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Tag: Prof. Osinbajo

  • Osinbajo to military: defend Nigeria with your lives

    Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo has urged military officers to take pride in defending the country as they take pride in adorning their beautiful uniform.

    He said the military career, which is meant to defend the territorial integrity of the country, is the most civic service to the nation.

    The Vice-President noted that it is beyond just earning salary and getting a chance to wear the coveted uniform.

    Osinbajo said it is about putting their lives on the line for the safety and welfare of millions of Nigerians.

    The Vice-President stated this as the Reviewing Officer at the passing out parade of 187 new officers who were commissioned at this year’s Direct Short Service Course 28 at the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Base in Kaduna.

    He told the new military officers that Nigeria was still grappling with several security challenges.

    He said: “As you already know, this profession you have chosen requires absolute discipline, loyalty and hard work. It is much more than just securing a job or earning a salary. It is more than just getting the chance to wear a coveted uniform or wield coveted weapons.

    “This is the ultimate form of civic service to defend the territorial integrity of your country and to put your life on the line for the safety and welfare of millions of your country men and women. There is no nobler occupation than this one you have chosen.”

    “You are passing out at a time our nation is grappling with an insurgency in the Northeast and the challenges of kidnapping and armed banditry in other parts of the country. You will, therefore, have come to terms with the fact that the days and weeks and months ahead of you will be extremely busy as you fulfil your responsibilities to the military and the nation.

    Read Also: Osinbajo: we need alliances to destroy extremism

    “While the Armed Forces have effectively contained the territorial ambitions of the Boko Haram terrorists by substantially degrading their capacity to attack and wreak havoc, they remain intent on shedding blood and sowing fear. There is also the threat of the Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) in the Lake Chad Islands and part of Southern Borno.

    “Also, more often these days, these insurgents are focusing on soft targets, opportunistic attacks on isolated military units, as well as on increasingly sophisticated propaganda aimed at making them to look more organised and lethal than they really are.”

    “This ever-increasing reliance on propaganda is a reminder that this is not only a ‘battleground’ war; it is just as much an information-and-narrative war. Winning hearts and minds has always been important in military warfare; it is even more so in a century defined by information and communication technologies.

    “As 21st century military officers, how you project your strength and confidence to your enemies and the world, especially using social and digital media tools, is as important as the sophistication of the conventional arms and ammunition that you wield.

    “But to do so effectively also means that you must take the time and trouble to fully understand the nature of the threats that confront us, the narrative and philosophies that underlie those threats.”

    Osinbajo said the President, in collaboration with governors, had been reviewing the security architecture of the country.

    He added: “This initiative involves the recruitment and training of policemen in each local government and ensuring that such new policemen remain in their local governments, working with local and traditional authorities to maintain peace and security.

    “As the President has said, security is a 24-hour occupation involving continuous investments in strategy and innovation. We will continue to take all necessary measures to tackle all forms of criminality across the country and safeguard lives and property of all Nigerians.”

    The Vice-President also spoke about the need for the NAF to be part of government efforts to secure the lives and property of Nigerians.

  • Towards a post-election nation building

    Vice President Osinbajo’s call for a new energy at nation building could not have come at a better time. His words: “We have to build the nation and live in harmony, so that posterity would be proud of us. The nation cannot grow when there is trouble. It is better we stay together in harmony and build a nation that would become a pride to the world” are soothing words that should be welcome, not only to partisan politicians but also to national leaders. Just as Prof Osinbajo has implied, national leaders are the people to provide leadership for the project of building the nation.

    Not surprisingly, many people are already congratulating the vice president for opting to raise the rhetorical bar about nation building at such a critical time. This is the kind of discourse that the nation needs direly, not just because of the division caused by the recent elections but also because such positive sermons from above should be a part of national discourse in a country with tension-inducing diversity. Worldwide, citizens enjoy encouraging words from their leaders.

    But uplifting words are expected to be accompanied by encouraging actions. So much of the discourse on nation building in the last 50 years has been more from leaders, with very little space given to citizens, especially during the many years of military rule. It is, therefore, reassuring that calls for nation building are being put on the table, despite the tension that characterised the recent elections. The commitment to nation building should go beyond reconciliation of members of opposing parties currently in court over aspects of the election. It will need to be extended to citizens at large, to encourage them to feel that they belong to the same country as those that lead them.

    In the two decades of post-military governance, emphasis has been on decisions reached by elected officials in the executive and legislative branches of government, with little consultation with citizens as givers of mandates to both sides of the government. For example, lawmakers have little consultations with their constituents once elections are over. If things have been otherwise, the issue of how much lawmakers earn as salaries and allowances would have been resolved. Most of the citizens are too poor to be ready to condone a lawmaker in a country without electricity and water to most citizens to collect on a monthly or quarterly basis funds that are much larger than accrue to their counterparts in advanced economies with proper and infrastructure and social benefits for citizen empowerment.

    Given the culture of separation of powers, it is not expected to be easy for the executive to dabble into reviewing how much money legislators should be worth, but it is time for government leaders to realise that citizens are unhappy that lawmakers earn humongous amounts of money every month in a country where market women are given N10,000 loan from Trader Moni. A man in his 90s who served in his youth in the legislature recently asked me why lawmakers are not part-time as they used to be in his time. My reply was that the reason is that the military who ruled us for decades wanted it that way, by failing to allow citizens to have a say in the making of the constitution that has guided governance since 1999. The old man added that this is the reason why voters agree to sell their PVCs to candidates for legislative positions, adding that in his time no aspiring lawmaker could afford to buy votes for a  for a modestly remunerated part-time job.

    In the Next Level, the executive cannot afford to leave the matter of how much public funds lawmakers choose to pay themselves. This is one task that President Buhari may need to add to details of his party’s Next Level strategies, especially if he chooses to align salary structures across the government. And citizens ought to be brought into the picture through the mechanism of Referendum at national and subnational levels.

    Another area that requires serious attention in the project of nation building is in respect of citizen-police relations and perceptions of the police by citizens. It is no exaggeration to say that citizens feel threatened by the current police culture. Such feeling of insecurity has less to do with existence of Boko Haram’s terror than it does with the agency charged with law enforcement and public order. For example, on the same day that the new Inspector-General of Police was defending his agency’s budget before the National Assembly, I had an experience between Ifetedo and Olode in Osun State that made me feel concerned about law enforcement. Four policemen stood by the side of the highway and one in the middle of the road. There were two passenger buses behind my car. My driver thought the police in the middle of the road wanted him to stop. Alas, my driver was wrong. The policeman wanted my driver to move out of the way, to allow him block with his hands the driver in the commercial bus behind our car.  But the driver behind us refused to stop and the bus behind the policeman almost knocked him down, as he too tried to avoid being stopped. Meanwhile, the policemen on the road side were busy collecting N50 from Okada riders with ease. My driver started laughing hilariously, murmuring in between laughs “it would have served the police right.”

    The purpose of this story is to suggest that when citizens at the grassroots feel like this about the country’s law enforcement, a brewing crisis seems to be ignored by the designers of the post-colonial police system. Citizen alienation seems to be peaking and may require to be addressed before anomie sets in. Next Level’s efforts to build a nation will benefit from a wholesale police reform. A police system that feels at home with officers that act like petty thieves does not only embarrass decent and patriotic citizens, it also prepares a ground for mass disobedience by the people. Citizens who feel the way my driver feels (and such people are legion) do not see a nation in Nigeria; they see a space reserved for exploiters and the exploited. They see a space occupied by enslavers and slaves. No sense of belonging can develop from the kind of police that we currently have. It needs to be re-designed to look like a profession or an occupation for people who are morally responsible and also patriotic. It is always a pain for me to hear relations tell me Oga e rora pelu awon ore yin olopa, ko si omoluwabi lara oloja o (Kindly be careful with your police friends sir, because there are no decent people in the police force). For citizens to feel confident to say this about the agency responsible for keeping public order sends bad signals.

    It is depressing that each of the many IGPs since 1999 had always promised a new start for the police, with some even pledging to end the culture of police officers stopping drivers and motorists on highways or urban roads to ask for registration papers. In over 20 years, such pledge has not amounted to anything. In 2019, a policeman is even ready to put his life in jeopardy in an attempt to collect N100 from commercial bus drivers. This behaviour is not only embarrassing; it is dehumanising and de-spiriting. It is a shame that all the ugly things said about behaviour of the police during the elections are believed to be true, not because they are verifiable, but because they are probable, given citizens’ perception of the agency responsible for law enforcement. The first step in the Next Level’s fight against corruption is to change the culture of the Nigerian Police, from the image of extortionist to one of protector.

  • Osinbajo harps on zero-tolerance for corruption

    Osinbajo harps on zero-tolerance for corruption

    Vice President Yemi Osinbanjo on Thurday stressed the need for investors and public officers to shun corruption in all their engagements.

    Osinbajo asked the Bayelsa State Government to establish culture of zero-tolerance for corruption as a guide for attracting foreign and local investors to the state.

    The vice president spoke at the Banquet Hall, Government House, Yenagoa, while declaring open the second edition of the Bayelsa State Investment and Economic Forum with a theme: “Unfolding Bayelsa State Industrial Future.”

    The summit attracted investment experts from different parts of the world, captains of industries, traditional rulers and political office holders.

    Osinbajo, who was represented by his Deputy Chief of Staff, Mr. Ade Ipaye, said security must be made the first priority for the federal and state governments in their drive for investments.

    He said with improved security and functional criminal justice system, Bayelsa will significantly attract increased enterprises in all aspects of its economy.

    He said: “The government must remain open to regular consultations and collaborations with the business sector so as to meet the development and employment needs of local communities.

    “We simply cannot afford to neglect the needs of local communities because they are the ones we are here to serve. Let us look at ways of establishing a synergy of symbiotic relationship between new investments and support for small and medium scale enterprises which invariably have the strong influence on local economy.”

    Osinbajo also urged the government to ensure total compliance with regulatory standards and give fair treatment to all investors.

     

     

  • ‘Boko Haram targeting Osinbajo’s house’

    ‘Boko Haram targeting Osinbajo’s house’

    …Moves to plant bombs in VP’s  residence uncovered

    The Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Thursday told the National Economic Council that plans by the Boko Haram sect to dump bomb-laden refuse in his house has been uncovered.

    Osinbajo’s disclosure was contained in a copy of press briefing, the “Talking Point” circulated to journalists after the six hours meeting.

    The material was only circulated by the council secretariat after the Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, has briefed journalists.

    The briefing was attended by three other states’ governors namely — Solomon Lalong (Plateau), Atiku Bagudu (Kebbi) and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu).

    The talking point reads in part: “The Vice President regretted that insurgency has affected the economic life of the northeast and the country as a whole.

    “He called for the council to speak as a team to put pressure on the Service Chiefs to increase their effort in fighting insurgency.

    “There should be increase in sensitization and education channels like radio and television.

    “The Vice President also disclosed that security reports have revealed that scavengers are now being prepared by insurgents to dump refuse laden with bombs in the house of the Vice President.”

     

  • Weak transmission grid hampering power sector – Osinbajo

    Weak transmission grid hampering power sector – Osinbajo

    The Federal Government has identified weak transmission grid preventing wheeling of more than 5,000 megawatts of electricity for the nation’s use.

    Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, disclosed this while speaking on – “The Nigerian Economy and the Future,” at the 10th Year Anniversary Lecture of Crescent University, Abeokuta, Ogun State, on Saturday.

    A statement issued on Monday by Mfon Udott of the Vice President Media Office, said Osinbajo promised that the gridlock will be removed.

    The government, according to him, will work with the distribution companies to ensure the necessary investment to get electricity to the targeted customers.

    He said: “The APC manifesto is to deliver a minimum of 10 per cent of GDP growth annually, while ensuring an inclusive economy that improves the lives of all Nigerians. This cannot happen unless we achieve a significant improvement in the power sector.”

    He assured that the administration will focus on improving the supply of gas to power plants to help maximize the 13,000MW generating capacity.

    He said: “The plans for the power sector will be supported with a National Infrastructural Master Plan that requires an investment of $3 trillion over a 30-year period. This is the minimal requirement to improve our infrastructure stock from 35 per cent of GDP to the benchmark for our peers, which is estimated at 70 per cent of GDP.

    “Apart from enabling manufacturing and other sectors, we expect that the investment in infrastructure will also directly create thousands of jobs in construction and maintenance activities.”

     

  • Tears as Buhari, wife meet Chibok women

    Tears as Buhari, wife meet Chibok women

    • Buhari’s wife, two Chibok women weep over Chibok girls at Defence House

    The wife of the President, Aisha Buhari on Friday wept at the Defence House as she received two mothers of the over 200 Chibok school girls who were abducted by Boko Haram in April 2014

    The two women, who also met with President Muhammadu Buhari, were weeping as they walked out from the meeting venue.

    Vice President’s wife, Mrs Dolapo Osinbajo was also at the closed-door meeting.

    Speaking with journalists at the end of the meeting, Mrs. Osinbajo said: “Hajia Aisha Buhari had for many months, wanted to visit Chibok.

    “She also wanted to meet with the mothers. Today, we had an opportunity for them to meet face to face.

    “We had two of the mothers who still have their daughters missing after a year. Hajia being a mother met with them, held them and they cried, everybody cried.CHIBOK Girls

    “What only a mother will do is to say wait, I want you to see your father and see what your father will do. We were all extremely overwhelmed, that at this time when the President is so busy, he had time to meet with the women from Chibok.

    “He spoke to them in English and Hausa. He explained to them how he keeps telling everybody to put themselves in their place.

    “So, today, we have had the opportunity for the President and Hajia to show that they are our father and mother, for that we are glad.” She stated.

  • Security tops Buhari’s agenda – Osinbajo

    Security tops Buhari’s agenda – Osinbajo

    The vice presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, has said problems of insurgency in the northeast took a dangerous dimension because the President Goodluck Jonathan administration failed to prioritize security in the country.

    He therefore said security will be a top priority of an APC government.

    According to him, Jonathan’s administration failed to equip the military even when it was obvious that the security situation was getting worse.

    He stated that some of the complaints filed by soldiers that were court marshaled for alleged mutiny were that they were not given weapons but asked to go to war against the insurgents.

    Osinbajo, who spoke at a Town Hall meeting with young professionals under the auspices of Act Now Professionals in Abuja, said as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, the President ought to have shown an example by leading from the front and not from the back.

    He accused President Jonathan of reneging on his oath of office and his promise to protect Nigerians, adding that although the government claimed to have spent about N4 trillion on defence so far, evidence on ground points the contrary.

    He said, “From what we are seeing on ground and with the complaints by soldiers that they are not given weapons to fight the insurgents, it is either that money was not spent at all or somebody is telling lies.”

    “When you have a situation you do not politicize the insurgency like that. You do not point to the opposition and say it was the opposition that is sponsoring it until Gen. Muhammadu Buhari almost lost his life when Boko haram attacked him.

    “We must start by understanding that there is a war going on in that part of the country and what the government need to do is to get the nation behind it, not pointing accusing fingers at wrong places.”

     

  • 2015 poll: How my running mate emerged – Buhari

    2015 poll: How my running mate emerged – Buhari

    Contrary to insinuations, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), on Wednesday said his running mate, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, emerged through a meticulous process.

    The former head of state also said he decided to go for a man of unimpeachable integrity to assist him in the task of rescuing Nigeria.

    Buhari, who made the clarifications while presenting Osinbajo to Nigerians at the National Secretariat of the party in Abuja, said the vice-presidential candidate is a friend of the less privileged.

    He said: “The challenging process of rescuing our country and changing Nigeria for good has commenced. One of the first decisions that I have to make is the choice of the vice-presidential candidate and my running mate.

    “The method employed in this choice was quite meticulous but yet rigorous. It involved the establishment of objective criteria, broad consultations with party leaders and a few opinion leaders outside the party and interactions with a number of nominees.”

    Clad in blue Babanriga, the former head of state listed outstanding qualities that endeared Osinbajo to him as a mate for the 2015 presidential battle.

    He added: “To assist me in this great task of securing Nigeria’s future, I have chosen a man of unimpeachable integrity, an excellent professional, a man of faith, a devoted family man and a role model to our fellow countrymen and women. He is a professor of law and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria.

    “An alumnus of the University of Lagos and the London School of Economics. He is a prodigious author who has to his credit several books on civil procedure in Nigerian superior courts.

    “The vice-presidential candidate is a friend of the less privileged, compassionate and zealous in service. A man of uncommon humility, a loyal, dependable and selfless patriot.

    “Ladies and Gentlemen, I present Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, who by the grace of God and the vote of Nigerians will be the next Vice-President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
    Buhari commended Nigerians for their goodwill since he emerged as the presidential candidate of APC.

    He added: “I wish to thank all Nigerians and friends of Nigeria who have continued to send messages of goodwill and congratulations to me and the party since my election as the presidential flag bearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    “The huge outpouring of support and acceptance has been a great encouragement to me and hardened my resolve to lead the process of rebuilding a New Nigeria and securing our future.

    “In my acceptance speech, I pledged to run an efficient government, fight corruption and indiscipline in our national life. I promised to end the current regime of fear and uncertainty in our country and place priority on national security.

    “I also pledged to rebuild our battered economy and reduce poverty by deliberate policies to create jobs.

    In his response, Osinbajo, who wore his polished trademark black suit with red tie, said he is fully committed to the task of rebuilding the country.

    He said: “I am deeply honoured and grateful to have been nominated as the vice-presidential candidate of our party, APC and especially the presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari.

    “I also thank the leaders and elders of our great party, APC for the trust reposed in me.

    “The task of rebuilding this nation is one to which I am fully committed. There can be no other President, Leader and commander that can lead that common sense revolution Nigeria urgently needs than Gen. Muhammadu Buhari. I will proudly serve this country with him.

    “Gen. Buhari’s uprightness and fierce commitment to good governance is well known. It will be a privilege to work with him. “