Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, has said that Nigerians need to embrace the virtues of integrity and hard work for the nation to move forward.
He made the remarks on Tuesday at the maiden edition of the South-West Regional Youths Summit in Osogbo.
The Vice-President who noted that lack of integrity and corruption were the major problems of the country, said if corruption could be tackled, 70 per cent of the nation’s problems would be solved.
He said the nation had lost many international partners due to lack of integrity and trust.
“Any nation that does not emphasis integrity will always fail. The values of integrity and hard work is necessary for the development of our nation.”
He urged the youths to embrace the virtue of hard work, self-education and value of small beginning to move to a greater level in life.
“You don’t have to cheat or steal to be successful in life but you must be ready to convert your challenges into opportunity.”
Osinbajo also urged the youths in the region to support the 25 years development agenda for the region and the development of the nation as a whole.
Gov. Rauf Aregbesola of Osun said the summit was important to chart a positive course for the development of the western region.
Aregbesola said it was painful that the region could not feed itself despite the abundance of human resources, adding that it is a challenge leader of the region must look at to resolve.
He, therefore, urged the youths to support the proposed 25 years master plan for the region, adding that the region must succeed.
The Oyo governor, Abiola Ajimobi, also noted that the summit was aimed at promoting and enhancing the future of the western region.
He urged the youths of the region not too give up but rather they should have a positive mental attitude towards the development of the region.
Early In his remarks, Mr Bola Ilori, the Commissioner for Regional Integration, said the summit was critical to repositioning the western region for the future.
He added that the youths were very important to the implementation and actualisation of the region’s development
Also speaking, Mr Seye Oyeleye, the Acting Director-General of Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN), encouraged the youths to contribute in every way possible to the success of the master plan for the region.
