Nigeria reaping from untrustworthiness of few, Osinbajo decries

Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo on Thursday harped on the importance of Nigerians to be of integrity, lamenting that the untrustworthiness of a few Nigerians robbed the entire nation of once revered pride of place in the comity of nations.

Noting that this was evidenced by the closure of many foreign bank accounts owned by Nigerians and foreigners reservations to do business with Nigerians for fear of being defrauded, Osinbajo however emphasized that Nigerians must show integrity and trust for foreigners to continue to do business with them.

Speaking on the occasion of the 10th convocation of Lead City University, Ibadan, Osinbajo decried that owing to fraudulent or ‘smart’ acts of some Nigerians overtime, such as disappearing after getting bank loans, the chances of legitimate Nigerians seeking to get loans and open a bank account abroad was hampered.

He however noted that foreigners still sought to do business with Nigeria but craved for Nigerians who were faithful and trustworthy.

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Describing trust as critical to business, social interaction, commerce, he also urged Nigerians to exhibit good character, courage, determination, diligence, self discipline and optimize opportunities to be successful in life.

“As a young student at the London school of Economics and Political Science in 1980, my school fees were delayed in a particular term. There were problems with the Central Bank of Nigeria so I spoke with the students’ counselor of my faculty who asked me to go to the bank to obtain a loan. I asked how when I needed 600 pounds and had only 50 pounds in my account.”

“Where will I get the collateral to get the loan? But he asked me to get the loan. I got to the bank and explained the problem to the lady across the counter. She simply brought out my letter and asked me when I would repay. I said in six months. She gave me a document which I signed and she handed me 600 pounds. I paid my fees and paid back when my cheque came.”

“But in the same United Kingdom, a few years after, if you carry a Nigerian passport, the banks would not even open an account for you. This is because some Nigerians abused the trust of financial institutions. They thought how foolish the oyinbo people are and used the monies they got from those foreign financial institutions to buy cars, electronics, furniture and travel back to Nigeria.  By this, they hampered the chances of everyone else to get loan or open a bank account.”

“In the past few years, many foreign banks have closed accounts of Nigerians because of the numerous attempts to defraud from those accounts. So, no matter how much money you have in your account, they just reject your business. They say it is just too much trouble to do business with people that cannot be trusted. So because of the untrustworthiness of a few, a whole nation is painted black. Some Nigerians who borrowed credit have disappeared and simply did not pay back. But there is an opportunity because so many Nigerians and foreigners must do business in Nigeria.”

“The world is in search of the Nigeria of integrity, trustworthy Nigerians to do business with, to employ. Everyone wants faithful partners or employees. Even thieves are in search of trustworthy people to give them money.”

“The other lesson is that you must repay when you borrow, whether it is from a friend, relation or a bank. Credit is the lifeblood of business, commerce. The moment you can show that you can be trusted, everything changes,” Osinbajo said.

In his remarks, Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo state called for a synergy between Lead City University and The Technical, University, adding that the graduates had been given a foundation to face life’s challenges.

Dignitaries at the event included the Orangun of Oke-Ila, Oba Adedokun Abolarin, Lead City University’s top echelon, Professor Gabriel Ogunmola (Chancellor); Professor Jide Owoeye (Pro Chancellor); Professor Remi Adeyemo (Vice Chancellor); Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), Professor Abubakar Rasheed, represented by Professor Saburi Adesanya; Honorary Doctorate recipients, Mr Kolade Mosuro and Mr Victor Osibodu.

The event saw the conferment of diplomas, bachelor and Masters Degrees on 590 persons comprising 447 undergraduate and 143 post graduate students.

39 students made first class grade, 214 (Second Class, Upper Division), 184 (Second Class, Lower Division) while 10 graduated with Third Class.

Ayomide Olukorede of the department of Microbiology emerged the best graduating student with maximum Cumulative Grade Point Average of 5.0.

Speaking, Vice Chancellor, Lead City University, Professor Remi Adeyemo, bemoaned that private universities, in spite of high number of 68, could not admit to their full capacity, probably due to inability to afford the tuition fees.

Consequently, he urged government across different levels to award scholarship to students attending or desirous of attending private universities.