Strong institutions, not separation can solve Nigeria’s problems – Osinbajo

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has said strengthened institutions that ensures Nigerians wherever they live in the country are secured is what can solve the nation’s diverse problems.

He argued that any group thinking that pulling out of the country is the solution to the problem will find out sooner than later that separation is not the solution, as there will always be factions that would want to break up from the whole.

The Vice-President stated this in Lagos on Tuesday at the 70th anniversary lecture of the Lagos Country Club. He spoke on the theme, ‘Promoting national cohesion as a means of promoting progress and prosperity.’

To buttress his argument, Osinbajo cited as an example Sudan, which split into northern and southern Sudan in the belief that doing so will solve the country’s internal strife.

He also made reference to what is happening in Somalia, where despite speaking same language and practising the same religion, there is still crisis in the country.

“The fact that people speak same language and practise the same religion was no guarantee that they would live in harmony,” Osinbajo said.

While he noted that diversity has the potency to either be a trigger for conflict or a fountain of prosperity and progress, Osinbajo said Nigerians should believe in the latter as did the United States of America (USA), which exploited its diversity to its advantage.

“The truth is that any group that suggests that its destiny is outside Nigeria and so must separate to achieve its ambitions will find out soon enough that even within that group there are many little splinters, factions waiting to cut the pie into even smaller pieces, hoping that by doing so, they will eat a large piece.

“The mere fact that we all speak the same language or belong to the same tribe does not mean that there will not be strife; and in the same way, the mere fact that we all speak different languages or belong to different tribes and religions does not mean we will strive,” he said.

He blamed weak law enforcement and justice institutions as the cause of divisive narratives currently spreading in the country.

The solution to the problem he said, is to have strengthened institutions thag “must assure Nigerians of security anywhere they lived.”

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He went further to say, “The challenge is dynamic and our approach must also be dynamic. That is why I believe that state police in a large and diverse federation is an imperative.

“However, we know that the creation of state police requires constitutional amendment. In the interim, the Federal Government has approved community policing, as an option. A component of that is that the new approach to police recruitment is that policemen will be recruited in each local government and after training, they will be required to remain in their local government.”

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