Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo has reiterated that the prosperity of Nigeria means that no one deserves to be poor in the country.
Speaking in a lecture at the 50th Convocation ceremony of the University of Lagos, the alumnus of the university and former lecturer in the faculty of Law, said Nigeria is set for progress and with good leadership, the country can prosper.
“Nigeria’s prosperity means a decent existence for all. That prosperity so defined will be attained if we are able to address the issues of extreme poverty, productivity, corruption, the rule of law and the deficiencies in the quality of Human Resources caused by poor education and healthcare.”
He went further to explain that Nigeria needs a robust healthcare system to ensure that the average Nigerian is in good health. In his words: “we must have a robust enough healthcare system that ensures that the average person is in good health, an educational system that guarantees education capable of preparing children for the opportunities and challenges of a knowledge economy, a thriving private sector led economy supported by a business friendly environment , a system of wealth creation options and safety nets capable of taking millions out of poverty and providing for those who cannot work.”
“The wealth creation options must include access to cheap credit for small holder farmers, traders and artisans. The safety nets include government created job schemes for the unemployed and cash transfers for the poorest and most vulnerable.”
“In planning the path to prosperity we also took into account the age-old weaknesses of the Nigerian economy, and the illusion of prosperity that frequently distorts our understanding of the actual fragility of our economy. This means the economy rested on a tripod where two of the three legs were dependent on highly volatile oil prices and production. This shaky economic structure enabled Nigeria to keep growing as long as revenue from oil and foreign reserves were high enough and of course we celebrated this fragile growth structure.”
“Just to end, I want to say that our country is set for progress. There is no question at all that our country can prosper”, Professor Yemi Osinbajo said.
