Press Release: Doing Things Differently is What we Need to Move the Nation Forward – VP Osinbajo

For Nigeria to succeed and move forward, Nigerians must learn to imbibe the principles of creativity, innovation and hard work, according to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN.

Prof. Osinbajo stated this today when he attended the Sunday service at the Commonwealth of Zion Assembly (COZA), Abuja, with renowned US preacher, Bishop T.D. Jakes as guest minister.

He further noted that character and integrity are also pillars for nation building.

The Vice President said, “The reality is that true success is line by line, precept by precept, building block upon building block, hard work, innovation, character; that is the measure of true success.

“The scripture says that God made us in his own image; that creativity that He commanded us to perform in every way is what will change our nation. Our creativity, our innovation, our hard work, and it was a command. So if we obey God, if we are creative, if we are innovative, if we are hard working, our nation will change.”

“There are many countries with huge resources like ours, and there are many countries with no resources whatsoever. But their creativity is the added value that makes a difference. So, it doesn’t matter whether you have resources or not. It doesn’t matter where you started from or how low, it is the value that you add by your creativity, by your hard work, by your innovation, by obeying God. Doing things differently is what we need to move the nation forward.”

After the service, VP Osinbajo presented a Legacy Bible with local Nigerian languages’ version to Bishop Jakes.

Also, this evening, the Vice President attended the Pentecost Day Service/Rally of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, Abuja Chapter, which held at Family Worship Centre, Wuye, in Abuja.

At the event, Prof. Osinbajo called on Nigerians to become agents of transformation and change in their environment, while urging them to pray for their leaders.

Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity
Office of the Vice President
20th May, 2018

Press Release: Nigeria’s Support For Sierra Leone Continues – VP Osinbajo

*Describes inauguration of new President as “celebration of democracy”

“It is a great celebration of democracy; the transition has been a peaceful one from one civilian president to another. Again, it signals hope for the people of Sierra Leone. President Maada Bio is a consummate technocrat.

“Sierra Leone and Nigeria have a long history. Most recently, if you recall, Nigerian troops gave their lives here in Sierra Leone defending the territorial integrity of Sierra Leone, the people and the country. President Bio repeated this in my conversation with him, and said how grateful he was. We have maintained a very good relationship, I believe that relationship will continue.” – Vice President

REMARKS BY HIS EXCELLENCY, PROF. YEMI OSINBAJO, SAN, GCON, VICE PRESIDENT, FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA, AT A MEDIA CHAT WITH JOURNALISTS AFTER THE INAUGURATION OF PRESIDENT JULIUS MAADA BIO OF SIERRA LEONE IN FREETOWN, SIERRA LEONE, ON SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2018.

Q: The significance of the inauguration of Sierra Leone’s President.

Vice President: First, I think it is a great celebration of democracy, the transition has been a peaceful one from one civilian president to another. Again, it signals hope for the people of Sierra Leone. President Maada Bio is a consummate technocrat. He was the one, if you remember, who handed power to a democratic government as a military leader. He has also proven over time to be someone who has thought over the problems of the country, and listening to him today and having met with him for close to an hour, I think there is great opportunity and hope for the people of Sierra Leone and I think that he is going to do a great job.

Q: On President Maada Bio’s promise to work with other African leaders.

Vice President: One thing is for certain, Sierra Leone and Nigeria have a long history. Most recently, if you recall, Nigerian troops gave their lives here in Sierra Leone defending the territorial integrity of Sierra Leone, the people and the country. President Bio repeated this in my conversation with him, and said how grateful he was. We have maintained a very good relationship, I believe that relationship will continue, he is keen to ensure it continues and we are able to move it into the economic sphere. Very many private sector investors are interested in coming to Sierra Leone. The Nigerian government has a good economic relationship with Sierra Leone. So I think the future is bright for both countries, and the future cooperation is particularly good.

Q: President Muhammadu Buhari’s message to the people and new President of Sierra Leone.

Vice President: The first is congratulations! President Buhari is very excited about the developments in Sierra Leone. He asked me to convey his very best wishes to the new President and government and also to pledge our continued cooperation and collaboration with the government and people of Sierra Leone.

Q: On the issues surrounding the leadership of the All Progressives Congress, APC.

Vice President: In politics, as you know, there will always be tensions. But the party is strong and the leadership and membership of the party are committed to ensuring that the party remains strong and continues to offer the hope and promise it has always offered and given to the people. I think a lot of the issues will be resolved as we go along. This is the normal order of things; there will be some disagreements, there will be those who may feel that they need certain preferences or certain things which may not have been done earlier on. I don’t think there is any major problem.

Released by:

Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity
Office of the Vice President
13th May, 2018

VP Osinbajo’s Keynote Address at the Opening Ceremony of the 2018 OGP Week in Abuja

It really is a special pleasure to be here with you, as we commence the Open Government Partnership Week in Nigeria. Our government came into office on the back of a three-pronged agenda, one ensuring security, two rebuilding the economy, and third, vigorously prosecuting the fight against corruption.

This last issue, corruption, has been an existential issue for Nigeria, threatening the very fundament of our existence. It has ensured that, for too long, the resources meant for the majority, have been cornered by a greedy minority.

This issue of corruption underlines every aspect of our national life, from our security situation to the state of our economy. It was the reason why, in spite of record oil revenues between 2011 and 2013/14, we saw no savings, and very little investment in infrastructure and jobs, and, in spite of the billions of dollars reportedly invested in security, the Boko Haram insurgency and other cases of insecurity did not abate.

Our government has adopted a two-step approach to dealing with this scourge of systemic corruption. The first is to stop grand corruption and the accompanying impunity. The second step and the more enduring one, is what this week is about, creating a self- sustaining system that assures transparency and accountability.

We have, since we assumed office three years ago, made remarkable progress in pushing the frontiers of transparency and accountability in the Federal Government. One of the first things that the President did when we took office was to establish the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), to coordinate our reform efforts in this regard.

We inherited a Treasury Single Account (TSA) system that existed mainly as an idea, without any committed implementation. Since the Presidential Order by President Buhari in August 2015, we have made remarkable progress in expanding the reach of the TSA, so that today, we are almost at 100 percent compliance.

The London Anti-Corruption Summit in May 2016 was an important milestone for us, in our anti-Corruption efforts, because it helped crystallize various national commitments into an effective multinational anti-corruption coalition.

It was at that conference that Nigeria committed to joining the OGP, and we fulfilled this commitment in July 2017 when we became the 70th country to join the Open Government Partnership (OGP), an international multi-stakeholder initiative, focused on improving transparency, accountability, citizen participation and responsiveness to citizens through technology and innovation. Following this, President Buhari constituted the OGP National Steering Committee (NSC), with the Federal Ministry of Justice as the Coordinating Ministry.

The OGP Nigeria has since developed its first National Action Plan (NAP) of fourteen commitments with focus on four thematic areas of Fiscal Transparency, Anti-Corruption, Access to Information and Citizens’ Engagement.

One of the remarkable things about the OGP is that it was designed to function as a partnership between the governments and the private sector. Without this coalition-building, I doubt that much progress would be achievable. Regardless of whether the goal is improving infrastructure or fighting corruption, it is clear, as it has always been, that governments cannot do it alone.

The skills, experience, resources and technology that the private sector brings to the table, are often invaluable and in many instances represent the difference between success and failure. We ought to equally acknowledge that there is a limit to what civil society by itself can accomplish by itself, without building bridges with the public sector that is very often the target of its work. What our experience with OGP in Nigeria has proven, is that it is possible to build a coalition of like-minded reformers drawn from government and non-state actors.

In addition to joining the OGP, and developing a National Action Plan in 2016, the Federal Government also established a Presidential Initiative on Continuous Audit (PICA), housed in the Federal Ministry of Finance, to clean up the Federal payroll and pensions systems, across all our Ministries, Departments and Agencies. PICA’s work in this regard has helped the Federal Government save more than N200 Billion by eliminating ghost workers. Like the TSA, we are also aggressively expanding the rollout of the Government Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), to ensure that the loopholes that enable payroll fraud are permanently blocked. PICA also oversees the Whistleblowing Programme we launched in December 2016. That Programme had seen recoveries of N7.8 billion, $378 million and 27,800 pounds sterling, as at March 2018.

Nigeria’s experience has shown that technology and innovations, as well as social media platforms, are changing the ways in which citizens engage with government, and empowering citizens and non-state actors to take a more active role in holding government to account. On our part, the Buhari administration is also actively leveraging technology in a way no previous government in Nigeria has, to underpin the President’s commitment to accountable governance. Indeed, much of the focus of the OGP is on the ways in which technology can help scale up the impact and reach of public sector anti-corruption and transparency initiatives.

I’ve spoken previously about our work expanding the Treasury Single Account (TSA) and the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS). A National Open Contracting Platform (NOCOPO), developed by the Bureau for Public Procurement, has become operational and is currently being piloted in a number of government institutions.

Similarly, the Infrastructure Concession and Regulatory Commission (ICRC) launched its Public Private Partnerships (PPP) Contracts Disclosure Portal in September 2017, to ensure the timely disclosure of contract information from project initiation through to implementation.

The Budget Office of the Federation, in line with global best practice and Open Budget Survey Index, also developed the citizens ‘I-Monitor’ Portal which enables citizens across the country to access budget information in real time and to monitor projects while encouraging proactive feedback to the government. An Open Contracting Working Group made up of civil society organizations and government institutions, are working together to enhance citizens’ access to, and understanding of procurement information.

Civil Society Organisations are also taking the lead in interesting ways. Take the example of BudgIT, a civil society partner that works on transparency in budgeting and tracking of government expenditure, using technology and graphic design. BudgIT has also developed Tracka.ng, a tool that enables citizens to share updates on budget implementation in their communities.

The Public and Private Development Centre (PPDC) has led the way in the development of ‘BUDESHI’, a technology platform that will assist non-state actors to monitor ongoing procurements.

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, one of the important areas of progress is the ongoing effort to establish a public register of beneficial owners. It is our hope that this will help bring to an end, the era of anonymous company ownership which aids capital flight, illicit financial flows and tax evasion. The Nigeria Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) is working closely with the Government of the United Kingdom and the Open Ownership – a global project, whose aim is to build an Open Global Beneficial Ownership Register – to develop Open Ownership Data Standards to achieve this goal.

Since we joined the OGP, access to public information premised on the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act enacted in 2011, has improved significantly. I am told that at least 106 government institutions now have designated FOI Desk Officers, to ensure speedy responses to information requests in compliance with the (FOI) Act and the commitments we have made under the Nigeria OGP National Action Plan.

We have set up a Presidential Committee on Asset Recovery (PCAR), and developed procedures and guidance to ensure that all recovered funds are paid into a single Central Bank Asset Recovery account, for improved transparency and ease of management.

The Federal Government’s agreement with the Swiss Government on the return of looted funds traced to former Head of State General Sani Abacha, led to the remittance of US$322 million in December 2017. This historic agreement also includes CSO monitoring of the utilization of the returned asset. I must acknowledge the role played by The Africa Network for Environment & Economic Justice (ANEEJ) in the negotiation of this agreement and leading of other CSOs in monitoring the utilization of the fund.

Since 2017, our annual national budgets have included a line item on revenue generated from asset recoveries. All funds forfeited to the Federal Government are being included in our yearly budget proposals, for appropriation by the National Assembly. We have also committed to investing these recovered funds on Infrastructure projects and our National Social Investment Programme. In addition, we have submitted a Bill to the National Assembly for the purpose of enacting a more comprehensive legislation on proceeds of crime.

The successes recorded from the implementation of the OGP framework, have contributed in no small measure to the improvement in the perception of Nigeria’s business environment by investors, businesses, and the international community.

Through the work of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, and the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), who are also members of the OGP National Steering Committee, Nigeria moved 24 places up on the World Bank’s 2017 Doing Business Index. The reforms, many of them heavily dependent on technology, have seen business registration time, reduced to under 48 hours, simplified processes for paying taxes and obtaining Nigerian visas, and improved access not just to credit by businesses, but also to credit information by potential lenders. The reforms have also led to the passage of landmark reform legislation like the Secured Transactions in Moveable Assets Act of 2017 and Trading Reporting Act 2017.

As we make progress at the federal level, we are also working with the States, through the subnational engagement framework, under the OGP National Action Plan, to improve transparency, accountability and citizen participation at other levels of governance. I am delighted to note that Kaduna State has not only developed its OGP State Action Plan, which was approved by the State Executive Council early this year, it has also become one of the first pilot states adopted from Nigeria by the OGP International.

I am equally delighted, that our efforts in fighting corruption and deepening good governance are being recognized and applauded globally. I have been told by the OGP Secretariat, that Nigeria was this year, elected into the global steering committee of the Open Government Partnership (OGP). And then there was the designation, in 2017, of President Buhari as the African Union’s 2018 ‘Anti-corruption Champion’. This is yet another testament to the hard work and political will that this administration has demonstrated in the fight against corruption, even in the face of great resistance.

There is no doubt that governments which seek to earn and sustain the trust of citizens, must learn to maintain high standards of transparency. The role of the OGP, in pushing for and achieving these high standards is evident, and wholly deserving of commendation.

Let me, on behalf of President Muhammadu Buhari, extend our sincere gratitude, to all those who have made today possible, particularly the OGP Steering Committee, Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, who is also the co-chair and the non-state co-chair of the OGP National Steering Committee, members of the OGP National Steering Committee made up of non-state actors, government institutions and the OGP Secretariat.

Distinguished participants, as we deliberate this week on the progress made by the OGP Nigeria, develop new ideas for future work to expand civic engagements, I encourage you to come up with policy recommendations that can radically help in further opening up Government at all levels in Nigeria.

We look forward to receiving the final report and recommendations at the end of this week. I thank you for your kind attention.

Just before I sit, I have the very distinguished pleasure of presenting the OGP Nigeria National Action Plan, 2017 – 2019. Thank you very much.

Released by:

Laolu Akande,
Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media & Publicity)
Office of the Vice President
7th May, 2018

Press Release: How Young People Outside Politics are Boldly Building the Nigerian Nation – VP Osinbajo

*VP celebrates success stories of several young Nigerians

*Calls for the Nigerian bridge to connect ethnicities, dialects, religion, politics and generations

“My point is that we can contribute  in profoundly transformative ways to changing our society by just doing our bit with excellence.

VP Osinbajo’s Address at the Platform Event of the Covenant Church, Igamu, Lagos

Nation-building in its classical sense refers to the formal and informal  processes by which political leadership attempts to build a national identity, a national ethos, a national spirit, especially in ethnically and religiously diverse societies. But it is my thesis that while government’s role is in casting the vision and creating the environment for nationhood, the real building of nations  is done and best seen through the efforts and accomplishments of many outside of political leadership. Men and women in business, agriculture, education, entertainment and the arts, who by just doing their business diligently, or serving faithfully or making sacrifices contribute to building the economies and  social systems that  ultimately build the  nation.

This afternoon I will share some of the stories of young people many of whom I have met who by just doing their own work faithfully have contributed to building our economy, increased our national pride and confidence, created opportunities for others, as well as, inspired others to be the best they can be. My point is that we can contribute  in profoundly transformative ways to changing our society by just doing our bit with excellence. Let me begin with the exceptional role of young Nigerians in innovation and technology.

On the 17th of April, I did a tour of technology businesses and hubs in Lagos. Paystack was my first stop, here is a safe payment system, which offers seamless money transactions between businesses and their customers. It was established in 2016 by two young Nigerian alumni of Babcock University; Sola Akinlade and Ezra Olubi.  Within the first three months of 2018 they have processed over N3billion  and generate about N40billion annually for Nigerian businesses. The company is today powering over 9,000 businesses that did not exist two years ago, creating over 25,000 jobs. Paystack has over 50 employees all under 35 years old. 

I was also at Andela,  a multinational company specializing in training software developers, co-founded by Nigerian born Iyin Aboyeji, & others like Ian Carnevale, Jeremy Johnson and Christina Sass. The company estimates that in the next 10 years there will be 1.3million software development jobs and only 40,000 computer science graduates to fill them. The company’s vision is to change the future of Nigeria and the African continent by developing talent and potential in Nigeria.  Today, the company has 1000 employees world wide. To enable that to happen, government’s role is to mainstream technology startups to be able to benefit from the incentives of industry.

Kola Oyeneyin’s  Venia Business/ Hub, is one of the earliest business hubs in Nigeria. Here, he has provided an efficient environment for many startups. Most of who use each others skills and technology cooperatively. But the pioneer of Nigerian hubs is clearly the Co-Creation Hub or CC Hub founded in 2010 by two young social entrepreneurs, Bosun Tijani and Femi Longe. It provides a platform for using innovative technology to solve social problems. Nearly 50 Nigerian tech driven businesses were incubated in CC hub. Some include now famous and dominant players like Budgit, Wecyclers, Genni Games, Lifebank, Gomyway, Vacantboards, Traclist, Autobox, Stutern, Gritsystems and Mamalette. All these businesses were started by young men and women under thirty-five.

One of the startups  that came out of Venia Hub is Flutterwave founded” in May 2016 by Iyin Aboyeji and a team of engineers and former bankers. This is a payment technology company that has since processed $2billion worth of transactions on its payment platforms. Tayo Oviosu‘s Paga, is in a class by itself. It is the leading mobile money transfer service in Nigeria. Paga has 11,000 agents across Nigeria and 6 million users. The company has a staff strength of 200. By facilitating payments for goods and services in this way, Paga has enabled several businesses and transactions. 

In healthcare, many young people are solving huge problems with ease. Temi Giwa’s LifeBank and Ola Orekunrin’s Flying Doctors are two startups using technology and innovation to fill critical gaps in our healthcare industry. Lifebank works on the blood shortage problem in hospitals and save lives by speeding up blood donations and delivery to hospitals in Lagos. Their Lifebank app connects donors and hospitals and they ensure delivery of blood within 55 minutes. Ola Orekunrin’s flying doctors, is the first air operated emergency medical service in West Africa. Her company provides air ambulances from a pool of 20 aircrafts and highly trained medical personnel for emergency evacuations.

The building of a self reliant nation must mean that the Nation should at least be able to feed itself. The response of many young Nigerians to the President’s call to “grow what we eat, eat what we grow,” and also diversify our economy is responsible for the phenomenal growth we have experienced in the past three years in the  Agricultural sector. The transformation in productivity and increase in investment that Nigerian talent and entrepreneurship have brought to agriculture is truly remarkable. 

Farmcrowdy is a digital agriculture portal that crowdsources funding for farms across Nigeria. Founded in 2016 by Onyeka Akumah and three other young Nigerians, it operates like a mutual fund; pooling together money from multiple investors to establish farms and hire smallholder farmers to cultivate them, and then paying the investors dividends from the harvests from these farms. In December 2017, it succeeded in raising US$1m in funding. From November 2016 till date, over 3000 rural farmers have been able to keep a job, expand their farm operations and increase their revenue as a result of intervention by Farmcrowdy. Such farmers include Sunday Ohimai who is a cassava farmer in Edo State, Esther a maize farmer from Dorowa-Babuje, just outside Jos, who recently improved her small acreage to a hectare and Uka Eje ‘s Thrive Agric in Abuja, who uses the same business model as Farmcrowdy also, with great success.

Four years before Farmcrowdy, in 2012, Yemisi Iranloye founded Psaltry, a cassava processing company in the rural town of Ado- Awaye. The starch it produces from the processed cassava is now used by several leading Nigerian food manufacturing companies, including Nestle, Unilever and Nigerian Breweries – as they increasingly replace imported starch with locally-sourced varieties. Psaltry was one of the companies that found growth opportunities in the midst of the recession, as companies cut down on imports and explored locally available substitution. In 2015 its revenues grew three-fold, and in 2016 it began building a second production line.

Abdul Fatah Sadiq Murtala, 25, is from Batagarawa local government in Katsina state. He founded Brio Green Agro Nigeria in 2016. It builds greenhouses and  hydroponic systems. Hydroponics is a method of growing plants in the growth chambers without soil. Brio Green is producing Animal fodder feed in a climate-controlled facility year round using this technology. Brio Green Agro supplies farms and ranches with fodder feed.

Kola Masha’s Babban Gona supports smallholder farmers in Northern Nigeria with financing, agricultural input, training and marketing. Masha is leveraging his experience in both the private and public sectors to deliver solutions that are changing the lives of thousands of struggling farmers like Umar Magaji, a 35-year-old farmer, who owns 1.5 hectares and, as of this year, leases another 2.5 hectares. He plans to lease a further 2 hectares next year. Thanks to Babban Gona, he says, his yields are two to three times what they once were. He has refurbished his house, bought a motorcycle and enrolled his children in the village school. He is hopeful he can perform the pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia within the next two years. 

Angel Adelaja, founder of Fresh Direct, has perfected an innovative approach to farming, in disused containers, without soil and with very little water. What she’s doing could very well be the start of an urban farming revolution in Nigeria. Also while visiting the Workstation Hub in Victoria Island, I had the pleasure of drinking Sola Ladoja’s fresh juice-‘Pick me up’  made by his start up Simply Green. Simply Green is a farm- to -bottle raw organic cold press juice company. Using organic and technologically harvested practices, meaning no chemicals or pesticides are used in growing their fruits and vegetables.

In beauty and high fashion, there is very little doubt that young Nigerians have captured and in some instances, dominating  local and international imagination. So the ground breaking pioneering works of Deola Sagoe and Lisa Folawiyo has spawned a whole new generation of Nigerian designers confidently using Nigerian and African prints  to make bold and unmistakable statements in high fashion. So today, Deola Sagoe has transformed the traditional  Yoruba Iro and Buba, by using laser cut Aso-Oke to create the now famous Komole, the toast of brides across the country. Lisa Folawiyo has on her part taken beaded African prints to new levels of creativity and both have inspired a new generation of designers like, Andrea Iyamah, and 31 year old Amaka Osakwe,  Maki oh! (started at 23) is celebrated in Vogue magazine and last year in the New Yorker as  West Africa’s most daring designer. Her use of adire in many collections  is  an intentional ploy to boldy redefine elements of culture. Orange Culture, Mai Atafo are also literarily making waves in Men’s clothing. 

In the beauty industry, Tara Fela-Durotoye, founder of the House of Tara and Banke Meshida, BM-PRO stand out as pioneers who have influenced a whole generation of beauty experts, and beauty products and opened a new vista in bridal make up. Tara’s training of hundreds of beauty experts and franchising of her House of Tara has created a whole new indigenously Nigerian beauty industry. This has created thousands of jobs for beauty experts and retailers. So now we see more ladies with their contours and highlights popping (on fleek – trend for good make up) Shomaya, (Elaine Edozien Sobanjo) Joyce Jacob have also  introduced Hollywood glamour to the Nigerian wedding make up industry.

By the way, what celebration today can beat the Nigerian wedding? from the make-up, dresses, to the decor, catering, cakes, party planning, and the photography; a whole new industry has developed by creative young people making an otherwise memorable event, even more memorable and linking ethnicities across the country in fashion and ceremony. Today everyone Yoruba, Ibo, Hausa, many others from different ethnic groups wear Aso Ebi, and their wedding ceremonies are becoming increasingly similar, not by a uniformity that results in loss of culture or tradition, but by a creativity that brings a standard while accentuating tradition and culture. The whole nature of the moderation, yet preservation of the traditional engagement ceremony is such testament to the depth of thought and creativity that has promoted, perpetrated and internationalized our tradition and values. The Nigerian wedding is becoming so popular that the film “Wedding Party” was a major international  commercial success. 

It is perhaps in the literary arts, especially the written and  spoken word  that we see the difficult issues of nation building most poignantly confronted by young people. A new generation of literary torchbearers have emerged. Talents like Chimamanda Adichie, Helon Habila, Teju Cole, Chika Unigwe, Chigozie Obioma,  Chibundu Onuzo, Abubakar Ibrahim, Eghosa Imasuen, Ayobami Adebayo, Elnathan John and many more, poets like Titilope Sonuga, Dike Chukwumerije, picking up the baton from the Soyinkas and Achebes. Their works expose the complications and the solutions to the issues associated with the mentality of persons in the post colonial state, a multi ethnic multi religious, society and underscore the question and process of emerging from these records and histories and building a nation therefrom. The reflection and introspection, their talents, boldness, precision, undiluted expressions and call to action invoke in us all is exactly what nation building and greatness is made of. They are not timid, and represent a growing class of sophistication and confidence that confront lingering post-civil war and even post colonial aches and pains. They highlight the hypocrisy of  ethno-religious barriers often set by the elite for selfish advantage and expose the underlying selfishness and failure of statesmanship that exploits fault lines for political and personal benefit. They highlight the cancer of systemic corruption and how it has eaten into the fabric of our society and cost us lives, years and retrogression.

These writers and poets explore, explain and humanize the difficult issues around social justice, the humiliation and delegitimization that poverty brings, and the failures of the rule of law. In Chimamanda Adichie’s “Half of a Yellow Sun,” one of the main characters, a University Professor, tells his houseboy: “There are two answers to the things they will teach you about our land: the real answer and the answer you give in school to pass. You must read books and learn both answers. I will give you books, excellent books. They will teach you that a white man called Mungo Park discovered River Niger. That is rubbish. Our people fished in the Niger long before Mungo Park’s grandfather was born. But in your exam, write that it was Mungo Park.”

This reminds me of one of the proverbs that Chinua Achebe popularized: “Until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.” – an affirmation of the truth that nation-building is to a large extent about storytelling and the importance of telling our own stories and writing our own histories. Aniete Isong’s “Radio Sunrise” is a scathing indictment of bribery in the Journalism profession. That the watchdogs of our democracy are sometimes mere captives of corrupt politicians and that news and its analysis may often be paid for.  There is no doubt that grand corruption remains the most enduring threat to our economy.

Just to give an example, Three Billion US dollars was stolen in the so called Strategic Alliance contracts. Three Nigerians were responsible. Today 3 billion dollars is 1trillion Naira and our budget is 7 trillion!  When oil was selling at 100-114 dollars a barrel, the government spent N99b Transport and Agric got N15b and N14b respectively in total three ministries got N139b. Today with oil prices between $60 and 70 per barrel, Power Works and Housing in a year got N415b, Transportation N80b, and N65b for Agriculture totaling N560b. How come we can do more with less income? We are investing in infrastructure: started Lagos- Kano standard gauge railway, the Mambilla Hydro, the second Niger Bridge and so on. If you control corruption you can do more with less. 

Dike Chukwumerije, reminds us in his powerful poem the Revolution has no tribe that our destinies as Nigerians no matter our tribe or religion  are inextricably tied together. What affects one affects all. Suffering neither knows tribe nor tongue.

He says: 

“Do you not know that poverty is not an Ijaw man? He will not spare the rest of us and afflict only the Ishan. He will step over the river and come across the border. So, when the drums sound let everybody answer.

Do you not know that corruption is not from Nekede? He will not hear that Ife had no dealings with Modakeke. He will wake up all of our children at night with hunger. So, when the drums sound, let everybody answer.

Do you not know that our enemies have no face? They are indigenes of no state, they come from no place and, if this boat capsizes every one of us will go under. So, when the drums sound, let everybody answer.

Do not say, “I am an iroko”, when the forest is burning. Do not say, “I am an obeche”, when the forest is burning as our differences will not prevent us from perishing together. So, when the drums sound, let everybody answer.”

Nations are also built by the contributions of public servants, those who work for governments despite the relatively poor remuneration.

 Damilola Ogunbiyi was 28 when as the first female General Manager of the Lagos State Electricity Board, she supervised the building of the 5 independent power plants in Lagos State and was responsible for providing solar power to over 200 schools and primary health centers in the State. Today still under 40 years old, she is the first female Managing Director of the Rural Electrification Agency, REA, responsible for providing uninterrupted power to 37 Federal Universities and seven Teaching Hospitals. She has started the project to provide power to Nigeria’s largest markets. Already, the first phase of the project has been completed in Sabongari market in Kano, and the construction phase has been completed for the  Ariaria market in Aba. Afolabi Imokhuede handles the Npower programme, a major feature of the Federal Government’s Social Investment Programme. The programme engages 200,000 graduates across all the States and the local governments . Its applications came through a portal developed by Softtcom,  a company of young Nigerian engineers. The process is completely transparent and you don’t need to know anyone to be engaged. Tochi Nwachukwu is the Special Assistant to the President on power privatization responsible for transmission, Ime Okon is a Senior Special assistant to the President advising on railways, roads, airports and other infrastructure projects. Mariam Masha, a medical doctor, and Senior Special Assistant to the President on IDPs and Bisi Ogungbemi, both have been working with IDPs in Maiduguri since August 2015. Recently they have been managing a newly built learning Centre and home for 1500 orphans in Maiduguri. There is also Mohammed Brimah who works on the North East Humanitarian technology hub, where ground- breaking innovation to tackle humanitarian challenges are developed.

But often forgotten are the excellent teachers in primary and secondary schools. Take the wonderful ingenuity and dedication of Emeafor Roland Chigozie, a secondary school teacher in the FCT, who has earned several awards for extraordinary efforts in raising our next generation. This Micro- Biology and Chemistry graduate of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, was named the best science teacher and recognized specially for exceptional performance in preparing FCT students in quiz and projects exhibitions. He also recently received another award for contributing to the 774 Young Nigerian Scientists Presidential Award competitions. As a chemistry teacher, the success rate of Emeafor’s students in the past 5 years of WAEC and NECO Exams ranged from 87% to 92%. There is also Doreen Osarobo Omoregie, a school teacher from Edo State, currently working in the FCT. She is a graduate of Chemistry Education, and she deserves this mention just because she consistently goes beyond the call of service in discharging her responsibilities. Even as a youth corper serving in a primary school, she organized a workshop for teachers on the use of primary science kits. She was soon able to take her school towards winning the award for the first best state school in Nigeria in science. Miss Omoregie herself was best science teacher in her school for three consecutive years. Quite remarkably, she was able to use her knowledge in producing items like soap, sanitizer, disinfectants etc which were used to protect students and teachers during the Ebola crises. I am amazed at the incredible work they do. 

These are the true nation builders, teachers, farmers, entrepreneurs, public servants, who work in this country, pay taxes, bear the hardships, but remain focused. They are the determined ones who never lose hope that change even if slow is possible and the only option, even when painful and unpopular. They are prepared to do their own part day by day. Their own dreams of greatness and their hardwork are the building blocks of our Nation.

 And how about the young men and women of the police and  armed forces who lay their lives on the line daily to protect us? The story of Late Colonel Muhammad Abu Ali, has been told often. As commander of the 272 Task Force battalion. His battalion was responsible for the recapture of Bama, Baga, Monguno and later Konduga in Borno State. He was decorated for bravery and excellence. He had become a terror to Boko Haram insurgents but he and four other soldiers were killed in an ambush. He was 36 years old, survived by his wife and three children. The story of late Sergeant Chukwudi Igboko went viral when he confronted armed robbers in a daylight robbery at a Zenith bank in Owerri, Imo State. He killed one of the robbers, the robbery was foiled but he and another officer Sgt Sunday Agbo died of the gun shot injuries they sustained during the attack. Both left wives and children. It is to these men and women who fight to defend our nation from terrorism, and crime that we owe the preservation of our nationhood. Some do not die but lose their limbs, their sight or hearing. The  widows, widowers and children  of these brave men and women bear the pain and anguish of loss by themselves for many years. 

And then there is the entertainment sector, whose main advantage lies in how it transcends tribe, tongue and location to bring joy to the screens of millions of Nigerians. Think of how much bliss the music videos of Clarence Peters and the bestselling comedies of Ayo Makun, Basket mouth, Akpororo, Chioma Emeruwa( Chi gal) Falz the Bad guy, Funke Akindele (Jenifa), and the multi talented comedian singer Kenny Black have brought to audiences at home and abroad. They proudly fly our flag and make us proud. But one of our favourites at the villa is Senator MC Toguwaye, “his excellency the President.” His impersonations of the President has him nearly falling off his chair with laughter. And then there is the newest generation, emerging as we speak on Instagram and WhatsApp. Lasisi Elenu (‘Somun just happen right now!’), Williams Uchemba (“You know I don’t like what I hate”). Stand up Comedy in  Nigeria  owes much to the pioneering efforts and mentor ship of Ali Baba. He literally created a whole industry. AY Ayo Makun is not just successful he has continually given a new generation of comedians a platform with his AY live shows. 

As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said. “An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity”. Few will deny the incredible dividends that  Nollywood has brought to Nigeria. Jason Njoku and his wife, Mary, owners of Iroko and Rock TV pioneered live streaming of Nollwood movies, taking Nollywood to the world. They have also provided opportunities for hundreds of production personnel and agents. For a lot of these, it is to Mo Abudu, founder Ebonylife TV which airs in 49 countries, and a prolific creator of high quality Afro-centric entertainment content, that pride of place must be given.  Mo Abudu has continuously sought to change the negative perceptions of Africa by telling Africa stories from an African perspective. Her project the “Wedding Party” became the highest grossing Nigerian movie.

Wherever you go in the world today, on airplanes or in department stores you can hear Nigerian music. The credit for taking Nigerian music to the world must go to stars like Tiwa Savage, Davido, Olamide, Wizkid, Waje and so many others. Their creativity and talent has benefited our nation’s image and put a spring to the steps of so many young and aspiring entertainers.  The credit for the discovery, grooming and production of many world class Nigeria acts and records, and building true Nigerian brands is to the likes of DonJazzy (Marvin records), and Banky W’s E.M.E.

As government our business is to create the environment for entrepreneurs to do business, so we are working on access to cheap credit, and on providing infrastructure,  especially power, greater broadband penetration. But the task of nation building is never done. The builders confront new problems daily. Today we are confronted with the remnants of Boko Haram terrorism, with farmer/herdsmen clashes, and the potential of ethno religious conflict, we have to feed ourselves, provide millions of new jobs, as every day more people are added to our population. The job of the builder is not to complain or escape, but to confront and solve. 

What can we do together to ensure that we don’t spend the rest of our days looking forward to the past, frozen by inaction, resolved to doing the same things over and over, and hoping for better results? I believe the solution is in building the Nigerian bridge. This bridge will not be built of steel or bricks and mortar, but it must be made of the strongest materials of all, our will to excel, our commitment to build a new society, men and women of a new Nigerian Tribe.

This is a bridge that connects us across tribes, ethnicities and dialects, a bridge that connects us across religion, politics and generations. Every one can travel on this bridge, this strong and steady bridge, a bridge that rises from innovation and traditions that span the troubled waters of our past. A bridge that will withstand the powerful forces of fear, division and exclusion. A bridge that can take the traffic of our best ideas, our creativity, our human and material resources daily to the destination of our national dreams. The bridge will be built with the wisdom of the elderly and the strength of youth. All of us deserve some accolades!

Released by:

Laolu Akande
Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity
May 1, 2018

VP Osinbajo’s Address at the 2018 May Day Celebration at Eagle Square, Abuja

Let me begin by wishing all of us gathered here, mainly our two federations of Trade Unions – the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), a happy celebration of May Day in solidarity with organized labour the world over. I salute and pay tribute to all Nigerian workers and working families. It is on your hard work, innovation, resilience and patriotism that our nation is building the structures for true greatness.

I must also seize this opportunity to acknowledge the historical contributions of Nigerian working people and organized labour to the political, economic, social and cultural development of our nation. The Nigerian organized labour has always been at the forefront of the push for a better Nigeria, from the struggles for independence; right through to the clamour for the restoration of the democratic order, and, in the last 19 years, for the sustenance of the freedoms guaranteed by our democracy. I must also say that Nigerian organized labour has contributed actively towards helping Nigeria get out, in record time, of an economic recession arising from past economic mismanagement.

This administration has remained committed to improving the welfare of the Nigerian people. When we came into office at least 22 States were owing salaries, some for a whole year. If you recall in November 2015, the President said and I quote, “all my life I have always earned a salary, so I understand what it means when your salary is not paid or when it is not enough.”

Just last year, Mr. President speaking to governors visiting him, again went back to the issue of salaries, I don’t know how any of you can go to sleep at night knowing that your workers have not been paid. The President’s concern for workers is not theoretical or rhetorical, but one borne out of experience, and respect for the sweat of the working classes, This is why we evolved mechanisms to bail out all the 36 states of the Federation, to the tune of N1.91Trillion so far including Paris Club repayments, in recognition of the shortfalls in their finances arising in particular from the oil shocks of 2015/2016.

We have extended this support regardless of party affiliation, to enable the States settle the backlog of arrears and salaries and pensions of workers. At the inauguration of the National Economic Council in 2015, President Buhari publicly declared that our administration will support every State, because poverty is no respecter of ethnic group, religion or party affiliation.

While we do recognize that payment of salaries and pensions is essential, we are also conscious of the fact that the increasing cost of living and the recognition to ensure a fair and decent living wage, has rendered the Minimum Wage Instrument which is currently in force obsolete. Accordingly, President Buhari on November 27, 2017, inaugurated a Tripartite National Minimum Wage Committee to renegotiate the National Minimum Wage for our workers.

As you are all aware, the subject of a National Minimum Wage for the Federation is within the Exclusive Legislative List of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended). This means it is primarily the responsibility of the Federal Government. Although, there are arguments regarding fixing minimum wage in a Federation such as ours, it is the responsibility of government to establish the necessary social protection for all Nigerian workers based on the ability of each tier of Government to pay.

The argument for a national minimum wage, therefore, cannot be faulted, because minimum wage is the minimum amount of compensation an employee must receive for putting in his or her labour and as such, should be anchored on the principles of social justice, equity, and fairness. We believe that those who can pay above the social protection floor are free to do so, as many have been doing in many States and sectors of the economy.

This administration has no intention of presiding over the dismantling of the gains of organized labour through the years, especially almost four decades ago. Our hope therefore, is that the Tripartite Committee comprising government, labour, and the private sector, will expedite its assignment to enable the Federal Government to present an Executive Bill on a new National Minimum Wage to the National Assembly for passage into law, as soon as possible. In the meantime, the Federal Government and the State governments will continue to work together, to improve the conditions of workers across the country.

Great Nigerian workers, it will be belabouring the point, to say that a virile organized labour is a vital institution for our nation at every point in its development. In our political and democratic evolution, a virile labour is a sine qua non. In the interest of the men and women of our society, who need a voice to speak loudly against economic or social injustice, Labour must remain united.

Let me seize this opportunity once again, to reiterate this administration’s commitment to the unity of the Nigerian organized labour, to serve as a bulwark against divisive forces, internally and externally. Accordingly, I advise that the Nigerian labour movement must employ its leadership skills of conflict resolution and utilize all the internal mechanism to resolve conflicts, because factionalization is not an option and not the answer.

I must at this point, appreciate the Nigerian labour movement, for being a strong pillar of support for our anti-corruption agenda. The government recognizes the fact that, indeed, the first line real victims of corruption are the Nigerian workers and working families, along with the rural poor. They are the ones who suffer the most from the corruption of the political classes.

It is regrettable that despite the enormous revenues Nigeria earned from oil in recent past, we still have problems with payment of salaries and pensions of workers, largely due to mismanagement and corruption. I assure you that under our administration, we will ensure that we expend every kobo of public funds, towards securing the welfare of all Nigerians.

We have continued to demonstrate our commitment, to the welfare of Nigerians by ensuring, that we protect the socially excluded and socially vulnerable. For the first time in the history of our country, we are implementing a full social protection programme, through a youth employment scheme, N-Power, Micro-credit to small businesses, Conditional Cash Transfers to the poorest, and a Home Grown School Feeding programme. So far we have employed 200,000 graduates in our N-Power programme, and we are bracing up to do 300,000 more.

Today, we are feeding over 7million children in 22 States, and we have employed 70,000 cooks. So far, we have given over 362,000 Microcredit loans, and our target is to give 1million of such loans especially to market women and artisans. We have also given cash transfers over 300,000 of the poorest Nigerians our Conditional Cash Transfers. Our target is to give this benefit to 1 million of the poorest.

The issue of course is that every country, of the size of Nigeria, especially a developing country, must have a social protection policy; we must have a safety net. The resources of the country must be used to protect those who either cannot work, or are vulnerable and poor in ways those who experience it can imagine. We take it as our duty, as a progressive government, to ensure that we protect the poor and vulnerable, and this is the main objective of the programmes that we have put in place.

These programmes have been targeted at the most vulnerable segments of our society, and are meant to ensure that we build a socially cohesive society, in which the resources of the country work for all. We will continue to apply public funds in such a way, that no section of the country or segment of the population, suffers social exclusion.

It is also the reason why we have prioritized agriculture in our economic planning. Our investment in the sector is paying off; importation of rice has dropped to just 2%. Millions of farmers, producing rice, sorghum, millet, tomatoes and other grains, are earning decent returns on their investments. We will soon be self-sufficient in both rice and tomato paste. We will soon be sufficient in our food as the President has said, “we must grow what we eat.” It is up to us, to ensure that we are self-sufficient in our food production and it is the duty of our government and we have considered it our historical task to ensure that we are able to provide food that is home grown and available to all Nigerians for cheap.

We have no choice but to improve our business environment, our business environment must enable medium and small scale businesses to work. To this end, we are committed to ensuring the reduction of interest rates so that businesses can have access to cheap credit. It is important to encourage young people in technology, innovation and the entertainment industry. We intend shortly, through the instrumentality of an advisory body, to mainstream the incentives available to the rest of industry to these new businesses.

Let me say also, as you are all quite aware, that insecurity has remained a big challenge for us all. But we are determined to face this challenge and secure the country more than ever before. To this end, Mr President and the Security Council have been engaging in rigorous stock taking, with a view to reengineering our security architecture to meet the challenges of the mindless killings in some parts of the country, including the threats of marauding herdsmen, cattle rustlers and bandits.

It is our duty to secure the rights of farmers, and all citizens, and to ensure that herders also can rear their cattle, especially as we have proposed in well-resourced ranches. But there are also criminals who want to stoke religious and ethnic crisis. Criminals who want to divide the country, using all manners of excuses including the recent attacks.

What is the explanation for anyone to go into a church to kill priests and worshippers? We recognize that while the protection of lives and property is a primary responsibility of government, it is also incumbent on us as citizens to share in this responsibility, as security is a collective responsibility. This country belongs to us all.
Our country is great because of the talents of our people, from every tribe, tongue, and religion. Our diversities are our strength. We must reject every attempt to divide us; our focus must be on developing our economy, providing opportunities in industry, manufacturing, technology for our young people. To borrow from Dike Chukwumerije, a young Nigerian poet – “we must build bridges not walls.”

We must continue to have faith in our great country. I thank you for your continued patience all workers of this nation, and your sacrifices towards moving the nation forward. Nigerian workers are by any estimation, the most patriotic segments of the population. You are amongst the most committed taxpayers, because your taxes are deducted at the source. Hence, nobody can deny you the right to interrogate government and how public funds are expended at all times. You remain amongst the few organizations that have risen above primordial sentiments and have gone across tribe and ethnicity and religion to come together to unite for a common purpose.

We believe that the worst is over for Nigeria. Accordingly, we will do everything within our powers to sustain the current economic recovery efforts. We will continue to reinforce our macroeconomic policies, to achieve sustainable economic stability and growth. We will also continue to ensure that growth comes along with more jobs and a fair and just distribution of the national wealth.

This administration has come this far, always counting on the continued support and goodwill of the Nigerian organized labour. I am confident that together we would achieve our objective, of building a united and prosperous nation.

Thank you all for your attention and may Almighty God bless us all and our great country, Nigeria.

​Released by:

Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant to the President, On Media and Publicity,
Office of the Vice President
1st May, 2018​

Transcript of an Interview by VP Osinbajo during His Visit to ICT/Innovation Hubs/Companies in Lagos

Q: What’s your impression of the seven Technology & Innovation hubs you visited?

Vice President: It has been an exciting day. We’ve been, as you said, to a number of technology enterprises and hubs. We’ve been to Paystack, Andela, Flutterwave, Workstation, FarmCrowdy, African Fintech Foundry, and here we are at Co-Creation Hub.

What strikes one immediately is the sheer amount of innovation that is available and is going on. And I must confess that it is unbelievable that so much is going on.

I have been talking for a few months now about some of the businesses and the hubs that I visited today. I had a chance to chat and talk about various things. What strikes you is that there is so much going on, so many young people; so many creative ideas. It’s just incredible. And that tells you what the future is going to look like. Already, as we always say, the future is here. I have seen for myself the sheer creativity. Practically every type of enterprise has been disrupted by the technologies that we see. And a lot of the payment systems that we have been seeing, a lot of the technology companies that we see are doing incredible things.

Q: How can the Federal Government harness these tech talents?

Vice President: As you know, I chair the Economic Management Team of the Federal Government. I’m also chair of the National Economic Council. Technology is obviously the future; the future of our economy, the future of commerce and the future of industry. We recognize this in the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan and that’s one the reasons why I am here in the company of the Honourable Minister of Science and Technology, the DG of National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and, of course, the Lagos State Commissioner for Science and Technology, and Commerce. We recognize that this is the way commerce is going to develop and that is why we are taking, first of all, such an active interest in their personal engagement.

We are also trying to see how we can collaborate, how we can partner with all of these enterprises and, in some cases, with membership organizations they have in order to be able to create the kind of environment that makes it possible for this to happen seamlessly and in a way that we actually can have a multiplication or replication of all we are seeing today.

So, we are collaborating already with a number of hubs and also with some that we are starting. For example, we are doing some work in partnership with Civic Hub in Abuja. We are doing some with the Humanitarian Hub in the North East, where we are focusing on the humanitarian challenges in the North East of Nigeria, and creating technology and innovation that could be helpful in solving some of their problems. We also have a Climate Change Hub in collaboration with the Lagos Business School. And, of course, we intend to collaborate and partner with Co-Creation Hub and several other hubs.

The point is that we are anxious not to get in the way. Government can sometimes get in the way of enterprise. What we really need to do is to partner and to work hand in hand with them so that we help in whatever way, in whatever difficulty that they have. In some case, it might be credit; in some others, it may just be in creating and ensuring the right policy.

So, on one of the things that we are trying to do is to set up a council of sorts. Already, we have an industrial and competitiveness council. We want to look at doing one for technology and for innovation as well so that we bring in some of the key players and thinkers around technology working with government and government officials to develop policy and various ways we can help them to do what they are doing better.

Q: Advice to existing and potential tech developers in the country?

Vice President: I’m going to borrow from the wise Minister of Science and Technology, who, earlier in the day in our discussion, said something. It is that a lot of those who are doing these enterprises, a lot of the technologies and innovators we’ve seen got the attention and got to where they are by being increasingly innovative and creative.

So, the only way to keep ahead of the curve, the way to keep ahead of anyone else is by increasingly innovative and by finding newer ways of doing things better. My advice is that the only way to keep ahead is by ensuring that you are ahead in terms of innovations and technology. From what I’ve seen here today, it is obvious that these guys do not have any plans to rest on their oars, as they say. They certainly intend to keep ahead. I’m excited to say that the advice they need is the advice they’ve already taken. I hope that when we come back to see them, what we see here would be much more advanced than what we are seeing here today.

Released by:

Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant to the President, Media & Publicity
Office of the Vice President
18 April, 2018

Press Release: Buhari Administration Has Invested in Nigeria’s Human Capital Through its Social Investment Programmes – VP Osinbajo

*SIPs: 7 million pupils being fed a meal daily in 22 states, 300,000 Nigerians benefit from CCT – VP Osinbajo

*Says 200,000 unemployed graduates now employed under N-power

*Success of Buhari administration’s SIPs, agriculture has created millions of jobs for Nigerians

Despite the fall in the price of crude oil, the main stay of Nigeria’s economy, and reduced national revenue as a result, at the time it was elected in 2015, the Buhari administration has been able to put in place the largest pro-poor programme in Nigeria’s history, according to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN.

Prof. Osinbajo said this on Thursday during the 10th Bola Ahmed Tinubu colloquium held at the Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos.

In line with the theme of the event, ‘Investing in People’, the Vice President noted that the Buhari administration’s N500 Billion Social Investment Programme was an audacious decision because of the fall in crude oil prices when the administration was elected in 2015.

He said the Federal Government, in line with its determination to curb grand corruption, has made significant strides in improving the welfare of Nigerians and reaching millions of beneficiaries through its Social Investment Programmes.

The Vice President added that the Buhari administration was “determined to change the dominant narrative” about the country.

He said, “We were determined to ensure that the notion of a country rich in all natural resources, but even richer in human capital, but being destroyed daily by grand corruption, and the impunity in the looting of public resources; we had to change that narrative.

“We saw a nation where a few in office had so privatized the commonwealth that, while oil prices were at their highest and we were getting growth figures as high as 7%, the majority of people remained extremely poor. On one of our campaign trips in Zamfara State, Mr. President said, “Look at the eyes of this people,” and of course, we saw the poverty and desperation in their eyes. Then he said, “They expect us to fix this problem of their poverty as soon as we get into office.”

Prof. Osinbajo noted that the Buhari administration has invested heavily, not only in its Social Investment Programmes, SIPs, but also in agriculture, in line with its core objectives to improve security and the country’s economy, in particular the welfare of the people, and curb corruption.

He added that the SIPs have continued to record significant successes because the administration was determined to invest in Nigerians and so improve the economy.

The Vice President said, “So we decided on two things; one to invest heavily in Agriculture; to create jobs in the hinterlands, provide enough food locally and for all of the urban areas. In our agriculture programme, I’m sure that many would already agree that this has been a tremendous success. Several millions of Nigerians have been employed in agriculture. In fact, Mr. President tells the story of his own village where people used to lease out their farms to farmers from Kano. But now, nobody is leasing out their farms anymore. Everybody is on his own farm.

“Secondly we also decided to put in place an audacious Social Investment Programme to the tune of N500 billion, the largest pro-poor programme in our nation’s history, and the largest social safety net, at least in Sub-Saharan Africa. This was despite the fact that by 2015, oil prices fell by over 50% and our production also fell from over 2 million barrels a day to less than 700,000 barrels a day, sometimes even 500,000 barrels in 2016.

“We have seen today the empirical evidence of the successes of this programme, and all of that is evident for us to see and listen to several testimonies and stories. 200,000 jobs for graduates employed under the N-Power programme, 300,000 more waiting to be employed; they have been pre-selected; over 7 million children being fed daily in 22 States so far; beneficiaries of microcredit loans going to about 300,000; and almost 300,000 households benefiting from conditional cash transfers.”

Released by:

Laolu Akande,
Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media & Publicity)
Office of the Vice President
30th March, 2018

VP Osinbajo’s Remarks at the Flag-off of the Lekki Deep Sea Port Project

I am delighted to be here this morning for the flag-off of the Lekki Deep Sea Port Project.

This is a landmark project for several crucial reasons and the first is that the promoters of this project are targeting about 1.5 million, Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) container capacity annually, which they expect to grow to about 2.7 million and 4.5 million TEUs when the project operations commences.

With this fit, Lekki port will become one of the largest deep water ports in our region, and serve as a hub for port operations in the whole of West Africa. There is no question at all that the project will be the sort of project that the promoters have said that it will be, and with all of the plans that they have for developing it, we expect that it will be the largest in Africa.

It is expected that the project construction, once completed, will influence the generation of up to about 170,000 direct and indirect new jobs in the economy.

The promoters, I am told, also plan to dredge the port channel to about 16 meters draught, which is not currently obtainable in any sea port in the country. This, in itself, is an indication that ships of larger sizes, I’m told, very large crude carriers, will visit the port and greater efficiency and economy of scale will generate significant revenues for the Nigerian economy, with government earning a significant portion of it.

The second reason why this, for us, is a landmark event is, with respect to our Economic Recovery and Growth Plan, its emphasis on supporting game-changing infrastructure projects directed at making major impact on trade and commerce.

In the past two budgets, we have provided an aggregate of about N90 billion for the development of Special Economic Zones. We are developing the Lekki Special Economic Zones as a model Special Economic Zone specifically targeting exports. The development of this deep sea port is mission critical to the achievement of the important objective of creating these Special Economic Zones.

So, the third reason is the commitment of our economic philosophy to private sector leadership of our economic development efforts. This project is essentially private sector driven. The Toleram group and China Harbour are, of course, the lead private sector participants in this project. And as you have heard, their commitment to this project is total and we have seen the different scenarios of this project, they have driven it to this point with great tenacity and I must commend and congratulate them.

The Nigerian Ports Authority and Lagos State Government are the public sector partners in this project. The business of government is to contribute by way of equity where necessary, to projects of this size, but more importantly to create the enabling environment for the private sector to do business.

While commending all the parties to this landmark project, I want to commend very specially the Honourable Minister of Transportation, whose zeal has continued to drive this project; he keeps talking about it all the time. In the cabinet he talks about it all the time, so I want to commend him for the way he has pushed this project.

Let me say that we must move ahead to ensure the speedy completion of this project. There will be problems as I am sure you have experienced some, but be assured that the Federal Government and the Lagos State government, will be with you every step of the way to ensure that we give all the support required.

Let me, therefore, on this note, before we get to the cutting of ribbons once again congratulate everyone involved in this project.

God Bless you.

Released by:

Laolu Akande,
Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media & Publicity)
Office of the Vice President
30th March, 2018

Press Release: Investing in our People, Key to Economic Growth, Says VP Osinbajo

*Gates commends Buhari administration for “a series of smart policies to encourage private sector investment”

*Nigeria’s growth driven by extracting natural resources and building on that through physical infrastructure, Dangote adds

The successes recorded by its social investment programmes are clear indications that the Buhari administration’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) is making progress, according to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN.

Prof. Osinbajo stated this during a special session of the National Economic Council (NEC) focused on Human Capital Development, which held today at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The NEC is composed of all state governors and the CBN Governor under the chairmanship of the Vice President.

The special session, which included officials of federal and state governments, was also attended by Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Chairman of the Dangote Foundation, and Bill Gates, Co-Chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

While describing Gates and Dangote as committed and valued philanthropic and development partners, the Vice President thanked them for “uniquely deploying huge resources and innovation through social enterprise to solving some of the most challenging issues of human development that we face today.”

The Vice President further said the social investment programmes, which are a key component of the administration’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), have made significant strides nationwide because of the administration’s political will and vision to make the needed investments, for today and the future.

According to Prof. Osinbajo, “Let me reiterate that not only are we painfully aware of the issues we are prepared to take the challenges you have outlined head-on. Nigeria has strong economic growth and development ambitions, encapsulated in our Economic Recovery and Growth Plan, which we launched in 2017.

“All of those lofty ambitions can only be achieved through the determined application of human skill and effort. And for that effort to be meaningful and productive it has to come from people who are healthy, educated, and who are and feel empowered.”

“It is this realisation that has helped ensure that one of the primary planks of the ERGP is ‘Investing in our people’. And it is for this reason that we are expanding the reach and quality of our healthcare, through the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS); and working to guarantee basic education for all persons, whilst also upgrading and modernising the quality of secondary and post-secondary education.

“In 2016 we launched a Social Investment Programme – comprising a jobs scheme for unemployed graduates, a feeding programme for public primary school pupils, a micro-credit scheme for small businesses, and a cash transfer scheme for our poorest and most vulnerable households. This Social Investment Programme, a key component of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan, and the most ambitious in Nigeria’s history, aims to ensure that no one is left behind; that Nigeria’s wealth is more equitably distributed to its vulnerable populations: young and old, male and female, regardless of where in the country they live or what language they speak.

Further highlighting the successes recorded, Prof. Osinbajo said, “The school feeding programme currently serves over 7 million school children, across 22 of Nigeria’s 36 states, and continues to grow as more States sign up for it. Apart from the health outcomes – children free from malnutrition and stunting – there are also important educational and economic benefits as well. By guaranteeing one hot meal a day to these children the scheme has pushed school enrolment rates upwards in many of the communities in which it is being implemented.

“Our cash transfer programme, which we’re delivering with the support of the World Bank, makes it imperative for beneficiaries to fulfil certain conditions relating to health or education, before they can receive their monthly stipends. These conditions range from mandatory ante-natal care for pregnant women, to mandatory immunisations for nursing mothers, to minimum school attendance rates for parents of school-age children.

“N-Power, as the jobs-for-graduates component of the Social Investment Programme is known, deploys young Nigerians to work as health and teaching assistants, bringing healthcare and education to more people across the country. We have 200,000 young Nigerians already engaged, and this year we intend to scale that up to 500,000. But the more importantly we are leveraging on the creativity and innovation of our young people.”

In his speech, Bill Gates praised the efforts of the Buhari administration through its economic recovery and growth plan and praised Nigerian’s for having “big dreams and big ambitions”. Noting that Nigeria was now the ‘biggest economy on the continent, Gates said the country was now “rapidly approaching upper middle-income status, like Brazil, China, and Mexico.

Adding that Nigeria has unmatched economic potential, Gates said the Buhari administration’s has taken important steps to fill in gaps in areas of the economy like agriculture, with “both more investment and a series of smart policies to encourage private sector investment.”

“These reforms lay the foundation for a booming agricultural sector that feeds the country, helps end chronic malnutrition, and lifts tens of millions of smallholder farmers. I urge you to build on this,” he said, adding that the FG should increase its investments in health, education, and opportunities that will lay the foundation for sustained prosperity.

“The agricultural sector is a pillar of the Nigerian economy. It accounts for a large proportion of your GDP, and during the oil price collapse and recession, it helped cushion the economy. But it still has a lot of potential to grow,” Gates said.

Also speaking at the event, Dangote noted that human capital was a critical component of Nigeria’s future economic growth.

He said the country has largely achieved growth by extracting natural resources and building on that through physical infrastructure.

He said, “For Nigeria to truly compete globally, we must prioritize investments in the health, education and opportunity of our people alongside other critical areas like infrastructure. Together, these are the inputs that will make Nigeria richer,” he said.

Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant, Media and Publicity to the President
Office of the Vice President
22nd March, 2018

Remarks by VP Osinbajo at the 7th Presidential Quarterly Business Forum in Abuja

Opening Remarks

Before I go into my few remarks, I just want to add to some of the questions that have been asked. A question was asked on the railways and what has been happening especially with respect to being able to evacuate goods from the ports. Two things happening; first, I’m sure some are already familiar with the concession given to General Electric, to refurbish the Narrow Gauge Lines, which starts from the Ports itself. That concession is already in place, and we expect that things should begin to happen very quickly. Also in the private sector, one of the members of that consortium – APM Terminal, is going to do something on a railway station on the way to Ibadan and trying to develop an inland port there. They say they can do this in 10 weeks and we hope that means a further reduction in the pressure on the Apapa port.

Asides from that, the Standard Gauge Line which is funded by the China EximBank has already started and taking off from the Apapa port. We expect that by the end of this year, we should see significant progress between the Lagos-Ibadan end of that Standard Gauge Line. As a matter of fact, our target is to have that bit of it concluded by the end of this year and we hope we can achieve that. So that would move goods from the Apapa port out of Lagos to at least as far as Ibadan, before going to Kano which is the terminal point of the Standard Gauge Line.

The other question I would like to add to is concerning the Eastern ports, because someone asked about the Onitsha port. The concession agreements on that have been finalised, all the technical evaluations have been done, it is going to the Attorney-General’s office and we expect that it should be sorted out very shortly.

In that same Eastern port axis, there is a Warri port, the technical evaluation is still going on, it hasn’t been concluded yet but we expect that it should move on very quickly.

The other point is the frustration that many of us feel when we come into Nigeria through our airports and of course, some of the frustrations around the seaports in bringing in goods.

The point that was made especially about two people sitting together, questioning you and passing your passport from one person to the other, is what we are all generally irritated about. What we require is i-check, which is quite an elaborate device which enables us to get advance passenger information ahead of passengers arriving at the ports. This enables us to do two things; one, it enables us to give visas on arrival because you already have the information of the passenger. Secondly, it removes the necessity of more than one person checking the passport because you already have advance information, the other security person works from the backend. We expect that when that is installed, we would be able to achieve that and remove the nuisance of two/three people checking passports.

Last week, we held a meeting with all the agencies that are usually at the ports, and you find that there are several of them. The idea is to reduce this number and ensure only those who must absolutely be there are there. There are some who don’t need to be there but rather be summoned when their services are required.

The permanent solution we are proposing for bringing in and taking out goods from our ports is through our single window, the National Trading Platform. We have gone very far with that, and we expect that should be on stream very shortly. We are at the point where this is going to FEC for a final approval.

With the single window, a lot of the stress will be greatly reduced, and with the appropriate scanners run by concessions with PPP arrangements, we should be able to achieve greater ease of coming into our ports and exporting goods from our ports.

Main Speech

Let me join my cabinet colleagues in thanking you for making the time yet again to attend the Quarterly Business Forum (QBF). This is the 7th Forum, and there are many here who have attended all seven, to them we are of course, especially indebted for their consistent faith and support for this process; even those who haven’t attended seven, have attended several and there are some who are attending for the first time.

It is important that we continue to emphasize that for us both philosophically and as a practical matter, our partnership with the private sector is fundamental. Aside from the QBF, we have established other platforms to harness the partnership, these include the Industrial Policy & Competitiveness Advisory Council and the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council. These are interactive platforms where we bring the private sector to collaborate, develop and think through policies with us and in the Competiveness Council to even implement policies with us.

I think this is the way we ought and have to continue because when you consider the size of the Federal Government’s budget, and even when you total the aggregate States’ government budget, you find that the absolute amounts are very small indeed but once you factor in the private sector, that becomes the real economy of Nigeria and there is no way of talking about the economic development of Nigeria without the private sector seating at the table, playing a critical role.

I have asked the question, and I ask again? What was wrong with the Nigerian economy and what did we need to do to correct the flaws?

There are several issues, many of which have been well articulated in all earlier presentations. But I want to talk about what I think is probably the biggest problem but which we for some reason hardly talk about when discussing our National economy. This is grand corruption in the public finance space!

Sometimes, the way we talk about the Nigerian economy, it appears like it is the economy of say Norway or Sweden, where all things are equal. Even when we refer to what has taken place in our economy, we almost sound as if this is a normal business environment, a normal public finance environment but that is not the case. I don’t think that any considerations of our economic development can be properly or honestly done without fully analysing the role of grand corruption in the public finance space.

So despite record high levels of oil prices, very little was invested in infrastructure and record levels of leakages were recorded, especially in the past few years. This is the fundamental issue in our economy. Corruption affects everything, it even affects judgement as to what sort of infrastructure to put in place or whether to even put infrastructure in place or whether it would be completed. It is so fundamental that we cannot even think of our economy, without thinking of what to do about it.

Sometimes when we talk about our economy, we say that we have relied on a single commodity, and that is one of the reasons why we are where we are. Yes, that is true but it is the fact that the proceeds of that single commodity were regularly hijacked consistently by a few. That is really the problem. If we spend the proceeds of that single commodity the way we ought to spend it, we won’t be where we are today.

That most of the proceeds go to rent seekers, who invest little in industry and production.

So for example, I’m sure many of us are familiar with the so called strategic alliance contracts with the NNPC and NDPC, the promoters of the companies made away with close to 3billion US dollars, almost a tenth of our reserves at one point! There is no way if someone made away with that amount, a tenth of your reserves, that there won’t be a major economic shock! If we don’t deal with it and talk about it, how do we really discuss our economy in any real honest way with a view to ensuring that these things do not happen again?

In one single transaction, a few weeks to the elections in 2015, the sum of N100billion and $289million in cash were embezzled by a few. When you consider that in 2014, when oil prices were an average of $110 per barrel, only N99billion was spent on Power, Works and Housing, and in one day, N100billion was issued and people essentially shared it and N99billion was spent on Power, Works and Housing. When we talk about our economy, we talk about it like it is normal but it is abnormal by every standard, completely abnormal. Nobody should talk about the economy when you have these huge leakages and corruption; corruption that makes what you allocate to capital and infrastructure nonsense.

From the presentation of Minister of Finance, N14billion was spent on agriculture in 2014, transportation N15billion. The total spend on capital in those critical areas was N153billion and in two weeks to the 2015 election, N150billion was shared and essentially shared! So if your total capital spend is N150billion and you can share N153billion, let’s face it, that is completely incredible! It is the sort of thing that doesn’t happen anywhere else in the world. When we talk about the economy, we absolutely must understand that is the problem

Today with less revenue, we have increased capital funding by 400% in Power, Works and Housing, Defence, Transportation and Agriculture. Economic analysis in Nigeria is either fraudulent or ignorant if we do not bring the money lost to corruption into the maths.

This is what distinguishes this administration from any other. It is the fight against corruption especially in public finance. And I can say that will all sense of responsibility, if you have a President who is not corrupt, at least 50% of your financial problems, especially in public finance, is over. This is what I have seen, and I can prove it with facts and figures.

If the President is corrupt, the entire financial system of the country is compromised, that is what we have seen from the figures. That is an absolute important point that we must take into account.

I am not saying that corruption under this administration has been completely dealt, certainly not. Where corruption has become systematic, you can’t deal with it all in one fell swoop. In any event you still have to deal with corruption fighting back, the system fights back, it is both an internal and external fight, and you have to be steadfast and strategic to win the battle. There is no way you have a system that has consistently thrived on corruption and proceeds of corruption and public finance in particular that will just roll over, no! It is a system that had actively dealt on corruption and the system affects all aspects of governance. So clearly trying to deal with it is not a walk in the park.

I want to say that task has already begun and being done consistently, I believe that going forward in the next few years, no matter how we slice it, if we stick to policies especially in controlling excesses and corruption in public finance, this country will make the kind of progress it deserves to make with all of the resources at our disposal. If we stick to a policy that ensures that as far as public finance is concerned, there is no impunity, and we hold people to account, I am absolutely confident this country has everything it takes to make the sort of progress that we deserve to make as a nation.

Again, let me thank everyone for your participation and continued support and confidence in the work we are doing. I want to say all the comments and issues are taken seriously. We will go back, and look at what we need to do to ensure that all our objectives, plans and thoughts come to fruition, and that our country becomes a better place for doing business and the economy of our country grows to the benefit of our people.

I want to thank you again very much. God bless you.

Released by:

Laolu Akande
SSA, Media and Publicity to the President
Office of the Vice President
March 19, 2018