VP Osinbajo Attends Grand Opening Of DashMe Store, Lekki On 13/06/2021

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REMARKS BY HIS EXCELLENCY, PROF. YEMI OSINBAJO, SAN, GCON, VICE PRESIDENT, FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA, AT THE GRAND OPENING OF DASHME STORE, LEKKI, LAGOS ON SUNDAY JUNE 13, 2021

 

I am excited to be here for several reasons; the first is because of the initiator and visioner of this foundation, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, the immediate past Minister of Finance of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and my cabinet colleague.

 

As a Minister, she was an inspirational voice within the cabinet and to the nation. I greatly admired her capacity for new ideas and innovation and her tenacity in seeing them through. But most of all, her commitment to the notion that all service to man is actually service to God, and she took that very seriously; that we owe the people, especially the poor and disadvantaged, not just empathy, but concrete and creative provision to enable them to live their best lives.

 

This is why, as Minister, she prioritized the Social Investment Programme, when for the first time, the country voted almost N500B of our annual budget to welfare programmes which are called the Social Investment Programmes, which involved engaging 500,000 young men and women and also giving microcredit to almost 2 million traders and also a home-grown school feeding programme for 9.5 million children daily in public schools across the country.

 

I am therefore really not surprised that she has decided to use some of her enormous talent and influence to establish an organization that raises funds and provides resources for indigenous grassroot charities working with orphaned and vulnerable children, disadvantaged youth, and victims of domestic violence.  So, the Dash Me Foundation is in every sense who Kemi Adeosun really is. And whether she likes it or not, for a very long time it is going to be associated with her. We know that in 78 years from now, it is going to be a different story, and we pray that it will finally have been disengaged from her as an individual.

 

What I think is happening here is that philanthropy is not like it used to be when all you needed was a good and kind heart and you didn’t need to plan or organize as you would a business for profit. What Kemi and her team have done is to bring the new notion of social enterprise to this project. Philanthropy run with the discipline, attention to detail, and financial prudence of a successful business, and she can do all of that, and am sure her team is imbibing that given her background in finance in both private and public sector.

 

An important component of the Dash Me Foundation is The Dash Me Store.  This is just one of the creative ways by which the foundation will not only mobilize funds for charity but also give opportunity for people to earn a living. So, the idea of this thrift-for-charity store is brilliant and the first of its kind in Nigeria.

 

It is a unique model which does not just give to the needy in the conventional way of merely handing out donations, it is an innovative and structured way of aggregating donations to earn income to transform the lives of the vulnerable and needy while creating jobs in the process.

 

This process ensures that donations get to the hard-to-access vulnerable people via the grassroot charities the Foundation supports. I am particularly impressed with the online Dash Me Store, it is very user-friendly and easy to navigate, and I think one of the very important things about it is that today, many people are buying stuff online. So, I think the moment is right for the online store, and I am sure it is going to be tremendously successful.

 

I am must say that your focus on funding grassroots charities is so crucial.  And I know that having campaigned with you on behalf of our party, the APC all around Ogun and in every part of Nigeria, it is clear that you can’t reach Nigeria and Nigerians if you don’t have a plan for the grassroots.

 

One good thing about politics is how it is that you can reach every nook and cranny of your nation and actually see how people live and how they exist. I think this must have informed the idea that what you really should fund are grass-roots charities because they are the ones that can really make the difference.

 

It is clear to me that the ultimate objective of this foundation is not to be an almsgiver, but a powerful institution for the creation of wealth and opportunity for the less privileged today.  I am glad that the poor and disadvantaged now have one of the smartest, most eloquent and tenacious spokespersons and activist,  Mrs Kemi Adeosun. There is no doubt that Dash Me Foundation will be a game-changer in philanthropy and social enterprise in Nigeria. I have absolutely no doubt about that.

 

I also want to say to the team at Dash Me Foundation, I am told that they are young;  I have not had the pleasure yet of meeting them but what you are doing is putting yourself in a very important moment in history. It may be difficult now to understand that but one thing that is very clear to me after 64 years on the face of this earth and I think that I am now in a position to advise, (by the way, a grandfather now),  one thing that has become clear to me is that you may make a name and be remembered as a business person or as a public servant, but to live in the hearts of men and women for years and perhaps for forever, you must do something that is transformative in the lives of the people.

 

Something that really changes people’s lives and this is the sort of thing that is being done here because you are set to change the lives of so many and to change the stories of so many not just here in Nigeria, but across the world.

 

You have certainly put yourself on the part to true greatness and I really urge you to stick to it; there may be difficult times, there may be times when you just wonder whether it is all working, but you can be sure as everything else, it is going to work out well. Most importantly, not only will people’s lives be transformed, but yours also and you will be remembered for it forever.

 

So, I will like to thank you all very much again for taking the time to come and also the staff, management, and all of us, supporters of the Dash Me Foundation very well and we pray that this foundation will achieve all of its objectives and that we all will continue to support it for many years to come.

 

Thank you.