Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has argued that the perpetrators of heinous cases of high level corruption and their co-conspirators cut acrosss all tribes, ethnicities and religions in governments, the legislature, the judiciary and even the media.
It is, therefore, a tough task to find the right persons to perform any task in a corrupt system because the tribe of corrupt Nigerians pervades all the professional, social, economic, political and religious spheres of the country; they are united in corruption and therefore, protect the identity of one another.
On the contrary, Nigeria needs a new tribe of incorruptible men and women of all faith and ethnicities, committed to building a society with high values of integrity, hard work, justice and love of country and are prepared to make the necessary crucial sacrifices.
In Osinbajo’s words, these incorruptible Nigerians must constitute “a tribe of men and women who are prepared to stick together and insist on justice even when our friends are at the receiving end.”
Speaking at the annual dinner of Apostles in the Market Place, with its theme, Change Agents in Nation-Building, the Vice President said in a keynote address titled, “A New Tribe,” that Nigeria needs a new tribe of incorruptible men and women to restore its 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 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’
Osinbajo stated that his discussions with his principal, President Muhammadu Buhari had revealed that finding men of integrity, who would be assigned various responsibilities of government is 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 is 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 new tribe—Christoper 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 Osinbajo 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 were 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 wake-up 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.”
-Vanguard