By Chijioke Okoronkwo
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo says Nigerians will fare better living together as one in spite of ethnic differences.
Osinbajo’s spokesman, Laolu Akande, in a statement on Sunday in Abuja, said the vice president had an interactive session with top officials of Nigeria’s High Commission, UK, at the Abuja House residence of the High Commissioner in London.
The vice president said the Federal Government would strive to ensure fairness and balance.
“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.”
He said citizens at home and in the Diaspora should promote the message of one country.
According to him, anybody who looks at how Nigeria operates will recognise that it is better off in this system.
“Yorubas are not better off on their own, Igbos are not better off on their own, 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.
“Everywhere in the world today, people are coming together to form stronger units, they are not breaking up, this is not the time to break up.
“If you read of 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 potential and everything that we have, think that the best way is to break up?”
Osinbajo said that Nigeria was at a point in time in its history where it had security and economic challenges.
He said that such challenges could happen to any government, adding that Nigeria would overcome the problems.
“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.”
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.
He said that the president was possibly the most popular Nigerian politician that the nation had in generations.
Osinbajo said that the president could possibly be the only person who could go into a place or somewhere without bossing people to gather and they would come and listen to him speak.
“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.”
He urged staff of the high commission to remain good ambassadors of the country and endeavour to promote justice and fairness in their activities as they made more efforts to promote government programmes and policies.
“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.”
Osinbajo commended the high commissioner and top officials of the mission.
He said he was pleased with the great report of developments 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,” he said.
Nigeria High Commissioner to UK, Amb. Sarafa Isola, Deputy High Commissioner, Amb. Sanni Suleiman, the Defence Adviser, Brig.-Gen. Buhari Baffa, among other members of staff attended the meeting.
(NAN)
