By Milton Tella – It is the general belief that the governments of most African states have made little or no progress in uniting its people; talk less of achieving macroeconomic stability in their respective countries.
Experts on Africa have often attributed this lack of progress to lack of leadership. The panacea to Africa’s development lies in good leadership. However, new sets of leaders are beginning to emerge in Africa, giving rise to hope and confidence.
In Nigeria, it is the likes of Vice President Yemi Osibanjo and Ambassador Sarafa Tunji Isola, the High Commissioner to the United Kingdom that keep hope alive for the people. These sets of leaders inspire the younger generation to believe that there is a future in the country and the continent.
The two leaders gave very inspiring speeches that addressed the core fabrics of the different ethnic nationalities that make up Africa‘s most populous nation, Nigeria.
Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo was in the United Kingdom on Thursday, 7th October 2021 for the United Nations organised Energy Transition in Africa agenda with a special focus on Nigeria.
Ambassador Sarafa Isola, Nigeria’s High Commission in the United Kingdom, who is making an impact in rebranding and rebuilding trust between his government and the international community hosted the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo at his Abuja House residence in Kensington, London.
The Vice President during this interactive session attended by stakeholders, diplomats and top officials of Nigeria High Commission in the United Kingdom, stated that the Federal Government would continue to strive for fairness & balance among all its ethnic nationalities in Nigeria.
The press statement by Laolu Akande, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity, Office of the Vice President made available to African Voice stated: “If you look at all of us sitting here, we represent all the geo-political zones. This is the Nigeria that will succeed, anything else doesn’t make sense,” according to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN.
He said, citizens at home and in the diaspora should promote the message of one country, noting “anybody who looks at how Nigeria operates will recognize that we are better off in this system, and that is the truth.”
According to the Vice President, “Yorubas are not better off on their own, Igbos are not better off on their own and the North is not better off on its own. We are better off as one nation, that is why we are strong and that is why we can face the world.”
Still emphasizing the point about unity, Prof. Osinbajo noted that “everywhere in the world today, people are coming together to form stronger units, they are not breaking up, and this is not the time to break up.
“If you read the economics of smaller nations, they are looking for ways of how they can become stronger by aligning with other nations. How does a country with all the potentials and everything that we have, think that the best way is to break up?”
Speaking further, the VP explained that “we are at a point in time in our history where we have security challenges, we have economic challenges, and if you talk about security, there are so many dimensions to it.
“If you look carefully, all of these could happen to any government and I think we are in the very best position to solve the problems that face us today.”
“Security challenges that we have didn’t show up in one day but it is the government, the people, the men and women that will handle them.
“We happen to be that government, and I am very convinced that we are entirely capable of handling it. I think we are in the best possible position to solve these problems,” Prof. Osinbajo added.
In addition, the Vice President spoke about the popularity and credibility of President Muhammadu Buhari, identifying it as a crucial factor in galvanizing the entire system in resolving the challenges.
“The President is possibly the most popular Nigerian politician that we have ever had in generations. He is possibly the only person who can go into a place or somewhere without bossing people to gather and they will come and listen to him speak, Osinbajo said.
“We need that level of credibility to be able to solve problems in our country. And I think because of his level of credibility, despite everything, he is still the only one that can call everyone, and even people who do not necessarily agree with him know that he is a man of his words.”
The VP urged staff of the High Commission to remain good ambassadors of the country and endeavour to promote justice and fairness in their activities even as they make more efforts to promote government programmes and policies.
His words: “we must promote one country. But, of course, everybody talks about justice, fairness and balance, and that is what we must try to do on a continuous basis.
“Let us not be discouraged, let us be very confident because our country will come out of all these problems and emerge stronger.
“So, I urge every person who represents our country to ensure that we must represent the country well and be able to speak up at the right forum about the country and what we are doing.”
Commending the High Commissioner and top officials of the mission, the VP said, “let me say first, how very pleased I am about the great report of developments here at the High Commission.
“And I agree entirely with the High Commissioner that clearly there is a demonstration here of high professionalism, and a desire to completely correct the image that might have been created about Nigeria. I want to really commend you and to say the news we hear about the High Commission is very commendable.”
Aside from the High Commissioner, Ambassador Sarafa Isola, other staffs present at the meeting include the Deputy High Commissioner, Ambassador Sanni Suleiman, and the Defence Adviser, Brigadier-General Buhari Baffa, among others.
Kindly follow us on twitter:@AfricanVoice2
