Africa is being shortchanged in the Commonwealth of Nations,
Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu and Speaker House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara lamented yesterday.
They spoke in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State capital, during the 74th Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (Africa Region) Executive Committee meeting.
Ekweremadu said: “Britain has left Europe and we are going to look for new friends. We are going to sign new partnership agreements. We are going to look for new partners.
“As we go into this new era of Commonwealth, Africa must be ready to put on a new thinking cap for better negotiations, for better deals.
“Yes, we must put money for the sustenance of Commonwealth, but we must ask ourselves, do we get enough returns for our investment in Commonwealth? Gambia asked this question and left the Commonwealth.
“There used to be Commonwealth scholarship. Do we get enough of those scholarships? If we say we have a Commonwealth, is it Commonwealth of Nations or Commonwealth of the people?
“I think what we need is a Commonwealth of people where everybody has a sense of belonging to such a super national organisation, where a Nigerian, a Ghanaian, South African, Kenyan, etc can go to the United Kingdom without having a visa.
“That is what is Commonwealth. We have different sets of Commonwealth. We have Commonwealth of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, among others but our experiences are not the same.”
Dogara, represented by Chairman House of Representatives Committee on Nigerian Content, Samuel Ekong, said parliamentarians must ensure their primary responsibilities of law making, appropriation and oversight were strengthened to deepen democracy.
He said: “African parliamentarians should wake up to the reality that with the Brexit, the commonwealth will pick up still because the British government will seek new partners.
“We will remain a struggling economy as long as they continue to leave us with just raw materials and bring us finished products.