The Vice President believes all hope is not lost for Nigeria to take its rightful place in the comity of nations in terms of development and prosperity of the people.
Professor Yemi Osinbajo who was speaking to a gathering of the All Progressives Congress (APC) supporters at a dinner on Friday in Abuja was, however, concerned that the nation might not achieve this any time soon if its leaders continued to encourage corruption.
“As I repeated many times during the course of the campaign that our country is not short of idea, we are not short of projects; we are not short of money either; what we are short of is integrity in office,” said the Vice President.
He added, “Corruption is the major problem that our country has faced and once we are able to deal with it effectively, our country will be the great nation that it ought to be.”
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The Right Government For Nigeria
While commending the group, led by a former military administrator in Lagos State, Buba Marwa, for their effort in the build-up to the 2019 general elections, the Vice President described the re-election of the President as the right thing for the country at this time.
He pointed out that things would go well when the government is honest with the people, adding that his principal got himself engaged with more of action than talking. He said, “One thing that is clear to me is that your belief and your commitment was not wrongly placed.
“You are absolutely right that the government of President Muhammadu Buhari is the appropriate and right government for Nigeria at this time and the simple reason why that is so is that today, what our country needs the most is an honest government.”
Generous Despite Poverty
Professor Osinbajo said President Buhari’s administration had achieved a lot since he took over in 2015, in terms of infrastructure and programmes towards improving the welfare of the people.
According to him, the present government is spending eight times more on capital projects than the previous administration, despite earning about 60 per cent less.
He thanked Nigerians for their support to the Buhari administration, recalling some of his experience during his tour of states before the February 23 elections.
“For me, this campaign was about the Nigerian people and one of the things I discovered is that our people are too trusty and so supportive of their leaders everywhere,” said Osinbajo.
He added, “I think that one of the main characteristics of Nigeria is how so supportive and trusty many of our people are and they don’t really ask for too much. As a matter of fact, I do not know any nation where the people are so generous, no matter how poor they are.”
Professor Osinbajo admitted that the government was not doing enough to communicate with the people at the grassroots but gave an assurance that the narrative would change as the Federal Government remained committed to providing the opportunity to interact with the citizens.
