CRIMES IN THE COUNTRY TODAY IS AS A RESULT OF A NEGLECT TO EDUCATION – HONOURABLE BAMIDELE SALAM

CRIMES IN THE COUNTRY TODAY IS AS A RESULT OF A NEGLECT TO EDUCATION – HONOURABLE BAMIDELE SALAM
…Need to reinforce the provision of the compulsory, free universal basic education act 2004 in the Federal Capital territory and other part of the country of the Federation
… Urgent need to address soot pollution in the Niger Delta region
Salam Bamidele is a Nigerian politician at the House of Representatives level. Salam Bamidele currently serves as the Federal Representative representing Ede North/Ede South/Egbedore/Ejigbo constituency in the 9th National Assembly.
Nassnews: Can you tell us about yourself and how you got into politics?
Honourable Bamidele Salam: My name is Honourable Bamidele Salam, I am a member of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), a Journalist, Lawyer, Educationist, Author, politician and Member of the House of Representatives, representing the good people of Ede North/Ede South/Egbedore/Ejigbo Federal Constituency of Osun State.
I grow up knowing a little bit about Nigeria because I was brought up in northern part of the country, I was born in a town called Ofa in kwara state, I was raised in Sokoto state, so it brought me to the diversity of Nigeria early in life by the time I got into the secondary school, I became more politically active by the leadership in the secondary school level and I love current affairs a lot and I read newspapers and got a lot of information, not until I got to the university, university of Ilorin, my participation in politics became more prominent and as a member of the student union of the institution, at the end of my third (3rd) year, I was elected speaker representing student council after university, I was involved in leadership at the Nigerian union of journalist, I was a broadcast journalist in Osun broadcasting station, I held different offices in different levels, I joined politics in 2005 after serving as the Media Assistant to the Governor of Osun state who appointed me as his media assistant in 2003 in 2005 I became a registered member of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and by 2007 I contested for chairman in my local government, I won the election, I was sworn in on the 10th of January 2008, my tenure lasted till 2010, I aspired to become a member in the House of Reps in 2010 but it was unsuccessful, it became a success in the year 2019.
Nassnews: We have two motions before us, the first is the need to reinforce the provision of the compulsory, free universal basic education act 204 in the Federal Capital territory and other part of the country. Sir can you analyze the advantage of this motion?
Honourable Bamidele Salam: I believe in the saying that if you want to lead people, you give them education, education makes the average citizen of any country obtain the freedom to pursue the highest goal and unfortunately as a country we do not have or seem to take education seriously. Crimes in the country today is as a result of a neglect to education, the fact that we are facing insecurity today is like we have been planting time bombs that will affect us in the nearest future, by neglecting our children.
I drive round Abuja and I see children of school age begging for arms, hawking and engaging in all manner of things and we don’t care, we are bent on solving todays problem while tomorrow’s trouble is growing and to eradicate it, is by sending our children to school, not only in Abuja but all over.
Our problem is not lack of laws or policies, the universal education act in 2004 is very comprehensive, it guarantees every child to have access to basic education, the first 9 years must be in school, the law states the consequences of not providing that right to a child, basic education is essential to every child to avoid disaster in the future.
Nassnews: The second motion is the urgent need to curb soot pollution in Niger Delta region, sir what will be the direct advantage to your constituent and Nigerians, what are you aiming at in the nearest future?
Honourable Bamidele Salam: As a member of the National Assembly my constituency is the whole of federal republic of Nigeria, that’s my first constituency and I swore an oath to protect the well-being of the federal republic of Nigeria, I have a constituency which gave me that platform, which is Ede North/Ede South Egbedora constituency, but the whole purpose of this motion is to sensitize government on the health situation of the Niger Delta.
We have a situation today where people can no longer breath, the pollution in the air of the areas in the Niger Delta today, Bayelsa, Rivers state and so on, is as a results of the activities of illegal bunkering, it has polluted the air soot, it is one of the deadliest chemicals in the air but it has not been dealt with yet, in other part of the world where you have an estimation of about 500, 000 persons having immune system compromised as a result of suits pollution. We have research by medical doctors of people having respiratory issues, there will be a lot of concern been shown in how government speaks up and acts on it, but in our country, life seems not to matter that much.
So, I am trying to redirect the attention of the federal government to see into the situation at hand, investigation will be carried out in four (4) weeks and be reported back to the house.
Nassnews: since you joined politics, what have you been able to do differently, what are your achievements in and out of your constituency?
Honourable Bamidele Salam: I do tell people that my own mission in politics is to serve and service is something that can be measured and the only way to measure service is by the impact my constituency felt, my impact in terms of physical infrastructure and development, water, light, education scholarships and I will rank in the front lines for my numbers of bills and motions.
Nassnews: How would you describe the present government, what do you think are the solutions to many problems in Nigeria?
Honourable Bamidele Salam: With due respect to the president, I do not think he is doing enough to address the situation in the country, every index of development has gone down from what it uses to be in the last eight (8) years, the economic prosperity in Nigeria, the arrow is pointing downwards, the security is downwards, I really cannot score this government a pass mark, the government needs to do more.
Nassnews: As 2023 draws closer, what is your message to your constituents?
Honourable Bamidele Salam: Whatever one does in an office is evidence of what one can still do, I have served with the whole of my heart in the last two (2) years and eight (8) months and I have offered myself again to serve them in this same capacity and eventually do more.