OSINBAJO ISSUES A CHALLENGE TO NIGERIA'S ELITE ON SOCIAL COHESION AND UNITY

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has called for strong elite consensus and a policy framework that promotes social cohesion and unity in Nigeria.

Osinbajo made the announcement on Monday at the National Institute for Policy Strategic Studies (NIPPS) Policy Making and Good Governance Lecture Series in Kuru, near Jos.

In his lecture titled "Making a Haven for All: A Nation Building in a Diverse Democracy," the vice president condemned the rising tide of dangerous divisive tendencies, which he blamed for the nation's backwardness.

He argued that the country's variety should be viewed as a "gift, not a curse," and that Nigeria has the capacity to be a great nation, but only if the cankerworm of division is combated collaboratively.

Osinbajo, citing Singapore, Tanzania, and Rwanda as examples of nations that effectively manage their diversity, suggested that Nigeria should learn from them.

"Most heterogeneous nations have been able to manage and harness their diversities for the good of all and we can also do the same in Nigeria.

"Our diversity in Nigeria should not be a burden; in fact it is a blessing and so we must develop the capacity to manage this diversity for the growth of our nation.

"So, the elite must come together and agree to end the ethnic and religious profiling that we are currently facing in our dear nation; we must prioritise things that bind us together and de- prioritise ones that set us apart.

"I also believe that the political class and the nation's leadership can do more in developing policies, laws and enforcing them toward addressing the weaponisation of ethnicity and religion in our dear nation," he said.

He argued that the country's variety should be viewed as a "gift, not a curse," and that Nigeria has the capacity to be a great nation, but only if the cankerworm of division is combated collaboratively.

Osinbajo, citing Singapore, Tanzania, and Rwanda as examples of nations that effectively manage their diversity, suggested that Nigeria should learn from them.