The Vice President, Professor
The vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, yesterday, said whatever situation the country was going through was nothing alien to history as many great nations across the world, had and are still encountering the kinds of security and economic challenges that Nigeria currently faces. This is coming at a time the military high command has concluded plans to launch an offensive against the remaining criminals in the North East and the North West as well as other parts of the country, where the criminals have continued to wage war against the state.
Relatedly, the Kaduna State government, as if privy to the new plan by the military high command, has appealed to the Army to deploy more troops to the state to boost the ongoing operations against terrorists, bandits and kidnappers in the state. Osinbajo, who spoke while playing host to a delegation from the Arewa Concerned People for National Unity and Religious Tolerance from Kano, led by Alhaji Auwal Maidabino, stressed that there was no great nation anywhere that has not had the sort of challenge that Nigeria I currently faced with.
This, he claimed was especially so in countries, “where you have a multi-racial, multi-religious setup, and the greatest nations in the world are multi-racial, multi-religious, and multi-ethnic.
“As a matter of fact, some of these things are as important as the economy and security… for the reason that a united people, people who see themselves as one, are more likely to be economically successful, more likely to be able to secure themselves and secure their borders, and more likely to work together for the goodness and greatness of their people.”
The vice president told the delegation that, “It is the duty of the leadership, not just political leadership, but also the leadership of social groups and organisations such as yours, to ensure that we are focused on these issues of unity and tolerance.”
Osinbajo explained further that, “As you know, religious tolerance and unity, is for me, a matter that goes beyond mere advocacy. I believe very strongly that the greatness of nations, wherever those nations may be, have always been on account of leaders, who thought it fit to build those nations on the basis of unity and tolerance.
“I think that it is such an important issue that we cannot afford to discount it. There is a need for us to pay more time and attention to these issues in whatever way we can, because every once in a while, we see some threats to the unity of our country, and we must not allow it to happen at all, we must continue not just in the advocacy, but in action that will bring about unity and religious tolerance”.
Leader of the delegation, Alhaji Maidabino, who spoke earlier, commended Osinbajo for his innovative approach to governance and the several initiatives of the Buhari administration anchored through his office, praying God to provide the opportunity to enable him continue to serve the nation.
He noted that through schemes such as TraderMoni, National Homegrown School Feeding Programme, N-Power, and the Ease of Doing Business initiative, among others, the vice president has impacted many Nigerians across different sectors.
His words: “We wish to commend and congratulate you for your contributions in the area of promotion of good governance, transparency, and efficiency as exemplified with the core principles behind the Ease of Doing Business initiative of this government, and for the continuation of your uncompromising dedication to peace, unity, and economic progress, among others.”
