Nigeria must be made to work for all – Osinbajo
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has said the nation must be made to work for all.
According to a statement by Laolu Akande, his media aide, Osinbajo said this when he received the award for Leadership Person of the Year 2021 at the Leadership Newspapers’ Annual Conference and Awards ceremony which held today at the International Conference Centre (ICC), in Abuja.
“We must create a country that works for us all – a peaceful and secure society founded on law and order and the rule of law; a society that enables commerce and values productivity, so that large and small businesses can grow and provide jobs and opportunities for millions of young people, a society where no one is left behind,” he said.
In January, Prof. Osinbajo was named the Leadership Person of the Year 2021, alongside the Director-General, World Trade Organization (WTO), Nigeria’s Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
Speaking at the event, after receiving the award, the Vice President noted that Nigerians must also create a country that can provide, “by means of an effective social welfare scheme, a safety net for the very poor and the vulnerable; a united and tolerant nation where all, irrespective of ethnicity, religion or political persuasion, are respected, treated fairly and justly, and have equal access to all opportunities.”
“We must build a Nigeria where a boy or girl does not say that, ‘I am from the South-West, or I am from the North-West, or South-South or North-East, or North-Central or South-East, but that I am a Nigerian, a citizen of one of the greatest and most prosperous nations on earth.
“This is the kind of Nigeria that those of us in this political tendency, to which Sam Nda-Isaiah belonged, all attest to and believe.”
Prof. Osinbajo dedicated the award to “millions of Nigerians who believe in this new Nigeria, and who retain faith in our possibilities as a people and are doing their best every day in their various corners to build this nation through honest endeavour.”
“To these people of goodwill who are working hard to promote peace, tolerance and to build a country that truly represents all of our dreams; to those working hard to build bridges, those who have refused to be frustrated or even wearied by the trials of our country as it grows and continues into the fullness of its manifest destiny.
“It is because of such Nigerians, that despite the great challenges we are passing through on our march of progress, I am certain that we will build this great Nigerian nation that we all yearn for,” he added.
