Nigeria’s Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), on Thursday in Abuja while receiving a delegation of selected Nigerians in the Diaspora led by Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, said there is an innate greatness in the Nigerian person especially when the right leadership is in place.
In a statement released by the Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President (Media & Publicity), Laolu Akande and made available to Corruption Freeland, the Vice President said “I believe the day will come when the world will agree that there is a greatness gene in the Nigerian”.
The Vice President expressed excitement about the feats Nigerians are making outside the country, saying that the stories about Nigerians in the Diaspora invalidate the negative beliefs of others, and stressed that young Nigerians at home have also shown commitment and leadership in all spheres of human endeavours.
“And this is the kind of ideals that are waiting to happen to any of our young people today”, he noted.
Mr Vice President also noted that, the story about Nigerian young people is inspiring not only to their fellow young people but the elderly as well. According to him, “the story is a show of audacity in the kind of things you are doing in foreign countries all over the place; you have the propensity to create businesses, innovation, creativity and I found it very fascinating.’’
Vice President Osinbajo assured the Diasporans that “the Change Agenda of Buhari administration is really a people-oriented agenda”. He said government strongly believes that the Nigerian people have within them the capacity to do great things as long as the leaders show integrity, true leadership, transparency and openness, the people will trust them.
“I think the Nigerian people are prepared to do incredible things if they can trust the leaders and be sure that the system will back them up, that the system will not betray them by corruption, and other activities that are abusive as was the case by past political leaders”, he noted.
He urged the Diasporans to make contact with his office and Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa to work out how they can contribute their quotas to Nigeria’s development.
Earlier, Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, a former member of the House of Representatives and past Chairman of the House Diaspora Committee, who led the delegation urged the Federal Government to establish a data-base of Nigerians in the Diaspora. She disclosed that there is an estimated six million Nigerians in Cameroun and half of Sudan are Nigerians, based on available records.
Members of the delegation took turns introducing themselves and their achievements in the foreign countries they are based, including Prof. Chris Imafidon – an Adviser to European and USA governments, Mr. Jelani Aliyu – an Automobile Designer and Developer of the award-winning Chevy Volt car made by General Motors in the United States of America. – Corruption Freeland (CF)
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