“The key to the unity and progress of Nigeria is in the church” – Osinbajo

The vice president Yemi Osinbajo has encouraged Christian leaders in the country to pay no mind to what they have described as “Islamic Agenda.”

Osinbajo spoke in Lagos at a conference tagged “Towards a Better Nigeria,” organized by Nigerian pastors.

According to Punch, the vice president addressed the Federal Government’s N100bn Sukuk (Islamic bond), which has been criticized by Christian leaders in the country as a plan to Islamise Nigeria.

He described the Sukuk as an Islamic concept which allows people access to credit, and has been used in the US, UK, China, and South Africa. He said:

The Sukuk is an Islamic concept, which enables people to have access to credit. It is essentially like a bond. The US, UK, China, South Africa have all used the Sukuk. Once there is money in the market, let us not get sentimental. The most important thing is for us to use those monies well.

Some people say there are some hidden things in this arrangement and that one day somebody is going to take us over. Where? How will that happen? These are straightforward financial systems used all over the world. I don’t think it presents any real problem. It is a very progressive financial system.

Nigeria became a member of the Islamic Development Bank in 2005 and the first person to sit as director of the bank was Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. The second person to sit as a director is the current Finance Minister, Kemi Adeosun, and both of them are Christians. So, when people talk about Islamic agenda, sometimes I am lost.

The person who brought us into the bank is not a Fulani or Northerner, the person was a Christian, so why are we complaining? Nigeria is the fourth largest shareholder in the Islamic Bank. This wasn’t Buhari’s making. We must have facts before saying things. But above all, we must ask ourselves if being a member of the bank profits us or not.

For me, I have no problem with this. We can use what we get there to develop our society. This is the most important for me.

He said a part of the problem with Nigeria is the failure of Christian leaders to take their “rightful place.” He said:

Part of the problem is the failure of Christian leadership to take its rightful place. We focus our minds on something we call the Islamic agenda. We look for it everywhere as if we are looking for demons.

But where is the Christian agenda. Are we not entitled to one? We are too divided as Christians to have an agenda. The key to the unity and progress of Nigeria is in the church.

Osinbajo also addressed the issue of corruption in the country. He described the Nigerian elite as “selfish,” and “unprepared to make the sacrifices.” He said:

We must deal with corruption decisively. It is created by leadership elite that includes not just politicians but also religious leaders and people in the private sector. We must also deal with tribalism, religion and other parochial tendencies. It is difficult to find national leaders today. Many Nigerians speak from a tribal perspective.

There is no nation on the face of the earth that would survive under the weight of corruption that our country had gone through. Nigeria’s elite, regardless of political, religious or ethnic differences, think alike. They are driven largely by the same motive.

They are selfish, unprepared to make the sacrifices either in service or self-restraint that leaders of successive societies make. High-level corruption knows no religion, ethnicity or other considerations.

Corrupt elements in our society are united; they fight for each other and are prepared to go down together. They are actually one tribe, indivisible despite their diversity.

We have to address the issue of corruption pointedly. The system is corrupt. Corruption is generally the rule in our society. This is a time to build. We can become Africa’s most productive nation in the very near future.

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