he became the vice-president
– He recalled that he was 24 years old when
Buhari became the military head of state,
stressing that providence brought them
together
– Osinbajo said that he was impressed
by President Buhari’s single-minded fight
against corruption and indiscipline
– The vice-president assured Nigerians
that Buhari was completely and irrevocably
committed to change
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has revealed
how he became the running mate to
President Muhammadu Buhari.
News men reports that Osinbajo recalled his
youth and the beginning of his political
carreer while speaking at a non-
denominational conference organized by the
Covenant Christian Centre in Abuja on
Saturday, April 30.
Osinbajo said that he was 24 years old when
Buhari became the military head of state,
stressing that providence brought them
together.
Beginning of political carreer
“Permit me to begin (the speech) with a story
about myself. All my adult life, I have always
believed that our country was performing far
below its potentialities, in practically every
aspect of life.
“In governance, corruption was always so
outrageous that it made the majority poor and
development almost impossible. Law and order
was always a problem, usually no
consequence for wrong-doing.
“Doing business and even our daily existence
have always been difficult, no power, no fuel.
Getting anything done in government
establishments, a nightmare of delay and
extortion.
“So as a conscious decision, I joined various
pressure groups. From human rights groups
to good governance advocacy groups. In
1995, I co-founded an organization called
Integrity, an anti-corruption organization. I
joined various think tanks and professional
groups, including the Concerned
Professionals.”
“Under the Abacha regime we Concerned
Professionals, one day gathered at Yaba Bus-
stop and some were thoroughly beaten by
police and the army. From that day on, people
disappeared and did not show up again.
“I served as a two-term attorney-general in
Lagos state and pushed reforms in governance
and the justice sector, I believed and
continued to believe that the Nigerian people
deserve better lives.”
“Providence brought us together”
“In December 2014, the unexpected happened;
I was nominated as vice presidential candidate
to then General Muhammadu Buhari.”
“As a young university lecturer, then I was
impressed by his, President Buhari’s single-
minded fight against corruption and
indiscipline. There was a serious war against
indiscipline. For the first time, government
held corrupt officers accountable.
“30 years later, providence brought us
together. A retired general now and a
Professor of Law.”
Change agenda
“We both believed that our country needed to
change. We argued about how and what
needed to be done. We reached consensus on
many of the major issues.
“Certainly our country need a different set of
values; a new way of doing business; an
economy that is able to give opportunity to
young people to work in their chosen
professions and to build strong and profitable
businesses. We knew that we had to provide
social protection for the poorest and the most
vulnerable.
“We recognised that innovation and change
will be key, and that we must implement and
not just talk about diversification of our
economy. So we led our party’s campaign on
that single, simple, but profound word,
CHANGE!
Where is the change?
“Let me just say here for the records that the
government of Muhammadu Buhari is
completely and irrevocably committed to
change.
“We believe that though it may not be easy,
though the early signs may be confusing and
sometimes discouraging, there has never been
a better opportunity than now to turn the
country in the direction of success.
“Today we have the best opportunity in
decades for profound change. It is an
opportunity in a generation. A revolution
whose time has come! Everything around us
tells us that the moment is now! Can this
change happen, yes indeed, it can!
“What do you have in your hands to make it
happen? We have a country that is tired of
corruption, tired of leadership without values,
tired of an economy that is neither designed
to accommodate enterprise, nor to create
opportunity and wealth for the majority.
“But we have a leadership and we have a
leader that is prepared to challenge the rotten
status quo, one who has said that he is
prepared to kill corruption rather than let it kill
us.”
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