FG Exploring Alternative Sources to Improve Healthcare Funding in Nigeria

FG Exploring Alternative Sources to Improve Healthcare Funding in Nigeria – VP Osinbajo

President Muhammadu Buhari is committed to finding lasting solutions to the challenges of healthcare delivery and funding in Nigeria, including exploring alternative sources, according to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN.

Prof. Osinbajo stated this today at the Presidential Villa when he received a delegation from the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), an international public-private partnership committed to increasing access to immunization.

He said government was considering several options including working on some of the recommendations by the alliance, to improve Nigeria’s healthcare system.

According to him, “the funding of our health care system especially for a country this size cannot depend on the budgetary allocation alone. There is clearly a need to look at alternative sources of funding, and clearly international donor funding cannot bridge that gap when you look at what is required for Nigeria.”

Speaking further on the challenges faced by Nigeria in the health sector and what the government is doing to address them, Prof. Osinbajo said, “There is no question at all that we realise the enormity of the problems and we are committed to working with partners and agencies like the GAVI alliance to solve them and ensuring that we are able to reverse some of the very depressing statistics about our healthcare system.”

He said: “Given some of the demographic details that we expect to see in next 10 to 15 years, I think there is certainly need for a much permanent way of funding the health system, that is why we are working on the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and see what we can get from that.

“I think you can certainly rely on the commitment of the Federal Government and Mr President to this particular issue, we are looking at all the various options and we hope that we will be able to work with some of the recommendations made by the Minister of Health.”

He added that government was also working in partnership with state governments under the auspices of the National Economic Council (NEC) to encourage the adoption of best practices endorsed by the Federal Government.

According to the Vice President, “we are going to call a special session of the National Economic Council, we have had a previous one where some of the information and statistics were shared.”

Earlier in his remarks, the CEO of GAVI and leader of the delegation, Mr Seth Berkley, called for increased funding for immunization activities and the general healthcare system in the country.

The Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole had earlier said that the Ministry was holding talks with the visiting GAVI delegation to Nigeria on the country and GAVI could collaborate in matters of healthcare in Nigeria.

The GAVI delegation comprised representatives from the World Bank, DFID, and other organizations.

The delegation was accompanied to the Presidential Villa by the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, Minister of State for Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, the Executive Director, National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr. Faisal Shuaib.

Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media & Publicity)
Office of the Vice President
6th March, 2018.

Part Three of the Transcript of a Media Interview Granted by the Vice President to a Group of Journalists & Social Media Practitioners in Lagos State on March 2, 2018

Q: The state of primary healthcare in the country.

Vice President: Of course, our health system has long suffered. That is one of the chief concerns that we have been focusing on; getting the diaspora to work with us to improve our health system. We are also looking at how healthcare insurance can improve it. I agree that if all of us put our resources and our time in local medical care, we will improve it. I have no doubt in my mind that our local healthcare system is what most of us subscribe to at least, and our doctors are some of the best in the world. But that’s one of our commitments to make it work.

Q: Crude oil as the main driver of the economy, and FG dialogue with groups in the Niger Delta region.

Vice President: First of all, the dialogue started in 2016 and it continues. We began to dialogue with all the groups in the Niger Delta and we hold very regular meetings with PANDEF, which is the umbrella body. We also hold regular meetings with many of the groups in the Niger Delta and they are all actively involved with us.

I don’t know whether you are familiar with the Maritime University. The Maritime University has taken off, you know. Only a few days ago, the announcement was made that they are eligible for JAMB (the University was recently granted approval by the National Universities Commission (NUC) to commence undergraduate degree programmes effective from the 2017/2018 academic session). Interviews are taking place for the Maritime University, forms have been provided and we are talking to all of the principal parties in that zone who are interested in the work the Maritime University is doing. Many people are involved in that process. That is the kind of thing we are talking about to provide the kind of facility to help people in the Niger Delta, especially in Maritime University.

Also, look at modular refineries, 38 licensed modular refineries investors have indicated interests (10 of the licensed refineries are at an advanced stage of development). One, of course, has started in Bayelsa; another is being shipped in at the moment. There are about three or four different engagements with modular refineries operators. So we are putting that together, and one of the critical things with modular refineries is that we are trying to ensure that, first of all, it is private-sector driven. Government has to provide the licenses, but also there is community involvement; communities also have a stake in the modular refineries. So we are doing that as well. We are working very hard on that.

Q: Alleged claims that PANDEF leader said FG isn’t doing anything in the region.

Vice President: I don’t know when Chief Clark made that statement. I think that, by and large, all of what I’m saying is being done. It is obvious for everyone to see. I’ve no real problem demonstrating this, but as a matter of fact, if you look on our website (www.ndnewvision.gov.ng), on the all of the Niger Delta issues, we have almost a blow-by-blow account of what we are doing, including the Ogoni clean up.

I think there is a lot going on. You can’t address all of the problems at once. We have provided plenty of information. We have Inter-ministerial meetings where the different stakeholders meet constantly with leaders of the Niger Delta. I think you can imagine development is something that no one can be completely satisfied with at any point in time; that’s why it’s called development.

Q: Success of the Ease of Doing Business reform, visa reforms, and FG plans to attract more foreigners to contribute to the country’s economic growth.

Vice President: I think it was for those people that we designed our visa-on-arrival policy. It is for people who are bringing in their resources and money.

Q: Does this special visa apply only to poor countries, especially those low on human development index?

Vice President: Not necessary. Let me explain what we are trying to do with visa-on-arrival: you apply online so you get a visa, and this is where we are issuing the I-Step so that there is passenger information ahead of your arriving in Nigeria. That is one of the infrastructure we are putting at the airport now. You arrive at our port, we can give you a visa right there; that is what Singapore and other countries do, irrespective of where you are coming from you can get the visa there. When you arrive in Nigeria we have advance passengers information, even the visa-on-arrival that’s where we are heading. The most important thing is that there is a record.

Q: The second Niger Bridge and Buhari administration’s efforts to win the South East.

Vice President: Let me just say that the President has pointed out that the South East wasn’t the region that voted heavily for the APC, but that is not in any way stopping the President from appointing four senior ministers from that part of the country. He could have appointed junior ministers. By appointing four senior ministers, I think that it shows that he is interested in the South East region of Nigeria.

Secondly, previous government merely talk about the second Niger Bridge. We have moved to site, we are working on the second Niger Bridge. We’ve provided for the second Niger Bridge in our budget we have also provided infrastructure fund for the second Niger Bridge. Also, we are doing the Lagos-Calabar road. The Lagos-Calabar road goes through the South East region, that’s one of the very important thing we are doing and we put money behind it. The President himself negotiated the loan from the Chinese government. He actually went to China to negotiate and these are ongoing projects.

Ariaria market today is possibly the largest MSME hub in the whole of West Africa. The Federal Government, with the private sector, is powering Ariaria market so that every of the 21,000 shops in Ariaria market has power. The roads to the market are in the budget. Let’s bring it down to what we are doing; the first of our MSME clinics was in Aba and we are committed to ensuring Aba is a hub that it ought to be.

This is where we spend a lot of time and energy to move regulatory agencies so that they actually have a one-stop centre there, so that NAFDAC, SON can move into that place. There is a lot of work that’s going on. The truth is that we do what needs to be done. We were elected to do the right thing by everyone and we are doing it. I’ve gone to the South East several times. I’ve visited Nnewi and many parts of Anambra as well, where we look around and look at ways of supporting industries there and we are still committed to that zone.

Q: Areas that FG could have done better.

Vice President: Let me say that one of the very important things for me, I think we could have done far more in terms of jobs, direct jobs now, because we’ve done enough. We first created jobs in agriculture. Perhaps we are hoping we would be able to provide by now 500,000 of our N-power jobs, but because of the income we are able to provide 200,000. We have another 300,000 waiting to be employed. So maybe a year into our government, we could have done 500,000. So for me I think if we have the kind of resources that people had 10 years ago when oil was $115 per barrel we could have provided far in excess.

I also think that, perhaps in the area of power, especially trying to do much more, but power is privatized. A lot of the power companies, a lot of the GENCOs, the DISCOs in particular, simply don’t have the resources to replace assets, so they slow down. How I wish they have more funds to pump into assets and we hope they have more resources to do so. We’ve put in place the over N700 billion payment assurance scheme, but that is insufficient.

Q: DSS disagreement with the NIA in the past, recommendation of EFCC Chair, Ibrahim Magu, by the President and DSS’ letter against that; these point to discord within the administration…

Vice President: That’s not true. Let me put it this way; first let’s take the Magu example. One of the things that the President decided to do is to ensure that every agency does its work without direct interference from the President. So the President does not call the EFCC, and say, “Go and arrest Mr Ekpeyong”, no. And that’s one of the most important things about the style of this government, and we want the agencies to do their work. No one has showed up and called Magu and say, “Look go and arrest.” That’s what it is.

While you will find, for example, that the DG, SSS, upon the request by the Senate, wrote a security report and sent it, yet it is up to the President to decide whether he’s going to present this candidate. Interfering with the process of a security report is not leadership, that’s obstructing. He is not supposed to interfere. If you say, “Send your report”, whatever report you want to send, the man defends himself, and we still believe he is the right person for the job. That is the position that we took when he was presented the second time.

Of course, the Senate has had their own say on that and they are entitled to take some of the positions they are taking. But the President believes that this is the right man for the job, so he presented him the second time.

Q: Arrest of DG, NIA by the EFCC.

Vice President: With respect to the arrest of DG, NIA, and some of what took place, I think the fair thing to say is that the President has said that the EFCC has the absolute right to go ahead and do whatever it needs to do to ensure that anybody who has committed a crime, or who is suspected to having committed a crime, is brought to justice, and that’s the position that the EFCC has taken. You know the EFCC has issued a notice for the DG, NIA, and SGF to attend interview with the EFCC; but we are sure that that process would be followed to a logical conclusion.

To ensure that you allow government agency do their business, that’s very important; that’s institution building. Look at what is happening in the US today; the President is sometimes angry with the FBI because the FBI is doing its independent work, and that’s what we hope to achieve: when you see countries where agencies are doing their work the way they are supposed to do it.

Released by:

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

Part Two of the Transcript of a Media Interview Granted by the Vice President to a Group of Journalists & Social Media Practitioners in Lagos State on March 2, 2018

*Adds: Buhari administration is building a bright future for Nigeria’s youths

*On Dapchi & other security hotspots: We Are Working On Ensuring Effective Security

Q: Revamping Nigeria’s education system.

Vice President: If you will recall about a few months ago, I think it was in January, we had an education retreat; what needs to be done again is to unfold a whole direction in education. We came in with a manifesto on education, we had a few points that we were looking at and we also had some time to look at it. But many of us raised the issue that you don’t just pick the whole education; what about engineering because what we are seeing is such a dramatic change, not just in method of instruction in the requirement, job requirement, employment requirement, in technology and all of that, and that’s exactly what we are trying to do.

For example, we cannot have primary education the way it is, we’ve got to teach young people, we’ve got to introduce technology; you’ve got to have collaboration in education. We discovered, for instance, when we were doing the N-power – employment for young graduates, we discovered that it was also an opportunity to train the graduates. For the first time we were able to open a portal that has educational materials for graduates to just go in there. We also have devices for them to use.

But one important advantage of what we are doing is that all of a sudden, you can now train tens of thousands of people without sitting them in one place. So technology is going to play a role. We are in a very interesting place in terms of education today because you can leverage a great deal on technology. You can leverage a great deal on what is happening in other parts of the world. And we are trying to harness all of those resources and try to do something that will make a difference in our country. Here we are, in another 10 years we will be moving closer and closer to 2050 when we are going to be the 3rd largest population in the world. And there is almost a 70% youth population. We are not going to provide them with the number of classrooms that will be required, so we’ve got to really leverage on technology. We’ve got to leverage on verified trend that we see here and there.

Q: The delay in 2018 budget.

Vice President: We have a democracy that has, as you know, three arms. The two relevant arms for budget are the executive and legislature. If you recall when I was Acting President, I signed the 2017 budget and, at that time, I made the announcement with the full consensus of the National Assembly that, from 2018, we are going to have a budget that is going to apply in January and end in December the normal financial year. We agreed that we will submit our proposal in good time, and we did that first week of November. The President did so. We fulfilled that part of the agreement. The budget is with the National Assembly. There is very little we can do to control that. That’s the system that we have.

Q: Seeming rift between the Executive arm of Government and the Legislature.

Vice President: Well, I’m not so sure that the tensions are unknown. The democratic system anywhere as, for example, in the US where we borrow our bicameral legislature from, you find that despite the fact that the Republican Party controls major part of parliament, it still doesn’t mean that bills are necessary going to go through.

So one must assume that the responsibility of the National Assembly is to scrutinize what the executive is doing and not just to be a rubber stamp. But I also agree with you entirely that it’s important for us, for the sake of our country, our economy and for the sake of many young people who are relying on us to deliver. We ensured that we released our budget on time. I want to believe that the executive has done its part and we wait on the National Assembly.

Q: About N9 Trillion debt said to have been inherited by this administration now reportedly about N30 T. How come?

Vice President: No, No, I don’t think so. First let me explain that we have a government that is very prudent, a government that believes in financial prudence, a government that condemns impunity – the way that the thing was practiced before now, and a government that spends resources on the right thing. For the first time in the history of our country, we are spending about N1.3 trillion on capital; it means that we are investing in the right place. We are not just borrowing money anyhow; no, we are investing in the right place.

Every government or most governments anywhere probably look for some points to borrow, but the important thing is what are you borrowing for? And that’s why we building the Lagos-Kano rail, doing the Lagos-Calabar rail, the second Niger Bridge and the Mambilla hydro project that has been abandoned for almost 40 years.

We are improving capacities in power, we are investing in social investment, we are investing long-term in the things that will create an economy that can support a large number of young graduates, who are coming in the market every day. That’s a process that needs a lot of thinking; that needs a lot of investment.

I think the most important thing is to ask that when there was a N9 trillion debt, where is the infrastructure to account for that? I think that is the most important question to ask. It’s not whether you borrow, but what you spend that money on. I think we should be able to prove that the earning is 60% less than the earning in the past five six years. So we are spending far more on the right thing and we are able to ensure that we build a future that young people can truly look forward to.

Q: What about the 50% revenue reportedly being spent on settling debts?

Vice President: No, we are not spending 50% of our revenue servicing debt. Let me explain that, we have a deficit somehow in the region of about N2.6 trillion now, a lot of our revenue has to be spent on capital and recurrent, and recurrent is 70% of revenue. But for the first time we are spending 30% on capital. Before now when oil was a $115 a barrel, we were spending 11% or 15% on capital, and capital is the most important expenditure because that is where you do the infrastructure in order to be able to build the economy. So the reality is what we are spending is to provide the infrastructure that will last.

Q: Abduction of 110 Dapchi girls in Yobe and the killings in states like Benue and Zamfara. Why didn’t the President or you visit these places?

Vice President: Let me say it first that no amount of condolence can compensate for the loss of life, whether in Calabar, Mambilla or Benue or where people were killed in Adamawa or Zamfara, any of these states. There is no amount of condolence that can compensate for the loss of life. Benue killing is one set of killing far too much; there is no amount of condolence that can compensate for that. And I want to say that it’s a massive tragedy. But the question that you seem to ask I’ve been to Zamfara, I’ve been to Adamawa when this killing took place. There are those who said, ‘oh, why don’t you visit the Fulani settlement, why do visit only where Christians were?’ I even visited Benue in September where there have been killing before; then I’ve visited them when the flooding took place and we looked at all the issues and tried to address many of these. There have been several of these issues in different places, recently Dapchi. We have expressed condolences, but no amount of condolence would do.

The more important thing, and our focus has been, is first of all ensuring security in these places.

We have to address the security question in a much more robust way; that the police are able to do these effectively. We have deployed the military to Kaduna, two battalions to Kaduna. In Benue and Taraba axis, we have the 93 battalion, we have 72 Special Forces. We have full concentration in Taraba and all of that, and by the way, the military is fighting in most of the North East. So there is a situation where the military is overstretched. So I think the most important thing is first of all to ensure they actually address the security of the people.

Q: Nigerians definitely appreciate all you are doing. But they want to see their leaders come to them to grieve with them in the face of national human tragedy…

Vice President: Let me say that I definitely agree with you, the more places that we can go to the better. But I made a point earlier that we also have to address the serious concern that people have. We have to address those concerns; we have to address the rehabilitation concern. I am going round and the President is also going round, there is no question at all and I agree that if we go to all these places it would be so much better.

Released by:

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

Transcript of a Media Interview Granted by the Vice President to a Group of Journalists & Social Media Practitioners in Lagos State on March 2, 2018

Q: On Nigeria’s rating by Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index.

Vice President: I think that by even Transparency International’s own assessment, Transparency International uses nine different indexes to come to a conclusion. In four out of those indexes, Nigeria moved up, in another four Nigeria stabilized & dropped in only one index. So in aggregation, it (T.I) then decides that it has fallen in certain number of points below where we were.

I think the important thing to bear in mind about Nigeria’s anti-corruption fight is that the government has done what it ought to do by focusing on grand corruption. Grand corruption is the type we experienced years before when, for example, $15 billion was lost in defence contract. Two, three weeks to election, N100 billion in cash was taken out, and again $293 million in cash, two weeks, three weeks to election. That’s the kind of impunity. And of course you are also familiar with the scam that went on in the NNPC at the time; the so called statutory contracts, that’s grand corruption. That is the corruption that crippled the economy of the country.

Let me tell you very quickly how you can recognize that we have scaled a good deal on grand corruption today: despite the fact that we are earning 60 percent less in revenue, we are actually able to spend more than ever before in the history of this country on infrastructure. In 2017, we spent about N1.3 trillion on capital. That’s the highest in the history of the country. So we are able to do far more with far less because we have controlled the impunity that went on, the grand corruption, and all of that.

Now, how does that translate to perception; because grand corruption is a big aspect of corruption. It’s a big one because if you cannot control grand corruption, you can’t do what you want to do. But then you cannot address the corruption as you go through our airports, our ports or as you go through government offices, in many cases. That’s where the whole perception emerges.

We must have a deeper and much wider way of dealing with corruption. How are you going to do that? You must have an efficient way of doing that; like automation, removing discretion from individuals.

Q: What is the institutionalized process of fighting corruption?

Vice President: Institutionalization is not a one-off thing, it’s a process, and we are dealing with that, that’s exactly what we are doing. For example, the TSA and being able to look at government accounts and all of that is one way of institutionalizing a process by which you can be sure of what people are doing, how this things are happening. The process of allowing the EFCC to do its work without dictation, saying that “look, this what the EFCC is doing”, and giving them every support that you can. These are ways of institutionalizing. And it is that same process that we are taking in the public service – Automation.

For example, look at all that we have done in the ease of doing business. The whole point of doing that is institutionalizing processes, so that when you come into Nigeria you can get your visa after applying online; so that Customs don’t have to sit around the airport, that is why we are putting in the I-check and we are putting all sorts of other processes. That is to institutionalize; it’s not a one-off process.

Q: What’s the national strategy on anti-corruption?

Vice President: That’s a long conversation, but put simply, the national strategy is to ensure that public officers in particular are not able to privatize public finances. And how do we intend to achieve that? We intend to achieve that by ensuring that there is consequence for corruption and also by automating processes, removing discretion from individuals because if you don’t remove discretion from individuals the individuals can have discretion as whether or not they will grant certain approvals through certain processes; then you continue to encourage corruption at one level or the other.

Q: Asides from the EFCC, it seems the other anti-corruption agencies such as the ICPC are doing nothing…

Vice President: Well, I don’t agree. I think that you will find that alongside the work of the EFCC, in fact one of the critical things we do is, we try and re-direct the ICPC. We appointed the executive secretary of the Presidential Anti-Corruption Advisory Council, PACAC, Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, to head that body and we believe the ICPC is the important part of the whole fight against corruption. We revamped the leadership of the ICPC. Unfortunately we were stalled because it requires Senate confirmation, that hasn’t been done. That is the area of focus for us because the ICPC is supposed to be involved, not just in corruption, but in orientation and re-orientation of the public service. So, it’s an important part of our work.

Q: Nigerians in diaspora are one of the biggest foreign exchange contributors of about $20 billion. Aside from having a Special Adviser to the President on Diaspora Affairs, does Nigeria have a Diaspora partnership?

Vice President: I think we’ve also gone beyond the Office of the Adviser; we now have a Diaspora Commission by law, which I think is a policy step. That Commission will aggregate a lot of the records through data for diaspora in order to encourage the diaspora to interact more with government, with private sector and all that. But don’t forget that, with the whole diaspora experience and what is in tune with other nations of the world; the usual focus is on remittances; what are they able to remit as it is pointed out, it is a substantial amount of money. It is something in the region of $20 billion.

But it obviously goes beyond that. In developing the economy we also need diaspora’s talent. So we need diaspora in technology, we need diaspora in education, medical practice and all that. The Ministry of Health, for example, actively engaged with the personnel in diaspora for specialists, setting equipment and all of that. But I believe that one of the most critical ways of doing so is through the diaspora commission, ordering it, measuring it; once that is constituted.

Q: Allegations of nepotism against the Buhari administration.

Vice President: Look at the cabinet, for example, from the point of view of the religion, it has an equal number – 18 Christians, 18 Muslims; but, we have the Secretary to the Government of the Federation as well as the Head of Service who are Christians. So we have 20 Christians to 18 Muslims; that’s the structure of the cabinet. So if you take that narrative you may argue that perhaps the Christian have the upper hand; that’s a possible narrative.

Let us look a little deeper into that, so there are those who may argue, for example, that the north has an upper hand or perhaps one section has an upper hand in the cabinet as one narrative. The South East, for example, has five states. Four of the South Eastern states have senior ministers; all of them, except one, who is Minister of State for Education.

Q: The President has no choice in that, it is a constitutional requirement.

Vice President: In assigning particular portfolios he does. In the north, seven northern states have no senior minister, including the President’s home state, Katsina. Now, there are those who will say, if you are nepotistic; surely seven northern states have no senior minister. It’s a narrative depending on how you want to run it.

I give you another example; I’m from the South West. There are people who will say “I am from the South West, the North has everything.” The South West, for the first time in the history of this country, has one Minister who is in charge of three ministries: Power, Works and Housing. The Ministers of Finance & Communications are also from the South West. These are critical ministries. You can run the narrative in whichever way that you choose. There are those who will say, for instance, look at the number of CEOs of agencies of government; the highest number of CEOs in our nation today comes from Ogun State, the state has the largest number. There are those who will say that’s his state (i.e VP’S State). So you can run the narrative depending on how you want to run it.

The President has admitted that, yes there are situations where you can find certain things as true and he intends to have a look at that. For example, you’ve given the example of security positions and he said he is going to take a look at look at it. I believe that is the way to go because you can run any narrative that will suit the figures you are showing. And that is where we have legal process. There are people who don’t know that the number of CEOs from Anambra State are more than the number of CEOs from Katsina State or anywhere else, except Ogun.

Released by:

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

Press Release: We Will Ensure Things Are Done Faithfully In This Government, Says VP Osinbajo

The Buhari administration, in line with its Economic Recovery and Growth Plan, would continue to ensure the implementation of policies to drive socio-economic growth and prosperity, according to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN.

Prof. Osinbajo stated this today at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, when he received a delegation from the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI).

“I think that no one is in doubt that we have very great policies and we will ensure that these things are implemented and are done as faithfully as possible,” he said.

The Vice President further said that the private sector in Nigeria will continue to play a prominent role in the economic programmes and initiatives of the Buhari administration.

He noted the significance of private sector investment in the economy, adding that collaboration between the Federal Government and the private sector will further boost the country’s economic progress.

According to Prof. Osinbajo, “If you look at our economic programmes and several other initiatives, the private sector plays a prominent role in them, and that is how it should be. So there is no question that the roles the LCCI and private sector play are critical to the kind of development policies and plan that we have in this government.”

The Vice President commended the LCCI for its Presidential Policy Dialogues on the economy, which he noted has helped in shaping some initiatives and policies of government.

Prof. Osinbajo further said that the Buhari administration will continue to have robust engagements and work with the private sector and stakeholders in developing plans for implementation of several economic projects.

He also pointed out that, in conjunction with the private sector, the Federal Government is resolving the Apapa, Lagos traffic gridlock.

In his remarks, the leader of the delegation and LCCI President, Mr. Babatunde Ruwase, commended the Buhari administration for its laudable economic initiatives which he said has made Nigeria a more investment friendly destination.

He said, “We appreciate the series of Executive Orders focused on promoting the ease of doing business in the country. These orders are impacting positively on the business environment and promoting an inclusive economy through the scaling up of the local content in government expenditure.”

Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity
Office of the Vice President
20 February, 2018

Speech: VP Osinbajo’s Remarks at the Inaugural Flagship Lecture of the Kukah Centre

It is a special privilege to welcome the President of the Republic of Ghana, President Nana Akufo-Addo, perhaps the one African President who Nigerians see as truly one of their own. The sheer number of invitations that President Akufo-Addo gets to speak here in Nigeria, I’m sure will only compare with the number of times he has to speak in Ghana.

But asides that, in barely a year in office, President Akufo-Addo’s strong and articulate voice on behalf of Africa has helped to present the African development story with insight, depth and above all, the hope that seems to have been missing in previous and even contemporary narratives.

But Your Excellency, it was a part of your honest and heartfelt presentation of Ghana’s democratic and development journey at the Cambridge Union on Democracy and Development that I found personally most instructive, especially your profound observation about the fundamental role of strong institutions, justice and the rule of law. This perhaps for me, is the most crucial issue in “How To Make Democracy Work for Africa.”

There is no question, that democracy and democratization are challenged everywhere, even in the oldest democracies, democracy is still a work-in-progress. That is one of the biggest lessons of recent years, as elections and referendums throw up new and unprecedented scenarios across the world.

The narrowness of the Brexit vote, and the way it has subsequently divided the United Kingdom, and the electoral rise of populist right wing and even extremist tendencies, are all examples of the grave threats to democracy.

Indeed, recently the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), which publishes an annual democracy Index, the 2017 Index “records the worst decline in global democracy in years. Not a single region recorded an improvement in its average score since 2016, as countless countries grapple with increasingly divided electorates.” It is clear that democracy is in somewhat, a turbulent trajectory.

But for Africa, challenges to democracy pose a graver threat because of a historical failure to invest sufficiently in nation building and state building. Many of the ethnic and other parochial tensions that have tended to create insecurity and outright conflict time and time again, are on account of failure to deliberately undertake nation – building efforts.

The elite, it appears prefer the status quo which sets the lowest possible bar for political advancement that is identity politics; where do you come from? Or to which religion do you belong? And it is through that paradigm that most issues are analyzed. So the real issues that concern our people are often diminished – good governance, jobs for a growing population of young people, poverty alleviation, peace and security, etc. Those are never properly analyzed, or even allowed to take their prominence in public debates especially in debates leading to elections.

So the forging of a national identity and purpose, built around agreed values and principles, is crucial for engendering commitment to national goals and sustaining peace and security.

Concerning state building, the capacity to which government is able to deliver on the rule of law, law and order, good governance and social goods, it is clear that extreme inequality, weak systems of justice, absence of the rule of law, lack of state capacity to maintain law and order, put nations constantly under a real threat of coming undone.

That is the African story, democracy yes, elections yes, but the question of state building and the capacity of the state to deliver on its most important role which is security and ensuring justice and the rule of law, is often threatened because we simply have not invested enough in the institutions that make this possible.

So in ensuring security, problems of weak policing are some of the issues we experience. Also, the perception of the people on the efficiency and fairness of the justice system is affected by the slow pace of trials and the manipulation of the systems by those who can afford superior legal representation.

So you find that we have an anti- corruption war but questions remain as to how many people have been convicted? But the system can easily be manipulated because you put people on trial, but the trials can go on forever; we have a system that enables people to employ dilatory tactics. We need to strengthen the systems that people can rely and trust.

The solution is the modern State: to wit a merit-driven bureaucracy, a strong law and order architecture, the rule of law, and an adjudicatory system that is well resourced and immune to manipulation.

Let me end my remarks with one of President Akufo-Addo’s tweets which I found particularly instructive to the development especially of our thinking about where Africa should be headed in the next few years. I quote: “It is time for Africa to come of age and hold its rightful place on the world stage. This Africa will be neither victim nor a pawn. This Africa will be honest to itself and to the World.”

I must say that I agree entirely with that – the African leadership elite have run out of excuses, we can no longer go on with the African exceptionalism which we have seen and heard time and time again, that it is a different rule for Africa or different rules apply to Africa, no that is not true! The truth is just as President Akufo- Addo said, we can no longer hide under the excuses of being victims or pawns in the world order. The people of our nations expect us to deliver on the important promises that politicians make which is delivering social goods, ensuring our ever growing youth population get jobs, ensuring there is rule of law and security.

These are issues that remain prominent in Africa, so Your Excellency, it is my very special pleasure and privilege to welcome you to Nigeria once again.

Thank you all.

Released by:
Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity
Office of the Vice President
February 15, 2018

Speech: VP Osinbajo’s Address at the National Security Summit in Abuja

I am deeply grateful to the distinguished and honorable members of the National Assembly for this very kind invitation, to speak at this crucial National Security Summit. And I especially commend the distinguished majority leader of the Senate, Senator Ahmed Lawan who leads the ad-hoc committee on Security Infrastructure. I also want to say a special thank you to the Senate President for giving me the opportunity of declaring this meeting open.

Hosting this summit underscores your recognition, that the primary business of government is law and order. And by government, I mean the Executive, Legislature and the Judiciary.

I am sure that distinguished members will recall, that the National Economic Council, comprising the Federal and State governments, had held a similar security summit in August last year, at which we had the eminent company of the leadership of the National Assembly, the Chief Justice of Nigeria and all Service Chiefs and several other stakeholders.

That Summit was important because it took into account the several security challenges our country have faced over the years and currently still facing. Also in September 2017 the month after, the federal government, after a year-long consultation with stakeholders, hosted a Stakeholders’ Conference on a 10 – year plan themed “Search of Sustainable Livestock Development and Peaceful Co-existence”. That plan was launched at that conference in September. I am going to talk a bit about some of the issues that were raised at that conference.

This very important security summit is an important part of the on-going engagements with stakeholders on the security concerns of our nation.

I am extremely pleased and support fully the Senate President when he said the challenges of our security infrastructure are the concern of all of us and not just those of us in government but all of who are concerned about the peace and harmony of our nation.

Your Excellency, distinguished members of the National Assembly, Nigeria entered the New Year on a tragic and bloody note; 73 persons were murdered in Benue State by persons who were suspected to be herdsmen. To the North, in southern Kaduna, Kaduna State, a traditional ruler and his pregnant wife were murdered in their home. Down south, in Rivers, a cult murdered more than 20 innocent persons returning from a church vigil. On the 3rd of January, 14 worshippers were killed in a mosque at Gamboru, and on the 17th of January, a suicide bombing attack in Maiduguri claimed 10 lives.

These incidents immediately served as a reminder that there is no room for complacency in the task of securing Nigeria, even against the backdrop of the remarkable progress we’ve recorded in the most critical of our security challenges at a time: the fight against Boko Haram.

Indeed, Boko Haram is a good starting point for a conversation about security in Nigeria as we go on to the more current and contemporary concerns we have. How a small band of religious proselytizers evolved into the biggest threat to the sovereignty of Nigeria in five decades is a question that has occupied and perhaps, even defied researchers and law enforcement agencies for years.

In 2015, when the Buhari administration took office, much of Northern Eastern Nigeria lay beneath the palpable shadow of the terrorist group. In the two and half years since then, our military has done a remarkable job, reclaiming Nigerian territory, rescuing tens of thousands of civilians, and routing Boko Haram. Today the group is a shadow of itself, forced to resort to cowardly suicide bombings and other attacks on soft targets in a desperate bid at attention-seeking.

Boko Haram was by no means the only security challenge we inherited when we took office in 2015. Cattle rustling, pronounced in the Northwest; clashes between farmers and herdsmen in the North Central region in particular and spreading out to other regions of Nigeria, militant activity in the South-south and parts of the Southwest, simmering ethnic agitation in the Southeast, and kidnapping across the entire country. There was also the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) in the Northwest, increasingly emboldened to challenge the authority of the State.

The scale and breadth of these security challenges, especially because they occurred in far flung locations in the country, profoundly tasked the nation’s security architecture. I want to say that because of the spread and diversity of these threats, the nation’s security architecture was stretched, engaging in several parts of the country and with the numbers that we have, that in itself posed a problem for tackling as robustly as possible, many of the challenges that we faced.

But we must say on behalf of the security agencies that they have been deliberate and determined in their responses. For obvious reasons, we have since assuming office, prioritized the anti-terrorism campaign in the Northeast.

Understandably, as Boko Haram has receded in the public consciousness – in the 2017 Global Terrorism Index reported that deaths from terrorism dropped 80 percent in Nigeria in 2016; the biggest decrease worldwide – other security challenges have shuffled forward to take the place of Boko Haram threats.

This does not mean that these challenges are newly-emergent. What is new, is our approach and determination to contain these threats and protect the lives and property of all Nigerians. This determination can mostly be seen in the way our security agents in particular have dealt with Boko Haram and several of the threats in parts of the country.

Over the last three years, some of Nigeria’s deadliest criminal kingpins have been arrested or killed. I think credit must go to the security agencies for this. Khalid al-Barnawi, head of the al-Qaeda linked Ansaru terror group, and one of the most wanted terrorists in the world, arrested in Kogi State in April 2016; kidnap kingpin Evans (arrested in Lagos State), Dracula (arrested in Delta), Vampire (arrested in Imo last year). One of the more recent ones is Don Waney, cultist and mastermind of the New Year’s Day attack in Rivers State, killed during a joint operation by the Military and the DSS at the end of 2017. We will not relent in our efforts to bring all of these criminals and others to justice.

Since the beginning of the year, following the massacre in Guma and Logo local governments in Benue, the issue of violence by suspected herdsmen has dominated national attention. And rightly so, as Mr. President himself said, “I am a soldier, I have seen death in warfare but the callous killing of innocent people especially women and children is cowardly and despicable in the extreme and it must prevented or stopped and the perpetrators must be punished”.

In his statement of commiseration to the Governor of Benue State Mr. President said and I quote “This is one attack too many, and everything must be done to provide security for the people in our rural communities, I have ordered the security agencies to find and capture the perpetrators, they must face justice.”

Anyone who has seen the viciousness of the killings, and the wantonness of the damage to property, is bound to be stupefied by the horror. I was in in Dong village in Adamawa, where herdsmen had attacked the village and killed many. But the vicious killing of Fulani women and children in the same local government in Adamawa State is worthy of mention.

Let me preface this by saying that every Nigerian is entitled to adequate security from government for their lives and livelihoods, government may slip in that responsibility often but I must say never deliberately. Every killing demeans us as a people. Every killing undermines the authority of the State.

This is why the suggestion sometimes, that because President Buhari is Fulani he has ignored the killings by herdsmen is both untrue and unfair. In any event, herdsmen and farmer clashes resulting in deaths have been with us for at least two decades. And I have worked with him for three years now, and I do not know of any one issue that has given him more concern or on which he has spent more time with Security Chiefs as this particular issue.

What then is being done about security? The approach of the government has been to deploy mobile police forces to troubled areas and also both the army and airforce, the Nigerian Army formations and units in Benue State for example, especially 72 Special Forces Battalion, have consistently maintained Forward Operating Bases at the flash areas covering Guma, Logo, Katsina-Ala and Agatu Local Government Areas.

The operation has the generic name Operation MESA, but it is nicknamed Operation ZENDA in Benue State. The Army had within the last few days scaled up the size of troops and equipment in Agatu, Guma, Katsina-Ala and Logo Local Government Areas of Benue State.

The Army also recently deployed troops at Awe and Tunga Local Government Areas of Nasarawa State, in order to monitor and block the gaps that were presumed to be used as staging points by armed herdsmen to attack communities in Benue State.

Additionally, troops of 93 Battalion, Takum in Taraba State, also occupy blocking positions as well as maintain constant liaison with troops in Benue State.

Furthermore, the command and control structure of the Army formations and units in Benue and contiguous states have been reorganized.

Accordingly, more troops were deployed and the Commander 707 Special Forces Brigade was reassigned to Taraba State for effective command and control of troops operating in the entire Benue/Taraba general area. And next week, the Nigerian Army will flag-off Exercise AYEM AKPATUMA, to checkmate the activities of armed bandits and militias in Benue, Taraba, Nasarawa and environs.

Although generally the security forces, the entire infrastructure, have performed creditably given their resource constraints, the problem is that in some of the worst killings, security agents were simply not there in time. Whenever that happens as was the case in Logo, Guma, and Mambilla last year, the failure to protect the lives of the innocent is inexcusable, and we cannot rationalize or diminish that failure of our security apparatus of government in any way.

One direct consequence of the scaling up of military and police presence in these parts of the country most vulnerable to attacks by armed herdsmen and other such attacks, is the arrest and detention of hundreds of suspects. And it is in this vein that we will require not only the full investigation of these cases, but also the cooperation of the Judiciary, to enable the speedy dispensation of justice, so that those who have committed these heinous offences are brought to book and are seen to have been brought to book.

One thread running through all of the security challenges in Nigeria is the proliferation of light arms and small weapons. This age-old problem appears to have intensified in recent years on account of the fall of the Libyan Government under Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. These events unleashed large numbers of well-trained fighters, as well as the contents of Gaddafi’s armories.

Today, all across West Africa security and intelligence agencies are seeing the devastating impact of these mercenaries, and their arms and ammunition.

Complicating our situation in Nigeria, is the porous nature of our more than 4,000km of borders, which allows the easy flow of illegal weapons. To combat this, we are devoting increased resources to our Customs and Immigration agencies, as well as upgrading the Presidential Committee on Small Arms and Light Weapons into a well-resourced Commission for all of the movement of arms going back and forth through our borders.

Another issue worth taking into account is the ECOWAS Transhumance Protocol which Nigeria signed in 1998. This guarantees free movement to pastoralists, herders across the sub-region. As signatories to that Protocol, we are obliged not to restrict the movement of herders and their cattle from other ECOWAS countries.

This has added a further complication to the problems we already have, besides most foreign herdsmen are exposed to the firearms market noted earlier and are unknown to the local farming populace. What we are doing and must continue to do, is to ensure robust documentation of all entry and exit through our borders, and as we develop new methods of cattle breeding, we must get those coming through other countries to comply with the laws of Nigeria.

Because we know that the security solution is only one dimension of a multifaceted issue, we are also working with the State Governments and Local Communities. In January the Ministers of Interior and Agriculture, on behalf of the President, met with the affected State Governors, and Security and Intelligence Agencies, to discuss workable solutions.

The President and I have at various times this year held Stakeholder Meetings to bring all concerned parties to the table and discuss ways of ensuring peace and security.

On January 15, President Buhari met with Benue political, traditional and religious leaders. A week ago, I met with traditional leaders from the Batta and Bachama Communities of Adamawa State. I also met with Fulani groups, the Myetti Allah and several other such groups.

These meetings and consultations are crucial, human beings have not yet to my knowledge, developed another way of reaching understanding aside from dialogue. There can and will be no lasting peace without dialogue, and that there can never be too much dialogue regarding a matter that involves the safety of the lives and property of Nigerians.

We are also mindful of the peacebuilding efforts of some State Governments. In Plateau State, for example, the Government constituted a Peace and Reconciliation Committee to work with the Berom and Fulani communities which had been at loggerheads for years.

The Government also went ahead to establish the Plateau State Peace Building Agency, the first of its kind by any State Government in Nigeria. Since its creation in 2016, the Agency has fulfilled its mandate of resolving conflicts and tackling the underlying causes and triggers. The results have been encouraging; Plateau State, once the hotbed of ethnic and communal violence in the North Central, has enjoyed a great deal of peace in the last two years.

While some tensions continue to flare up every now and then, there has been none of the high-intensity violence which we have seen in other States. In neighbouring Kaduna State, there have also been efforts to ensure lasting peace. In September 2017, the State Government inaugurated a Peace Commission under the Chairmanship of the Most Reverend Josiah Idowu-Fearon, Secretary-General of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and founder of the Kaduna Center for the Study of Christian-Muslim Relations.

The Federal Government fully endorses these peacebuilding efforts, and will continue to give our support and assistance to State Governments in this regard.

We are also, with the collaboration of States, and the Governors of Benue, Plateau, Adamawa and along with seven other Governors, have constituted the working group which I chair, where they have been seeking to proffer solutions to some of the problems associated with farmer/herdsmen clashes, but in particular, how to ensure that there is a plan for cattle breeding and rearing which takes into account, contemporary methods of doing so in other parts of the world.

Also in collaboration with the States and other stakeholders, we have been developing solutions to the issues of resource scarcity which is at the heart of the conflicts – the increasing competition for grazing land and water heightened by climate change. All stakeholders agree that we must now develop new ideas to prevent clashes between herdsmen and farmers; in particular enabling the cows and herders to become more sedentary. It is obvious that the physical movement of cattle in an endless journey on the move, must now begin to take a different shape. We cannot afford it even from the economic perspective, there must be another way.

We believe when cattle is sedentary, it will improve the productivity of the cattle. Our beef cattle Sokoto Gudali adds 0.5 Kg per day while the Brahma in Brazil which is bred in a ranch adds 2.5kg per day. Our dairy cows produce 1 litre per day, whereas in other parts of Africa, there is production of almost 15 – 20 litres per day.

There is also a clear sense which I think must be appreciated, that the Federal government cannot dictate to States what to do with their land. This is so because the Land Use Act of 1978 puts land under the control of Governors on behalf of their States. Also, the Supreme Court in the case of Attorney General of Lagos State versus the Attorney General of the Federation in 2004, held that use of land resources and permits for such use, lie firmly in the hands of State Governments. Even for use of Federal lands in the States according to the Supreme Court, building or development control permit must be sought from the Governors of the States.

However in several States, especially in the North, there are duly gazetted grazing reserves. A majority of these grazing reserves are degraded and are without pasture or water especially in the dry season.

Grazing routes leading to these reserves, must also be secured. The grazing reserves to be effective and operate effectively, should operate as ranches or livestock production centres on a commercial basis. The ranches will have adequate water from boreholes, salt points and pasture.

The locations would serve both as forage points, but also centres for providing extensio n services to boost animal care, feeding and veterinary facilities, and even abattoirs. Because the ranches are commercial ventures, cattle owners will pay for its use.

It is important to note that by and large, in consultation with stakeholders, all agree that where adequate provision is made on a commercial basis, there is no reason why there won’t be cooperation to use those ranches because there are both economic and social benefits for everyone, including herders.

Aside from States that have gazetted grazing areas, so far about 13 States have agreed to allocate 5,000 hectares of land for the ranching or livestock production. We must emphasis that in arriving at any of these decisions in the States, the States, Federal Government and all of the Stakeholders have to seat together and work out solutions that will benefit everyone. This cannot be done by fear or force, people have to work together to ensure that there is adequate consultations.

Let me reiterate, that on no account will any lands be seized or forcefully taken to create these ranches or grazing areas. All insinuations to that effect should be disregarded. No one is giving land to herdsmen, as is being falsely alleged. Instead, it is in our view that States that are willing and which have set aside land for development should cooperate with willing investors into commercially viable, government-supported ranches or livestock production centres for commercial use.

Let me close by summarizing some policy objectives that we need further work on, some of which will benefit from both Legislative and Judiciary cooperation.

The first is that the nature of our security challenges are complex and nuanced. Securing Nigeria’s over 923,768 square kilometers and its 180 million people, requires far more men and materials than we have at the moment. It also requires a continual re-engineering of our security architecture and strategies. This has to be a dynamic process. For a country our size to meet the 1 policeman to 400 persons UN prescribed ratio, would require nearly tripling our current police force, far more funding of the police, military and security agencies is required.

Secondly, we cannot realistically police a country the size of Nigeria centrally from Abuja. State Police and other community policing methods are clearly the way to go.

Thirdly, we must intensify existing collaboration with our neighbours in the Chad Basin, especially border communities to prevent the movement of small arms, and disarming armed pastoralists and bandits who go through our borders day after day.

Lastly, we must avoid the dangers of allowing these conflicts to harden to religious or ethnic conflicts. This is the responsibility of political, religious and all other parts our leadership elite in Nigeria.

Thank you very much for your kind attention.

It is now my special privilege to declare this very important summit open.

Speech: VP Osinbajo’s Remarks at the National Security Summit in Abuja

Hosting this summit underscores your recognition, that the primary business of government is law and order. And by government, I mean the Executive, Legislature and the Judiciary.

This very important security summit is an important part of the on-going engagements with stakeholders on the security concerns of our nation.

Additionally, troops of 93 Battalion, Takum in Taraba State, also occupy blocking positions as well as maintain constant liaison with troops in Benue State.

Furthermore, the command and control structure of the Army formations and units in Benue and contiguous states have been reorganized.

Today, all across West Africa security and intelligence agencies are seeing the devastating impact of these mercenaries, and their arms and ammunition.

The President and I have at various times this year held Stakeholder Meetings to bring all concerned parties to the table and discuss ways of ensuring peace and security.

The Federal Government fully endorses these peacebuilding efforts, and will continue to give our support and assistance to State Governments in this regard.

The locations would serve both as forage points, but also centres for providing extension services to boost animal care, feeding and veterinary facilities, and even abattoirs. Because the ranches are commercial ventures, cattle owners will pay for its use.

Let me close by summarizing some policy objectives that we need further work on, some of which will benefit from both Legislative and Judiciary cooperation.

Secondly, we cannot realistically police a country the size of Nigeria centrally from Abuja. State Police and other community policing methods are clearly the way to go.

Thank you very much for your kind attention.

It is now my special privilege to declare this very important summit open.

Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity
Office of the Vice President
February 8, 2018

Press Release: VP was in Kano to Attend Aide’s Wedding, Not To Meet Political Groups

The attention of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, has been drawn to a TV news report suggesting that he was in Kano State on Saturday, 3rd of February, 2018 to meet with some political groups. This is completely false and misleading.

On the contrary, the Vice President was in Kano to attend the wedding ceremony of his Personal Assistant, Hafiz Ibrahim Kawu, which was well publicized over the weekend.

On arrival, he was met by Governor Abdullahi Ganduje at the airport, and went straight to the mosque, venue of the Wedding Nikhai. After that, he paid the traditional courtesy call on the Emir of Kano, His Royal Highness, Muhammadu Sanusi II, and proceeded back to the airport.

At no time during the visit did he meet with any political group or groups. Any attempt to give the impression that he was in Kano for a political purpose is mischievous and should be disregarded.

Indeed, the Vice President has in the past few weeks met in Abuja with the Kano APC leadership to ensure unity and full cooperation among party leaders, and this has also been well reported in the media.

Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity
Office of the Vice President
05 February, 2018

Speech: VP Osinbajo’s Remarks At The Parade Of Honour Held For The Late Dr. Alex Ifeanyichukwu Ekwueme

I am deeply honoured this morning on behalf of the President, Commander- In- Chief, President Muhammadu Buhari to receive the body of the first elected civilian Vice President of Nigeria, Dr. Alex Ekwueme, Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger.

As we receive his body this morning, we are reminded of his selfless service to nation, our region, Africa and indeed the world. We are reminded of his commitment to the timeless ideals of integrity, loyalty and of kindness to all.

We thank the almighty God for giving us, 85 glorious years of Dr. Alex Ekwueme. When he was asked what his vision was for the country, he said, I would like to see Nigeria be a Nation not just a country.

Those words tell us how committed he was to the unity of this country, and I pray that in death and as we remember him, this will not only encourage us but also cement the relationship between all of the peoples and nationalities of this country so that we become and remain one.

We thank the almighty God for his family, and for all of us he left behind. We pray that his great wishes for this nation and all that he sacrificed for, will not be in vain.

Dr. Alex Ekwueme GCON, first elected civilian Vice-President of Nigeria, is perhaps one of the most remarkable persons to have served our nation.

Despite being probably one of the most thoroughly educated persons anywhere in the world, with degrees in disciplines as distinct as Architecture, Philosophy, Sociology and Law, he possessed the profound humility that comes from understanding how much more there was to learn. And he demonstrated it by his evident willingness to listen and to learn at all times. As Vice President, he set an excellent example of loyalty, discipline, team spirit and fidelity to the nation.

He was fearless! Armed with the courage of his convictions, he led the G34, the group of eminent Nigerians who confronted military dictatorship in its darkest and most fearsome days in Nigerian history. Their roles significantly contributed to the return of democracy in 1999.

In public discourse, nationally and regionally, as an elder in ECOWAS, even on the most emotive subjects, he spoke truthfully, but maintaining a thoughtful balance, ensuring that his words built rather than destroyed. He worked tirelessly to build and maintain the bridges established across ethnic and religious lines by so many through the years. He never once doubted the validity of one indivisible Nigeria.

Indeed when he was asked what his vision was for Nigeria, he said “My vision for Nigeria is that Nigeria should become a nation rather than a country”.

Your Excellencies, whether it was in spending 20 or more unjustified months in detention after the 1983 coup, or the eventual conclusion that he had not abused his office in anyway, or his principled and fearless leadership in confronting the military dictatorship when it chose to succeed itself, or his principled intervention in many national debates, Dr. Ekwueme epitomized impeccable integrity, courage, and selflessness.

His values, like himself, remain relevant in every age and time. Almost a year to the date of his sad passing, he graciously responded to my invitation to join other former Nigerian heads of State and their deputies, to record for broadcast the hymn “O lord our help in ages past” which we have just seen.

As a man of depth, he understood the symbolism of leaders of our nation, honouring God as we affirmed that we and our beloved nation owed everything to His grace alone. When he was teased about his voice as he delivered a line of the hymn in Igbo, because there was a lot of teasing and joking that afternoon at Aguda House, he said he was “just warming up”.

When he was asked in an interview some years ago how he would want to be remembered he said “My music teacher in secondary school said you have to blow your own trumpet because if you don’t, no one will blow it for you until it gets rusty. But I will like to be remembered as someone who came into public office to render service and rendered that service selflessly”.

Of course, Alex Ifeyinchukwu Ekwueme, Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger, the Ideh of Oko, never had to blow his trumpet and will never have to, his service to country and people is the assurance that he would have many trumpeters, amongst the high and low.

Our nation will miss his calm dignity and wise words even in the most turbulent circumstances.

But we thank God for giving us for 85 years, such an exemplar of decency, kindness and integrity.

God bless his memory and God bless his family.

Thank you.

Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity
Office of the Vice President
29 January, 2018

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