No country could move forward without concensus

ABUJA - Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has again
harped on the significant role elites play in the
development Nigeria, urging them to build
consensus on national matters.

Osinbajo spoke at
the 10th Annual
Conference of
Nigerian Bar
Association, NBA's
Section on
Business Law
Dinner held at the
Transcorp Hilton,
Abuja,
The Vice President
who had in the
past spoken about
the need for elite
consensus in the
country and called for a "new tribe of Nigerians,"
to rid the country of corruption, stated that
“whether we accept it or not, the weight of what
happens in our society really rests on our
shoulders (as elites). Therefore the society
would depend a lot on the elites in the coming
years and that is a huge responsibility.”
According to him, no country could move forward
if the elites had not come to consensus on
certain values.
He said: "The challenges facing Nigeria is huge
yet the elites are yet to come consensus. There
is no consensus (as yet) on ethics, integrity and
even corruption. To what extent do we accept
corruption; that is, to what extent do we think it
is most unacceptable, that it would destroy our
country. We need consensus on what is right to
do, for self preservation and for that (the
preservation) of the country, it is essential.”
The Vice President stated that “there is no
society that has been successful, where the
elites don't have consensus on questions of
integrity and morals,” adding that “forging such
consensus regarding vital issues is the only way
to go, if our society is to grow.”
Stressing the fact that, “we do not have to
belong to the same religion or tribe, state or geo-
political zones, he reiterated the need to speak
about ethics and how to enforce it if we want
our country to move forward and be united.”
On the ease of doing business in Nigeria,
Osinbajo said the present administration has
recently set up a Presidential Ease of Doing
Business Council which he chairs, adding that
the Council will work to “create an enabling
environment for business which, might
necessitate removal or relaxation of some of the
rules and making more use of electronic
applications to shorten the time and be able to
say specifically how long getting necessary
documents or certificates will take.”
He also noted that “the area of adjudication
requires some radical thinking and changes,
commercial litigation is the area that feels the
pinch the most,” noting that the system is so
slow that, it has attracted a lot of negative
comments outside the country.
Meanwhile, the Vice President has urged
Christians to deal with challenges and conflicts
in the body of Christ with due diligence as
expected of believers and based on Scripture.
He stated this a meeting with a delegation of the
Christian Arbitration Centre led by retired
Supreme Court Justice James Ogebe, at the
Presidential Villa.
While expressing his delight at the formation of
the centre to resolve conflicts among Christians,
Osinbajo told the delegation to seek the buy-ins
from trustworthy Christian leaders to support the
Centre ahead of its summit in September.
Earlier, the leader of the delegation, Justice
Ogebe, said the reason for setting up Christian
Arbitration Centre was for Christians to have a
place where Christians can come for justice
without going to the regular courts for matters
that are strictly Christian.
He said it was sad that church matters such as
allegations and conflicts were treated at the
secular courts.