Corruption cuts across tribe, religion in Nigeria – VP Osinbajo
By Levinus Nwabughiogu
ABUJA—Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has said corrupt people pervades the social, economic, political and religious spheres of the country.
He alleged that the people appeared to be united in corruption and would protect the identity of one another. Osinbajo Speaking at the annual dinner of Apostles in the Market Place, which had its theme as Change Agents in Nation-Building, the Vice President, who delivered a keynote address on A New Tribe, submitted that the country needed a new tribe of incorruptible men and women to restore lost values and norms. He said: “We need a new tribe of men and women of all faith, tribes and ethnicities; committed to a country run on high values of integrity, hard work, justice and love for the country. “A tribe of men and women who are prepared to make the sacrifices crucial to building a strong society; who are prepared to stick together, and insist on justice even when our friends are at the receiving end. “When you look at any list of alleged perpetrators of a heinous cases of corruption, all tribes, ethnicities and religions are well represented. In other words, high level corruption knows no religion or ethnicity. “Such perpetrators and conspirators are in governments, the legislature, the judiciary and the press. They are united, they protect each other.”
‘Difficult to find men of integrity’ Osinabjo stated that his discussions with his principal, President Muhammadu Buhari, had indicated that finding men of integrity, who would be assigned various responsibility of government, was a herculean task for them. He, however, stressed that there was the need for the new tribe of Nigerians, consisting of professionals, businessmen, politicians, religious leaders and all others who believed that a new Nigeria was possible. He said: “I have had several long discussions with President Buhari. The key issue always is finding the right persons for any task.
A tough task, indeed, in a corrupted system.” Criteria for the tribe—KOLADE Also speaking, Dr. Christopher Kolade noted that the needed change was that which starts with individuals. According to him, the new tribe Vice President Osinabjo referred to must be made up of Nigerians who accepted and believed in a “society where good things are the norm,” and that such acceptance and belief was what qualified people to belong to the new tribe.
Kolade added that the new tribe of Nigerians were those who want to tell the truth and who want the truth. He stated that the address by the Vice President should be a wakeup call, especially for legal practitioners. He said: “I sometimes ask our lawyers, do we have a court of law or a court of justice in this country? If we could all say we are working for a court of justice and not a court of law, we will all be in the new tribe.”
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