Corruption is not caused by a few individuals – Osinbajo

Osinbajo

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo believes that corruption in the country was not caused by a few individuals, but that the entire system was built around lack of integrity.

Speaking at the pastors and leaders retreat of the Fountain of Life Church in Ilupeju, Lagos, the Vice President expressed confidence that the country would be great again. However, he stressed that the foundation for the greatness had to be laid with a lot of pain.

“Unless we tackle graft, we may not be able to achieve something,” he said.

“Nigeria lacks the capacity to get things done, which is difficult to understand, but with God on our side, our country will set the pace for Africa. Our people are ready to do it and they can do it but they are waiting for the right kind of leadership.

The VP lamented that the federal government did not build “a single new road” in the last 10 years. Musa Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan presided over the country within that period.

“The federal government in the past 10 years could not build a single new road, not repairing existing ones alone.

“Now we have a president who will not steal money and who will not allow anybody to steal money.”

Commenting on the N6 billion that the last administration spent on a new residence for the vice-president, he said Aguda House, the current official residence, is up to standard and should not be abandoned.

“There is no need for a new vice-president’s house; it is a kind of waste; we are now in a situation where we cannot abandon it; it has to be completed and used for a different thing,” he said.

Osinbajo also spoke on the controversy surrounding the State House Medical Centre, which he said was not only for workers at the state house.

He said it is a general hospital with a lot of facilities to serve all Nigerians, adding that he would prefer that it be further equipped to provide higher medical services to those in need.

Osinbajo debunked suggestions of lack of data in the country, saying that the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS) had huge data, which had been rated highly by the World Bank and other international agencies.

He said the intention of government was to aggregate the scattered data in INEC, CBN, and National Population Census Commission into one by the National Identity Card Management Commission.

He also added that the education sector lacked not only standards but also adequacy of institutions, which has forced Nigerians into sending their children abroad for tertiary education.

He revealed that the government would convert many of the existing universities into centres of excellence and support the private sector in the running of universities to enable more Nigerians to have access to tertiary education.

The country, he said, needs truth and integrity, which the church should spearhead.

“The church is where the truth is; the church has the answer to the nation’s problems; one of the problems of our society is integrity,” he said.

 “I know why you are praying for us, and it is because you know that this is a good opportunity to get it right and we don’t want to miss this chance.”