VP Osinbajo’s Remarks At Palace Of The Gbagii Of Saki, Oyo State

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*Translated from Yoruba*

REMARKS BY HIS EXCELLENCY, VICE PRESIDENT, YEMI OSINBAJO, SAN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA AT PALACE OF THE GBAGII OF SAKI, OYO STATE ON THE 5^TH OF JANUARY, 2019.

PROTOCOLS

I thank you all, the traditional rulers and leaders. We are trying, but we have not done enough, but we are trying to do our best. The first thing we did was get a Minister from Oke –Ogun, Chief Otunba Adebayo Shittu, he is the first but he won’t be the last.

I have heard all that you said and we need to do everything you have requested because Oke-Ogun isn’t the place we should toy with. I know that certainly, there isn’t anything President Buhari wouldn’t want to do here. We are always talking and even speaking to the Minister as well, regarding the things we should do. We are making notes of the things that we have to do regarding power, and other things you mentioned we have to do, there is no one we will not do.

We all know, including President Buhari’s enemies, that he is an honest man, whatever he says he will do, he will do it. Whatever we are not able to do, we will make it clear that we can’t accomplish them now, but we will do it some other time.

Of all the things you have mentioned, nothing is too difficult, we will just find a way of doing all the things you asked.

But I want you to think about the Trans-border market properly because they have been speaking about this Trans-border market for a while. It is part of the planning of the Continental Free Trade Area. It is a matter that is meant to be part of the budget, and I will, with the Minister, be responsible, that we all are doing the work to put it in the budget, We must ensure it’s in the budget. We must also ensure that those who get into the Senate are our people as well so that all our plans can be executed. So that is why we should do good always. So all that you have said, we will do.

I want to thank you all very much. On the issue of the Federal Institution, we will take it one step at a time because ultimately, we would have to build a Federal Institution. We need to sit down and deliberate thoroughly and decide on a location for the institution because all Local Governments can’t have Federal Institutions. However, Saki is big enough. We will deliberate on the matter very well. However, it is due for Oke-Ogun to have a Federal University/Polytechnic.

My words are few because we have come to greet you, and we don’t need to campaign in Oke-Ogun because they are progressives. Because they have seen what Awolowo saw ahead which is if we don’t vote in honest people, people who spend the resources of the country on the advancement of the country if we don’t do that, we are just deceiving ourselves. We can pray from now till 2020, but if we don’t vote in honest people, it is all lies.

Look at all the roads we are doing now; Lagos – Ibadan expressway, for 16 years, it wasn’t done, now we are doing it, Ilorin – Ogbomosho, we started doing it, Lagos-Kano railway, we are doing it. The railways you talked about, it was always in the budget during the previous administration, but we just started doing it, and will finish the Lagos – Ibadan leg of it by the end of January.  All the things the previous administration had to do that they didn’t do, we are doing it now while earning less.

We have employed 500,000 graduates to work through N-Power; no other government has been able to do the same. We are also doing TraderMoni, giving N10,000 interest-free loans to petty traders to add to their businesses. We are also doing Home-grown School Feeding in 26 States of the country, giving primary school children food every day, over 9.2million of them. The amount of money spent is N250billion in 2 budget cycles.

Some people say they did SURE-P spending N700billion and we haven’t seen any beneficiary who said that he got a job, or he was fed, or got an interest free loan.

The issue with our country isn’t lack of wisdom, ideas, projects, there is no government that doesn’t have something to do or offer, sometimes we don’t even need to start anything new, we even need to finish what they started, however, stealing has prevented advancement.

We need to let them know that we are not moving backwards, we are moving forward because the damage done to our country is too much. No country can move forward if we don’t have honest people at the top. There is no moving forward without inconvenience, but our tomorrow will be better.

When Awolowo said he would do free education, nobody supported because of the cost, there were fights all over, but now that all the inconvenience is gone, we now see the advantage of education.

No one is commended for building a foundation; it is until people see the building that they will complement it. So we are at the foundation level now, and very soon, we will see the sweetness of what is inconveniencing us now.  That sweetness cannot come if we don’t truly do this work. Those who don’t like Buhari all know that he is an honest person; none of them can deny it. They also know that he will not steal the resources of the country.

Everything he is doing is for our benefit and the benefit of our children and God will make it possible for him. It will be during our lifetime that we will see the improvement in our country and all of us will benefit from it. It will be well with our children and us.

Thank you.