The international community must appreciate the size of Nigeria to better understand it – Osinbajo

In a situation where societal or governmental institutions are not strong enough to constrain individual behavior in a way that advances the common good, spirituality, and commitment to values such as social justice and transparency are important.

According to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, "You only have to look at these values for there to be a great deal of unanimity on what is the right thing to do. The question is whether or not you will do these things. , or if you are motivated enough to do them, or if you have to do them.

“Spirituality helps in this sense to help you decide what to do and what not to do. Especially where the institutions are not strong enough to prevent people from behaving in a particular way or not.”
This was one of the highlights of the vice president's interaction with a group of Harvard Business School students who visited him at the Presidential Villa on Friday.

Numbering about a dozen, the students currently on a field trip to Africa asked questions about leadership, faith, spirituality, government policies in education, health, economics and national image, among others.

In his responses, the Vice President expressed his personal commitment to the virtues of integrity, transparency and social justice which are also virtues advocated in the country's various denominations and religions.

He said: "For me, spirituality evokes values. I came to government with values about what I think is important, especially around transparency, social justice and justice, between others. You are almost always a product of the values you believe in. Fortunately, many of these values cross faiths, they are not necessarily limited to one religion or one faith.

"In societies that are more institutionally developed, you don't need to be told that you shouldn't do certain things because you could end up in jail if you do and there's chances are you can be detected and the process will go through and you will be punished.

"I'm talking about corruption and all that. But where institutions are weak, some people have reasons not to do the right thing," Osinbajo said.

Talking about Nigeria and its perception in the international community, Mr. Osinbajo explained to the postgraduate students, some of whom are Nigerians, that it is by understanding the size of Nigeria that the international community can better appreciate the enormity and complexity of some of the country's challenges.

According to the vice president, "first of all, it is necessary to appreciate the size of the country, which is crucial to understand what the problems are.

"For example, Borno State is roughly the size of the whole of the UK plus Sweden or Denmark. So when it is reported that there is violence in Nigeria , this is probably an incident in a remote part of the country, and many people in Abuja and Lagos can hear about it on social media, such is the size of this country.
"When they talk about the economy, we are often compared to smaller African countries, but there are 10 states in Nigeria that have larger GDPs than those countries, that's a huge target market."
Responding to the question about some inaccurate characterization of Nigeria in certain sections of the international community, the Vice President said “it is important to constantly engage the international community to show them what we think about stereotypes. goes back to the work we do as a government and as a people on characterization.

"That's why some of the work around the ease of doing business etc. are all initiatives that have behind them, the very idea that this environment is welcoming for business and people can come do business."
Referring to creativity in governance, the VP said, "I think there needs to be more innovation in governance and policy. You get that kind of innovation in business. People disrupt business every day, but there's very little disruption in government. I think there needs to be a lot more thinking in government."

He also spoke about education and wealth creation, providing resources so that more people can advance.

"A lot of it has to do with education, that's really something I'm most interested in. Just using an example of something we've done in the North East."
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The international community must appreciate the size of Nigeria to better understand it – Osinbajo

In a situation where societal or governmental institutions are not strong enough to constrain individual behavior in a way that advances the common good, spirituality, and commitment to values such as social justice and transparency are important.

According to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, "You only have to look at these values for there to be a great deal of unanimity on what is the right thing to do. The question is whether or not you will do these things. , or if you are motivated enough to do them, or if you have to do them.

“Spirituality helps in this sense to help you decide what to do and what not to do. Especially where the institutions are not strong enough to prevent people from behaving in a particular way or not.”

This was one of the highlights of the vice president's interaction with a group of Harvard Business School students who visited him at the Presidential Villa on Friday.

Numbering about a dozen, the students currently on a field trip to Africa asked questions about leadership, faith, spirituality, government policies in education, health, economics and national image, among others.

In his responses, the Vice President expressed his personal commitment to the virtues of integrity, transparency and social justice which are also virtues advocated in the country's various denominations and religions.

He said: "For me, spirituality evokes values. I came to government with values about what I think is important, especially around transparency, social justice and justice, between others. You are almost always a product of the values you believe in. Fortunately, many of these values cross faiths, they are not necessarily limited to one religion or one faith.

"In societies that are more institutionally developed, you don't need to be told that you shouldn't do certain things because you could end up in jail if you do and there's chances are you can be detected and the process will go through and you will be punished.

"I'm talking about corruption and all that. But where institutions are weak, some people have reasons not to do the right thing," Osinbajo said.

Talking about Nigeria and its perception in the international community, Mr. Osinbajo explained to the postgraduate students, some of whom are Nigerians, that it is by understanding the size of Nigeria that the international community can better appreciate the enormity and complexity of some of the country's challenges.

According to the vice president, "first of all, it is necessary to appreciate the size of the country, which is crucial to understand what the problems are.

"For example, Borno State is roughly the size of the whole of the UK plus Sweden or Denmark. So when it is reported that there is violence in Nigeria , this is probably an incident in a remote part of the country, and many people in Abuja and Lagos can hear about it on social media, such is the size of this country.

"When they talk about the economy, we are often compared to smaller African countries, but there are 10 states in Nigeria that have larger GDPs than those countries, that's a huge target market."

Responding to the question about some inaccurate characterization of Nigeria in certain sections of the international community, the Vice President said “it is important to constantly engage the international community to show them what we think about stereotypes. goes back to the work we do as a government and as a people on characterization.

"That's why some of the work around the ease of doing business etc. are all initiatives that have behind them, the very idea that this environment is welcoming for business and people can come do business."

Referring to creativity in governance, the VP said, "I think there needs to be more innovation in governance and policy. You get that kind of innovation in business. People disrupt business every day, but there's very little disruption in government. I think there needs to be a lot more thinking in government."

He also spoke about education and wealth creation, providing resources so that more people can advance.

"A lot of it has to do with education, that's really something I'm most interested in. Just using an example of something we've done in the North East."