VP Osinbajo at NIPSS, tasks Nigerians on national unity

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VP Osinbajo at NIPSS, tasks Nigerians on national unity

Jos -Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo has called on Nigerians to exploit the country’s sociocultural diversity for national unity and peaceful coexistence.

Osinbajo spoke on Monday at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, NIPSS, Kuru in Plateau State while delivering a lecture entitled Creating a Homeland for All: Nation Building in a diverse democracy.

He frowned at the political weaponization of prejudices and bias in the diverse nation saying Nigeria has witnessed a vicious cycle of discrimination based on identity and such has “a long-term adverse effect on its citizens and the nation’s development.”

The event was a maiden edition of the Policy-making and Good Governance lecture series organized for participants of the Senior Executive Course, SEC 45 2023.

In a goodwill message, Plateau state Governor, Simon Lalong commended NIPSS for always formulating policies that have a direct bearing on nation-building but expressed concern that good policies have been poorly executed because of politics and other factors that are detrimental to the national interest.

He said, “Today’s event which heralds the maiden Policy-making and Good Governance Lecture Series is a well-conceived idea that addresses the long-standing challenge of policy-making and delivery of people-centred governance in Nigeria. It is common knowledge that policy conception, articulation and execution are some issues that have affected governance in Nigeria over the years.

“Policies are ordinarily supposed to be formulated based on national or State aspirations and driven by the concept of the “general good”. Unfortunately, we have witnessed time and again where good policies have been either jettisoned or poorly executed in Nigeria based on politics and other considerations that do not reflect the general interest.

“This situation which has deteriorated over the years, particularly within our democratic experience continues to impact negatively on the slow level of development in virtually all sectors. It is sad to note that rather than focus on sustaining good policies that drive national agenda and strengthen the Nigerian State, many officeholders sacrifice this virtue on the altar of politics which is sometimes motivated by parochial considerations driven by ethnoreligious considerations among others.

“The resultant effect of this is the level of bad governance we continue to experience where our people are denied the dividends of democracy and a better life. To make progress, this must change especially as we are in another transition where a new set of leaders are expected to take over soon.”

Earlier, the Director General of NIPSS, Professor Ayo Omotayo described the lecture series as an epoch-making event and commended the Vice President for honouring the Institute’s invitation to share his wealth of experience.”

The event featured an interactive session between the participants and the Vice President.