Tuesday, Vice President of Nigeria Yemi Osinbajo urged Nigerians to regulate, discipline, and hold their upcoming leaders accountable at the upcoming February 25 and March 11 elections.
According to a statement released by Laolu Akande, his spokesman, Osinbajo offered the advice at the National Delegates Conference of the Nigeria Labour Congress in Abuja.
“Voters regulate and discipline their leaders and hold them accountable through the use of the ballot,” Osinbajo stated.
Osinbajo, who spoke on the theme of this year’s conference, Building People Power, National Unity, and the Quest for a New Social Contract, noted that Nigeria’s socio-economic and cultural capital can be increased when all Nigerians, especially its political elites, begin to view the country’s diversity as an asset rather than a tool for division.
“Voters govern and punish their leaders and hold them accountable through the instrument of the ballot.”
“In a few weeks, Nigerians will have the chance to express their power by voting for the politicians and parties that have what it takes to bring about the future we desire.
Our diversity is neither a weakness nor a curse; rather, it is a boon and an asset. Diversity increases the sociocultural capital available to us; we are enhanced by the frothy ferment of the great multiplicity of perspectives, which give us with a treasure trove of instruments for invention and productivity,” he remarked.
Countries who have mastered the diversification concept are now winning the global race for prosperity and advancement, according to him.
The Vice President stated that politicians who continue to sow strife are out of touch with the present and have failed to recognize how much more integrated Nigerian society has become.
“I contend that our nation’s elites must react to this reality and conduct their politics accordingly.
“There is no doubt that variety may be a precursor to conflict. It’s normal.
“As diverse groups from different backgrounds and with different worldviews engage, their interactions are marked by friction and sometimes conflict. “All varied nations develop their own unique methods for resolving the inevitable tensions that result from the mixing of multiple peoples,” he continued.
The Vice President commended the Nigeria Labour Congress for organizing the conference and asked them to build a framework that will lead organized labor in Nigeria for the next many decades.
