that is the case, then stay the mess away from contesting for any office in Nigeria.

It is that simple.

Are you not tired of that same story "I was a rich man before I became the governor"?

How can you be working for NIKE, but your entire family wears ADIDAS?

It doesn't make sense.

If you want to be part of leading a nation, then you must be proud of all the resources of that nation (medical, education, Igbo made stuff and so on); hence it will also make sense to have your family utilize all  these resources.

And believe me folks, this is the only way special attention will be paid to these resources, which will also lead to enormous improvement.

This is a win win strategy and it should be implemented immediately.

BS Dude, It's a free nation and democracy prevail, freedom of speech, religion and association, if you have money and you fill you need to contribute to the society why not come in and save the nation? Transparency or not, if you can afford a Benz why drive a pinto?

Big B1:

Well, too bad.
If that is the case, then stay the mess away from contesting for any office in Nigeria.

It is that simple.

Are you not tired of that same story "I was a rich man before I became the governor"?

How can you be working for NIKE, but your entire family wears ADIDAS?

It doesn't make sense.

If you want to be part of leading a nation, then you must be proud of all the resources of that nation (medical, education, Igbo made stuff and so on); hence it will also make sense to have your family utilize all  these resources.
And believe me folks, this is the only way special attention will be paid to these resources, which will also lead to enormous improvement.
This is a win win strategy and it should be implemented immediately.

Its all good and dandy. Now, whats your plan to actualize that? What can we do to make it happen?

It will also weed out politicians that want to take us for a ride.

We must limit the privilege of the politicians on-till they've done a great job and retired from service.

United States Military uses the same strategy and this is one of the reasons why the program has been successful for many years.

We must make it clear to the politicians that their positions are not honorary positions. These are serious positions that require competency and any dishonest pot belly thief will not be tolerated.

@ Ynot:
I could just tell that you are one of those folks that disrelish changes. Well, don't be scared; in order for our lovely country to move forward effectively and efficiently we need changes; and we have to start from somewhere.

To answer your question:

All it takes is modifying our constitution. Hopefully people like OBJ (that loves to change constitution for self benefit like changing underwear) will be gone soon for ever.

Keep hope alive.

BigB1 its so good to see you talking about change, that is a welcome development. dont ask me what I mean by that.

Afam:

I do not think that it will make any difference afterall IBB had his kids in Nigeria and I believe same thing happened under Abacha and we all know the result of their stewardship while in office.

There should be a limit to what people should demand from their leaders. People's right to choose what they want should not be removed from them because they are running for elective offices.

I still maintain that we saw an IBB that did what some are advocating and the results are there for all well meaning Nigerians to see.

So, why bother with a policy that failed to have any impact in the past?

Big B1:

@ Ynot:
I could just tell that you are one of those folks that disrelish changes. Well, don't be scared; in order for our lovely country to move forward effectively and efficiently we need changes; and we have to start from somewhere.

To answer your question:

All it takes is modifying our constitution. Hopefully people like OBJ (that loves to change constitution for self benefit like changing underwear) will be gone soon for ever.

Keep hope alive.

Disrelish? is that even an English word? I will forgive that as a typo. Look, I don't want to get into needless argument with you. We have a problem, check. Someone came up with a solution, check. How do you implement that? Thats all i asked. I believe there are set procedures to amend the constitution in the Constitution. What are they? How can common Nigerians go about facilitating such changes? Talk is cheap, we need action(s).

OBJ is out the question. He had his chance to change the country but ran the country down and now you are asking to give him another chance? No way. If he really want to help Nigeria, let him get a piece of land and start farming. Last time i checked, hunger is still a big issue in Nigeria.

@ MAMAJAMA

You don't get it.

What is your point? You mean living outside Nigeria is better? I don't know where you're from, but for me there is no place like Nigeria.
With a-little bit of improvement, sky is the limit.


My strategy is not to take anything away from anybody, but to force politicians to produce or dance to their own music.

But I'm not sure if you're ever going to get it; no offence, my man

It is a bright strategy, trust me.

We need a serious dedicated leader who can make all these wonderful ideas happen.

I still feel that at this point in time, IBB will be perfect.

Big B1:

FYI: I believe this policy was partially implemented for couple of years back in the days; infact, (off the record) because of this policy I attended public school for almost a year. It wasn't a decent experience, but it motivated my folks to empower the standard of education in Nigeria during this period.

It is a bright strategy, trust me.

Why do you keep playing games with words?

Yes, you may have attended public school but the fact remains that IBB (maybe your own dad) implemented it but we are all aware of what he did in office.

Put differently, it will not stop anyone from stealing from Nigeria as we do have references to point to.

There is a huge disconnect between your clamour for this policy and your continued support (even though understandably) for IBB and all that he stands for even when a lot of Nigerians are against what he represents.

I still feel that at this point in time, IBB will be perfect.

You are at it again, people talk about change and end up suggesting those who brought about our woes should lead us again. I thought as this point we would have moved beyond talking about IBB. Little wonder I expressed my suprise at your talking about change knowing that its not serious.

Unbelievable and Amazing.

It is sad that we can't discuss and share ideas like brothers without getting personal.

@ AFAM and @ McKren respectively, that was uncalled- for.

I'm not related to IBB, it's not even close and I don't work for him; but he has my 100% support because at this point in Nigeria, he's the only one that can bring changes effectively, efficiently and unitedly.

Is that a crime?

Can someone pls say a disadvantage of including that in the conditions of office, i dont see any to the country, and mind you it can be a temporary clause, till things get better.

Lets figure out ways to get this going, election is around the corner

MAMAJAMA:

BS Dude, It's a free nation and democracy prevail, freedom of speech, religion and association, if you have money and you fill you need to contribute to the society why not come in and save the nation? Transparency or not, if you can afford a Benz why drive a pinto?

@ Mamajama

its about creating a system that works for Nigeria, its not the the ultimate solution but will take us a step closer. Currently now, political positions are too attractive, its about weeding out greedy people, and creating a way for people that are willing to sacrifice

@ AFAM

IBB did it back then, now imagine all LG chairmen, Governors, Senators, Legislators, doing it. only if you guys will see the state Nigeria is, not even to talk security wise, or healthcare or the sorry states of the schools. we dont have anything to lose with this. For once lets all work together and make something work