VICE President Yemi Osinbajo prefers merit to the quota system being practised in the country now, saying it is detrimental to the progress of any nation.

Osinbajo, therefore, insisted that Nigeria must insist on merit in the conduct of the national affairs.

He blamed the lack of development of the nation to corruption perpetrated by politicians in collaboration with the elite and religious leaders. Osinbajo spoke in Lagos during Greater Nigeria Pastors Conference, with the theme: “Towards A Better Nigeria” which was convened by Yomi Kasali, the senior pastor and founder of Foundation of Truth Assembly, FOTA.

The VP feared that Nigeria might never progress if successive governments continued with the quota system saying that adopting merit was the only way to develop the country.

He said: “ We must continue to advocate that there must be merit in our appointments and do away with sentiments and Nigeria will be where it ought to be. When our football teams are playing, we do not ask questions where the players come from because we want to win.

“In the same vein, if we want to win in Nigeria, we must insist on merit. We must insist on fair minded and just people in positions. That is how countries are run all over the world. It is only in this country that the first thing we do is to ask for quota system.”

Besides, Osinbajo said when there was rampant corruption that crippled Nigeria to what it is today “how many Christian leaders stood up to complain,” insisting that no nation could have survived the kind of corruption, which Nigeria went through in the recent times. He argued: “It is my view that the Nigerian elite, religious leaders and politicians think alike when it comes to corruption and they were always very selfish playing religious and ethnic cards when it pleases them.”

He added: “When you look at the high-level of corruption in the country, it has no ethnic or religious coloration, our elite and politicians are united when it comes to corruption. I have never seen a situation where an Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa and other tribes joined hands to steal money and they argued about it.”

The vice president, therefore, suggested that in order to build a new nation men and women of integrity must be raised. In the same vein, Osinbajo challenged the leadership of the church to eschew religious and ethnic sentiments in their approach to the issue of Nigeria, saying that the failure of Christian leaders by placing too much emphasis on Islamic Agenda as if they were looking for demon was a big mistake. He asked: “Why can’t we have Christian agenda based on the principle of the Bible as the Lord Jesus Christ teaches. The Church must begin the process of uniting Nigeria by uniting itself. What Nigeria needs to survive are already contained in the Bible. We cannot practice two gospels. The reason the country is what it is today is because we (Christians) care to practice what the Bible teaches.”

He also debunked the sentiments that the crisis of the Fulani Herdsmen killing got escalated when President Muhammadu, who is of the Fulani origin became president. According to him, “The Fulani Herdsmen crisis became rampant as far back as 1996 and it took a devastating effect in 2014 during the Libya crisis.

On the agitation for restructuring, Osinbajo said the problem with the demand was that there was yet to be any concrete agreement even among those championing the cause. He, however, said what the manifestos of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, talks about the devolution of powers, which he (Osinbajo) subscribed to.

– Oct 30, 2017 @ 13:30 GMT |