Osinbajo: Real Leadership is about Service to Citizenry

Deji Elumoye

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo has declared that real leadership is not just about holding public office but in the dedication and service of the official to the citizenry.
Osinbajo stated this in Abuja at the fifth anniversary of the North East Children’s Trust (NECT) Learning Centre, a charity educational centre he established in 2016 in Maiduguri, for children orphaned by the insurgency in the North-east.

The vice-president described the children and teachers of the North East Children’s Trust Learning Centre as real heroes, especially the children – orphans, who had overcome the trauma of the insurgency in Borno State and some parts of the North-east.

He said he was very impressed when he met with the outstanding young men and women who passed through the centre. Commending the former and current Governors of Borno State — Kashim Shettima and Babagana Zulum — for their roles in the development of the centre, Osinbajo noted that: “If you are not able to serve the people with everything that you have and with all your heart, then it would be irrelevant and perhaps even unjustified. So, I want to really commend Governor Zulum and his predecessor, Governor Shettima, for the great work they have done.”

He specifically praised them for their dedication to ensuring the best for the children. 
According to him, since “Governor Zulum took over from the former governor, he has also done incredible work, not just promoting the work of the centre, but also in advancing it”.

On the impact of teachers on the children’s education and well-being at the learning centre, the vice-president said: “These teachers are a special bunch of people, very special and I explained to them what we are trying to achieve. This is not any ordinary school. We are trying to achieve and develop a school that would be a world-class learning centre. 

“I said to them, that what we want from you (teachers) is a generous spirit; we want you to love and care for these children. And the teachers have been incredible and absolutely wonderful; they have done such a great job with everything you see today.

“These ladies and gentlemen are the real heroes of the story of the learning centre. And in the past five years, they have contributed in every way by just being there night and day, ensuring that they love and care for the children. 

“We now have a situation where the learning centre has become a model, a centre where young boys and girls who have been traumatised in one way or the other, are now accommodated in a loving and caring environment and they are given the very best facilities in terms of education and care. And, of course, vocational education and digital literacy.”

While thanking the NECT board, led by Mr. Jim Ovia, the management and all who have contributed to the centre’s development, Osinbajo again, commended the Borno State Government for also generally doing a lot of work in the area of education and building schools.

“I believe Borno State is possibly one of the luckiest states in this country, just going by the leadership that the state has had. Immediately after Governor Shettima comes Governor Zulum. No state can ask for better than Governor Zulum who had taken over from his dynamic predecessor, Governor Shettima,” he said.

Also speaking, Governor Zulum applauded the vision of Mr. Vice President to establish the important school in Borno State.
Stating the root causes of insurgency as lack of education and increasing poverty, among others, the governor highlighted the huge number of orphans and out-of-school children in the state. 

But he noted that the establishment of the NECT Learning Centre, particularly in Maiduguri, will go a long way in reducing the number of out-of-school children in the state.

“One very important aspect of this learning centre is that it is critical to development. In addition to providing intensive literacy and numeracy to the children, this school also offers strong technical and vocational education and strong digital literacy to the students.

“And I think, this is the type of education that we are looking for because it will make the students become self-reliant,’’ he said.

Refering to the Presidential Committee on the Repatriation, Returns and Resettlement of Displaced Persons in the North-east, which is chaired by the vice-president, Governor Zulum expressed confidence that the VP would ensure the objectives are met.

“I believe that Mr. Vice-President will contribute his quota, because the president has inaugurated the committee headed by his humble self to look into the possibilities of repatriating Nigerians that are living in the Republic of Cameroon, Chad and Niger, in addition to the resettlement of Internally Displaced Persons,” the governor said.