Corruption, according to vice president Yemi Osinbajo, should not be considered exclusive to Nigeria.
The Nigerian president remarked on Tuesday while presenting a lecture titled “Values: The Difference Between Success And Failure” at the Baptist Boys High School, BBHS, Abeokuta, Ogun State, which was celebrating its 100th anniversary.
He asserted that if the authorities of Nigeria do not accept and implement what he called a “ethical revolution,” it will “fail totally” to undergo the necessary transition.
Osinbajo emphasized that the government must lead the ethical revolution by praising moral behavior and guaranteeing that offenders face swift punishment.
While asking Nigerians to expunge the view that corruption is only synonymous with Nigeria, Osinbajo said no modern society is free of corruption.
“Every modern society has had to deal with corruption. Corruption is not a Nigerian thing. Sometimes, we deceive ourselves that corruption is Nigerian, no, many countries, in fact, most countries of the world, had been more corrupt than us; but their elites sat down and decided they have to deal with it because if they do not deal with it, it will deal with them,” he said.
He said elites in modern societies today dealt with corruption by sitting down and saying “we have to agree this is the way forward, we cannot continue to repeat the same thing, we must enthrone minimum ethical standard to succeed.”
In order to implement an ethical revolution, the Professor of Law pleaded with the political, religious, and business elites to come to a consensus that doing otherwise would lead to the country’s total failure.
In order to raise children with the correct perspective, he urged educational institutions to instill in their students the value of honesty, diligence, hard work, respect, trustworthiness, discipline, and integrity.
Speaking at the BBHS Old Students Association’s 100th anniversary celebration, Osinbajo cited the late Obafemi Awolowo, MKO Abiola, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, and Chief Bola Ajibola as graduates of the institution and praised their remarkable personalities.
