….espouses values of honesty, integrity, hard work
Nigeria’s Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has called for a national consensus on the need for ethical standards that will ensure that Nigeria does not become a complete failure.
The Vice President also advocated the adoption of values which, according to him, are ethical principles by which individuals and companies live, work and interact.
Osinbajo, while speaking on the theme ‘Values, the difference between success and failure’ at the 100th anniversary celebration of the Baptist Boys’ High School in Abeokuta on Tuesday, identified values to include honesty, integrity, perseverance, hard work, diligence, discipline and respect.
“There is a need for a national consensus or, at least, an elite consensus. The political elite, the religious elite and the business elite must agree that our country will fail completely if we do not accept and implement ethical revolution,” Osinbajo said.
“It is what is taught and learnt that shapes the character of individuals and nations, it is not just teaching. The government must also lead this ethical revolution by rewarding ethical behaviour and ensuring speedy punishment for misconduct,” he said.
Harping on the role of the religious elite in this ethical revolution, the Vice President said they must reinforce the ethical direction agreed by showing that wealth and influence are built by hard work and diligence as well as demonstrate that wealth, good order, building institutions don’t come as just miraculous occurrences but by building, hard work, step by step, line by line.
He urged the religious elite to also reject and ostracize public officers and persons whose wealth cannot be explained, describing as sad a situation where the religious elite accept from public officers money or resources which belong to the government and look the other way.
“The religious elite must ensure that they are able to say no and this is all part of the national ethical consensus. As government does its own, as schools do their own, the religious elite must do their own,” he said.
Speaking further on values, the Vice President said they remain the difference between successful countries and failed or failing countries, between success and failure.
He noted that the success of the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Bola Ajibola and Chief MKO Abiola, all old students of the Baptist Boys’ High School, wasn’t built on talent or opportunity alone, but on hard work, adding that these men all showed courage, integrity and fought for what they believed in.
Osinbajo further identified knowledge and skill as the global currencies of the 21st century economies, saying the one with knowledge and skill would definitely rule over the one with undeveloped talents and material resources.
He said huge deposit of natural resources and human talents alone cannot ensure a prosperous nation but values are what distinguish successful economies from others.
“It is evident, as we all know, that huge deposits of natural resources and human talents alone do not make for a prosperous nation, otherwise, the countries with the largest deposit of natural resources will be the most prosperous. Venezuela has one of the largest oil deposits in the world, but the United Nations estimate that 94 percent of the citizens are poor,” Osinbajo said.
He said whereas geography might play an important part in the success of people and communities, it is not what sets people apart one from another.
“What distinguishes nations is not just talent or material resources, it is values. Everyone of the great and successful economies of the world share the same characteristics, they emphasised hard work and integrity,” Osinbajo stated.
In his remarks, Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun noted that the provision of quality education was the responsibility of all stakeholders in the state and that his administration recognized education as the heart of national development.
Abiodun, who noted that his administration had rehabilitated over 1,000 schools, added that for the first time in the history of the state, his administration was also able to employ over 5,000 teachers to continue to reduce the teacher-student ratio.
The governor said his administration introduced the Ogun State Education Management Information System which has allowed for digitalisation of the curriculum as well as helped his administration to assign a Learner Identification Number to every student in the state.
He called on investors and public-spirited individuals to come and partner with his administration to further lift the education sector, while also encouraging old students from other institutions to go back to their schools to invest and strengthen the education system in their schools.
