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+--- Thread: Osinbajo says merit, not quota, makes nations great (/showthread.php?tid=737)
Osinbajo says merit, not quota, makes nations great - Mhiz Rebecca - 12-02-2016
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has identified the importance of
merit in giving reward and said that quota system was
detrimental to the progress of any society.
He said this in Abuja at the conferment of the Nigerian
National Order of Merit (NNOM) on two professors,
Omowunmi Sadiq, an environmental scientist, and Tanure
Ojaide, a poet and literary critic.
According to him, the nation had placed quota before merit
which “we know does not work’’ and called on leaders to
make sacrifices and commit to a country run on merit,
integrity, hard work justice and patriotism.
“To build a new Nigeria, we need a new tribe of men and
women of all ethnicities, of all faith committed to a country
run on high values of merit , integrity, hard work, justice and
love of country.
“A tribe of men and women who are prepared to make the
sacrifices and solve the constraints that are crucial to building
a strong society.
“Who are prepared to stick together, fight corruption side by
side, insist on justice even when our friends and those of our
tribes and faith are at the receiving end.
“A tribe consisting of professionals, businessmen, politicians,
religious leaders and all of those who believe that this new
Nigeria is possible.
“This requires a new way of thinking, a new leadership corps,
a new tribe.
“The challenge for us today is a challenge of finding a society
where everyone especially those of us who lead in every
aspect of leadership agreed that this country is worth fighting
for, that this country can truly be great.
“And the evidence we have seen today is that this country can
truly be great and so may I just challenge us today that it is
time to populate that new tribe.’’
The vice president noted that the award recipients
demonstrated that Nigeria was blessed with tremendous talent
and that their writers, poets and scientist were world class.
He, however, expressed surprise that the individual greatness
of the citizens did not correlate with that of the nation.
Osinbajo said the national predicament was the result of an
elite failure to accept responsibility or privilege to shape the
values of the society.
“We must define clearly what is lofty, noble and deserving of
honour and how these values can be sustained, preserved and
enforced.
“This is the burden of privilege so that it is for us to create the
moral and philosophical premises for integrity in the public
service, fidelity to the rule of law and the creation of
meritocracy as a rule,’’ he said.
Osinbajo commended the laureates for their intellectual
accomplishments and said they would remain as mentors for
the younger generations.
Also speaking, the Chairman of the Merit Award Board, Prof.
Moses Essien, said the award was designed to identify the
nation’s best and brilliant persons and reward them in serving
as role models for the youth.
Essien said that since its creation, the board had demonstrated
that the nation had the best citizens who could compete among
their peers in the globe.
He said the awardees had also contributed to national
discourse to make the nation great.
Responding, Sadiq thanked the federal government for the
award and gave the assurance that it would spur her for
greater contributions toward national growth and humanity.
She noted that the fact that the administration had focused
attention on things that matter to the people sent serious
message to the rest of the world.
She observed that her award showed that women had as much
power in sciences and the academia as their male
counterparts.
Ojaide, a recipient of many international awards, on his part
hailed the organisers of the award for recognising
intellectualism adding that the award was the most important
in his life coming from his country.
On the militancy in the Niger Delta region, Ojaide said the
region was also known for producing good writers and
scholars outside militancy.
He appealed for fairness on the side of the Niger Delta people
as well as the federal government to resolve the issues in the
region.
“I feel that by exposing the problems of the Niger Delta it
should make others more sensitive to the problems.
“At the same time, I want Niger Delta people to realise that
they are part of the Nigerian federation and as such should
cede some of the resources to the development of the entire
country.
“But the rest of the country should also be sensitive to your
own problems,’’ he added.