Ibrahim Doma
I stumbled on a news publication from a particular media platform with the headline: “Don’t Weaken North’s Economy With Your Privatization Plans, Northern Coalition Tells Osinbajo.”
This expensive allegation of sabotaging Arewa economy to protect the interest of the Southern region levelled against the cerebral Vice President Yemi Osinbajo by this faceless group is something that has attracted my attention. Those who know Osinbajo well will gladly confirm he’s one one of the few detribalised Nigerian public officers. To this, there are ample evidence to show Osinbajo’s achievements and outstanding successes in the 19 Northern states.
The Arewa group in their media report had said that the Vice President Osinbajo’s Economic Team was planning to weaken the economy of the Northern region through his team’s recently approved privatisation plans of five power plants.
Not only that, the group’s spokesman, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, was also quoted to have described the plans “most dubious, unreasonable and unacceptable act of injustice” against Northerners and in particular, asked leaders of the region to raise the alarm over the move.
In order to make sense out of this, it is either the group overrates the powers of the VP being the chairman of the National Council of Privatization (NCP) or it’s only being hypocritical about the nation’s highly revered Vice President.
VP Osinbajo may serve as the chairman of National Privatization council, (NCP) and the Niger Delta Power Holding Company Limited (NDPHC) but it should also be made clear that the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), is the only agency overseeing the privatisation of the five plants which is solely tasked with implementing the government’s privatisation programme and it’s also an independent body.
To some of us and many others who have been a keen observer of the Vice President’s significant contributions to national development and to humanity as a whole, would rise in his defense against any libel, falsehood, or statement that may sully Osinbajo’s long years of selfless service to his country.
Osinbajo has championed and overseen a lot of projects in the Northern Nigerian more than what he has ever done in the South or even in his home town Ijebu in Ogun State, where he comes from and there are evidence to back it up.
It is in this spirit of nationalism that the Vice President Osinbajo and his wife Dolapo built a state of the art primary schools and learning centers for the orphans of those affected by the insurgency in the insurgency-ravaged North East. This alone bears testimony to Osinbajo’s humaneness and passion for the Northern people especially Borno State, where he has personally raised funds to cater for the education of out-of-school children when many of our own Northern leaders looked other way.
Due to his unassuming personality and his quiet life of not wanting accolades or recognition, some of these achievements have been underreported which explains his own kind of politician as opposed to the usual Nigerian politicians that would deploy all the instrument of propaganda even on a smallest project.
It would also be recalled that as Acting President in 2017, Prof Osinbajo in total disregard to safety concern amidst security fears, visited Borno State a day after a Boko Haram attack.
Many Nigerians and security experts and stakeholders during that time said it was not safe to do so being the Number 1 citizen but he exhibited true service and commitment to not only the victims of the incident in Borno but to the entire nation at large even as a civilian with no military training. That is bravery and unadulterated nationalism.
In a one-day working visit to Maiduguri, Borno State capital he flagged-off the distribution of 30,000 metric tonnes of assorted grains for the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), in the north-east. Coincidentally, this was a time the North East and the entire region was facing a severe humanitarian crisis. That was a demonstration of love and real humanity.
In this same North, Vice President Osinbajo, in his bid to ensure a stable power supply to better the lives of the people and their economy, he spearheaded the launching the Solar Power Naija programme in Jigawa State commencing with the Jangefe Community which will get 1,000 Solar Home Systems connections.
This gesture was still in pursuit of the Economic Sustainability Plan of Buhari’s administration. And this flagging off which commenced the installation in Jigawa, is part of a 100,000 scheme with A-Solar, a local solar power company implementing part of the ESP Solar Power Naija’s planned 5 million connections across the country.
These and many others are the Osinbajo’s contributions to the economic development in the North. So, saying the otherwise is a ruse! Therefore, I can only advise the Northern Coalition Group to jettison politics and desist from attacking Osinbajo that many Nigerians see as a great nationalist, who believes in the progress of every region in Nigeria, which has been made manifest with his deliverables thus far.
Doma writes from Keffi, Nasarawa state
