by Dolapo Adelana
The Acting President Yemi Osinbajo says corruption is prevalent among the nation’s political, religious and private sector elite because of the value placed on wealth in the country.
Osinbajo, who said this on Tuesday while inaugurating the Private Sector Advisory Group for the Sustainable Development Goals at the Presidential Villa, Abuja stated that nations which placed value on human beings were doing better.
Osinbajo said, “We have decided as an elite in this country that wealth is a measure of worth. It is a decision we made consciously or unconsciously.
“The political elite have decided that wealth is a measure of worth and that is why you find so much corruption among the political elite. Even the religious elite believe that it is a blessing of God.
“There are some societies that have decided that the value of human beings is in their contribution to the society. Those societies, of course, have done better than those who have decided that wealth, no matter how it was obtained, is a measure of worth.
“I think it is important if our elite decide that dealing with poverty is worth the while and that it will measure whether or not we are serious about our society.”
The Acting President said the general populace was looking to the elite to fix the country.
“At the end of our lives, the question that will be asked is what is the impact that we made on people’s lives. Nobody will be measured by how much money we made or the positions we held.
“A lot of our people in this country hang their hopes on us. They look up to us and believe we can do it and despite all the failures and the false starts, our people especially the poor and the vulnerable still believe that these elite will and can deliver.
“Let us therefore take this as a personal responsibility to our people to do something profound that will make a huge difference in the lives of our people.
“This is why I am so excited about this coming together of the public and private sector to ensure that the Sustainable Development Goals are realised in our time and that nobody is left behind,” the Acting President said.
Dolapo is a writer and journalist who works with YNaija. He has interests in Christianity, politics and sports.
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