Lawmaker and actor Desmond Elliot has said his political career has been guided by a commitment to public service rather than personal enrichment, urging politicians to remember that power is temporary.
Speaking on Morayo Brown’s television programme, the Surulere Constituency I representative in the Lagos State House of Assembly reflected on his years in office, party loyalty and the future of leadership in Nigeria.
According to Elliot, politicians should remain humble because public office is only temporary.
“We will all die one day. We are not here forever,” he said.
“This I am saying to all of us politicians, we are not here forever. You were in that particular place for a reason, not because you are better than the next person. Trust me, there are way better people than you.”
The 52-year-old actor-turned-politician identified improvements in electricity supply as his most significant achievement since taking office.
“Power is my greatest achievement as a lawmaker in Surulere Constituency I,” he said.
“My own kind of politician, I don’t steal money. If you look at Surulere 10 years ago, it was a horrible place to live in.
“Today, there is electricity, healthcare and all. If you look at Surulere 10 years ago, it was a horrible place to live in. Today, electricity is one of the best you can find anywhere else.”
Elliot also argued that Nigeria should adopt a political structure tailored to its own realities instead of replicating foreign democratic models.
He suggested the country could pursue a long-term development agenda that remains in place regardless of changes in leadership, including a possible rotational arrangement among regions.
“We have to define our own style of democracy,” he said.
“Let’s have a 30-year plan, for instance, and say for the next five years, let the west rule, the next five years let the north rule, the next five years let the central rule.
“Yet we are already following through a particular plan that leads us to 30 years. I’m just giving an idea.”
On national politics, Elliot said he has not yet seen a leader capable of displacing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu from his current position.
“I’m thinking, okay, who is the next saviour that can remove Asiwaju from what he is doing? Presently, I cannot see yet,” he said.
Elliot entered politics in 2014 when he declared his intention to contest for a seat in the Lagos assembly on the platform of the All Progressives Congress. He won the Surulere Constituency I seat in 2015 and has since secured re-election. He is currently seeking a fourth term in office.
