The vice president (VP) claims that a national consensus is necessary, particularly among political, religious, and business leaders.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, believes that if we teach the right values, not only in our institutions of learning but also instill the ethics of hard work, honesty, integrity, and trustworthiness, among others, Nigeria can produce the highest quality individuals to run the most efficient governments and private institutions.
This was said by the vice president on Tuesday in the capital city of Ogun State, Abeokuta, while giving the Baptist Boys’ High School (BBHS) Centenary Lecture.
Prof. Osinbajo argued in his speech on the subject of “Values: The Difference Between Success and Failure” that a moral revolution is essential to accelerating the nation’s progress toward becoming a really great nation.
The vice president claimed that there needed to be widespread agreement on minimal ethical norms, particularly among the political, religious, and corporate elites, “where we develop a national work ethic of honesty, hard effort, thrift, and the deferral of gratification.”
Prof. Osinbajo remarked that “what is taught and acquired shapes the character of individuals and nations” in order to further explain this. Governments must also take the lead in this ethical revolution by encouraging moral behavior and guaranteeing that offenders are swiftly punished.
The religious elite must demonstrate that riches, power, and diligence—rather than just miracles—are what create these things in order to support the ethical orientation that has been agreed upon. Furthermore, the religious elite must shun and isolate public officials and those whose wealth cannot be explained or is obviously derived from dubious or questionable sources. Every contemporary civilization has had to deal with corruption; in order for us to prosper, we must enshrine the same baseline ethical norms.
The Vice President noted that the same principles of integrity, hard work, and reliability are what make people, institutions, and countries great, alluding to the earlier portion of the ceremony where the Commemorative Centennial Obelisk with the names of the distinguished centennials inscribed upon it was unveiled.
According to him, values distinguish men and women who succeed from those who fail. As a result, it is also true that values distinguish successful societies or nations from unsuccessful or failing ones.
While geography plays a significant role in the success of people and communities, it is not a defining feature; otherwise, the countries with the largest deposits of mineral wealth would be the most prosperous. The vice president gave the examples of countries in Asia and Africa with enormous deposits of natural resources and human talent.
The Vice President emphasized that “it is values that determine the success or failure of individuals or societies,” defining values as ethical principles by which people and communities live, work, and interact. These principles include honesty, integrity, trustworthiness, perseverance, hard work, diligence, discipline, respect, etc.
“Venezuela has one of the largest oil reserves in the world, but the UN estimates that 94% of its people live in poverty,” he said. Despite having some of the richest mineral endowments in the world, the Great Lakes region in Africa is home to some of the world’s poorest nations. On the other hand, none of the richest nations in the world—Israel, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, India, South Korea, and Singapore—have any natural resources. These nations also have the most businesses listed on the Nasdaq.
According to him, “all of the world’s great and prosperous economies share the same traits, emphasizing hard work and integrity.”
The “amazing legacy” of BBHS in producing graduates who went on to achieve national and worldwide acclaim in academia, the professions, business, politics, and civil society was also emphasized by Prof. Osinbajo. He told the tales of four of these alumni, highlighting their strong morals.
They are former president Olusegun Obasanjo, the late Chief MKO Abiola, who was declared the victor of the presidential election that was invalidated on June 12, 1993, and former Attorney General and Minister of Justice of the Federation, Prince Bola Ajibola, SAN. Chief Obafemi Awolowo was the Western Region’s first premier.
During his early career in public service, the Vice President, who was in his early 30s at the time, had a direct working relationship with Prince Ajibola, who later served as a judge on the International Court of Justice and the Nigerian ambassador to the UK for five years.
The vice president made the following comment on the first three names: “I mention only these three men because they stood courageously for ideals even in the face of overwhelming temptation to compromise; they made personal sacrifices or suffered for their ideas.”
They have a quality that makes them unique. They appeared to have ingested a quality that made them so unwavering, even in the face of sometimes terrifyingly difficult obstacles: sticking to one’s convictions and values, even if it results in suffering or punishment.
The Vice President remembered several pivotal occasions that occurred when he was working with the previous AGF, Prince Ajibola, and demonstrated the admirable characteristics he possessed.
“The first was a circumstance in which a foreign contractor who had secured a lucrative contract from the Federal government gifted a car to Judge Ajibola’s son, who was enrolled at a foreign university at the time. I had never seen Judge Ajibola so furious, but that was after his son told him about it. The present was returned, and the man was also reported to his government. He reminded me of a chicken that had been pounded by the rain when he came to the ministry to apologize.
“The second incident involved the drug-related arrest of a commercial aircraft in Nigeria.” The situation was under the control of the Attorney General’s office. And a very successful lawyer arrived to make the AGF a sizable FX offer while claiming to be acting as a middleman for some interests. I can still picture the lawyer’s shame and dread on his face when I think back to how Prince Bola Ajibola yelled at him and told him to leave his office.
The VP also described how Prince Ajibola later determined that founding a university would be the focus of his life’s work.
He went to his house in Abeokuta after selling all of his properties in Lagos. With all the resources he possessed, he founded the Crescent University. When I questioned him about it, he replied that money is useless if it doesn’t make a difference in other people’s lives.
Prof. Osinbajo continued by saying that neither talent nor opportunity played a role in the success of these four BBHS alumni who achieved relevance and glory.
The VP said, “They all put in a lot of effort, but they also displayed courage and integrity; they stood up for what they believed in, and in three of the four cases, they were wrongfully imprisoned for their convictions or because their views or positions were seen as threats to the authorities of the time.”
The Vice President thanked HRM, the Alake and paramount ruler of Egbaland, Oba Dr. Adedotun Gbadebo, CFR, who was present, and the National President of the Association, Prof. Kayode Oyesiku, for the invitation and congratulated the school’s past and present management for “producing men of outstanding ethical standards through the years.”
He concluded by wishing the institution many more centuries of great influence on Nigeria and the rest of the world.
Prince Dapo Abiodun, the governor of Ogun State, joined Prof. Osinbajo at the ceremony.
