Ahead of the 2023 presidential elections, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has called on academics and members of other professional bodies to participate actively in the task of making Nigeria a better place for all.
Osinbajo stated this, yesterday, when he received, on a courtesy visit to the Presidential Villa, a team of 13 professors (with representation from the six zones), who visited to endorse and support his presidential aspiration, under the aegis of the Progressive Intellectuals Advisory Group.
According to the Vice President, “these days, you find all sorts of pretenders claiming expertise in everything under the sun without any real expertise. So, it is important that academics do not vacate that space to allow all sorts of people to begin to postulate on practically every issue.”
Recalling his experience as an academic, who became an Attorney-General, the Vice President said: “One of the most important things I recall when I served, first, as Attorney General of Lagos State, was that it is so important for those of us who are in academics to participate because not only are we among the more knowledgeable groups, we have also done more work.”
While welcoming the interest of the professors in the upcoming 2023 presidential elections, Osinbajo noted: “The path that you (the group) have chosen is a very crucial one because in the future, more intellectual groups will take the responsibility that is really theirs. And I think that for those of us who are from the academic community, it is a privilege that we have, being the intellectual crème de la crème of our society, and this comes with responsibility.”
He appreciated the group’s endorsement of his presidential aspiration and observed: “If there is any sort of endorsement that has given me particular joy, it is this one; because if one is endorsed by professional colleagues, people who live their lives by critical analysis and evaluation, it is worth celebrating.
“These matters are not to be taken lightly. For a professor to say that he supports a political cause, it is a weighty matter indeed because you are aware that a lot of reflections go into it.
“But when you have 13 professors all over the country saying they are aligned to one cause, I am greatly humbled. It is one of those things that doesn’t happen often.”
Earlier in his remarks, the leader of the group and the Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences, National Open University of Nigeria, Prof. Shehu Adamu, said the visit was to intimate the Vice President on the activities and efforts of the group to support his aspiration to become Nigeria’s president.
He said the academics were convinced of Osinbajo’s capability to lead a more prosperous Nigeria, hence their resolve not only to endorse him but also to offer their expertise and do what it takes to ensure that the Vice President emerges victorious.
Adamu said the group will engage in activities, including media, community mobilisation, and partnerships with other professionals, among others, to shape public opinion in a manner that will lead to a successful run by Osinbajo in 2023.
Another member of the delegation, Prof. Nasiru Musa Yauri, the Vice-Chancellor of the Al-Kalam University, Katsina, said of the group: “We have decided we will not fold our arms; we will do whatever it takes to actualise the PYO 2023 project.”
In a similar vein, Prof. Chukwuemeka Jaja Nwanegbo, the Head of the Political Science Department, Nnamdi Azikiwe University in Awka, Anambra State, declared that members of the academic community “don’t want to sit back and watch the political terrain disallow you from emerging. So, we want to work with you, other professionals and students to actualise your bid.”
Besides Adamu, Yauri and Nwanegbo, other academics at the meeting included Prof. Yahya T. Baba, Usman Danfodiyo University, Sokoto; Prof. Mashood Omotosho, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife; Associate Prof. Philips Okolo, Director of the Institute of Peace and Security Studies, Niger Delta University; Prof. Shola Omotola, Federal University Oye Ekiti; Prof. Sheikh Danjuma Abubakar, IBB University, Lapai; Associate Prof. Abdullahi Jibrin, Federal University Lafia; Associate Prof. Atelhe George, University of Calabar; Prof. Saleh Mohammed, Federal University Kashere, Gombe State; Prof. Haruna Lawal Modibbo Adama, University of Yola; and Prof. Ike-Elechi Ogba, Ebonyi State University.
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