Abubakar Chika Adamu served in the House of Representatives between 2015 and 2019. He represented Shiroro, Rafi and Munya in Niger State.
During a DITV Kaduna interview on Thursday, the former lawmaker leveled serious accusations at Nigeria's political establishment. He claimed the system is riddled with corruption and wasteful spending of taxpayer money.
Adamu revealed he's already made a personal decision. He won't run for any elected position ever again, he told the station.
According to him, his initial foray into politics wasn't self-driven at all. Constituents pressured him to contest, purchased his nomination form, and covered all associated costs, he explained.
His four years in the National Assembly left him deeply disillusioned. He couldn't accomplish what he'd promised his voters, he acknowledged.
"Unless you're prepared to be dishonest, surviving that system becomes nearly impossible," Adamu noted in the interview. He insisted he never entered public service with such intentions.
Nigeria's trajectory in crucial areas troubles him greatly. Security, power supply, and schooling have all deteriorated significantly, he argued.
Adamu expressed alarm about shrinking press freedoms as well. Citizens must wake up and choose leaders committed to fairness, he urged.
Back in 2017, the then-serving legislator withdrew from his re-election bid. A letter to Niger State's APC chairman explained his thinking at the time.
His 2017 statement invoked Islamic teaching on public office-seeking. "Any person seeking appointment or election should be rejected," he'd written then, citing erosion of public confidence in lawmakers.
He'd also questioned whether pursuing such positions made sense anymore. Unless driven by personal gain, he reasoned, the effort wasn't worthwhile.
Adamu's comments reflect broader national conversations happening right now. Debates around leadership quality, official accountability, and elected representatives' actual performance continue across Nigeria.
