2023: Osinbajo Advises Professionals to Shun Ethno-religious Politics

Deji Elumoye

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, has called on Nigerian professionals in politics to shun ethno-religious and parochial considerations in making crucial decisions for the development of the country.

Speaking yesterday at the All Progressives Congress (APC) Professional Forum held at the State House, Abuja, Osinbajo stressed that only politics devoid of ethnicity and religious considerations could promote and facilitate development in the nation.

The Vice President emphasised the need for Nigerian professionals to embrace politics that was driven by merit rather than throw up base considerations ahead of the 2023 general election.

According to him, “The usefulness of professionals in politics is that you have people, who are used to being assessed on the basis of their own achievements, who are unafraid to make competence the first advertorial of their acumen. In other words, professionals emphasise the role of merit in public life.

“So, one of the major advantages to our communities of having professionals in politics is lost if we do not recognise our role as merit-driven persons must be to fight the temptation of ethnic, religious and other parochial considerations in making crucial decisions for the development of our nation.

“There is no point having professionals in politics if these professionals are driven by ethnic, religious and other parochial considerations, because the whole point of professionalism is that you are defined by merit; you are defined by your professional acumen.

“Nobody would place their lives in the hands of an incompetent doctor, because they share the same faith or continue to patronise a dangerously inept mechanic, because they belong to the same tribe. If someone told me, for example, that the pilot, who is to fly the plane that I’m to go in is not a very good pilot, but he’s from Ikenne, my hometown, I certainly won’t go in that plane.

“So, in the same way, we must especially, refuse to be swayed by those whose sole argument for power is an appeal to sectional sentiments. We must resist it. And we must say no to it, because otherwise, we fail in our professional calling.

“True progress is about reimagining our collective circumstances and creating an environment that enables prosperity for us all. This is the challenge for us as professionals.

“To this end, we must see ourselves as stewards of the common good, who have been entrusted with the privilege of managing the collective destiny of our people for an allotted time. And we must do so with a conscience and to the best of our abilities.”

Also speaking, Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Okechuku Ogah, stressed the need for the professionals to begin to brainstorm on how to leverage the solid foundation already laid by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration.

In his goodwill message, APC Presidential aspirant, Chief Moses Ayom, observed that Nigeria under APC was gradually moving from the previous state of professionals scavenging the streets for paid white collar jobs to a more desirable situation of breeding entrepreneurial professionals, who are creating wealth, adding value and growing the economy.