Osinbajo: With High Illiteracy Rate, Development will Be Elusive in Nigeria
Segun James
Former Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, has stated that with over 67 per cent female illiteracy in the North, and half of the country’s population socially and economically disadvantaged by illiteracy, Nigeria will find development difficult if not intractable.
He spoke as the keynote speaker at the 23rd Women in Business Management and Public Service (WIMBIZ) annual conference themed: ‘Dream. Dare. Do’, held in Lagos.
He remarked that there was a need for the elite to be an advocate for positive change, shaping the narrative and speaking up for those who are not of the same social class and educational background.
“My point is that the elite must be the mediator for these people. Alongside their concerns, they must fight for social welfare schemes; healthcare, and school feeding programmes for children in public schools because these are matters that politicians are required to address but often do not and they don’t even have an elite that can put them under pressure. Your collective voice and action for the education of girls in the north for example can affect the destiny of our nation,” Osinbajo explained.
Speaking further, he said, “A society or nation rises or falls by the sense of responsibility of its elite. That elite could be political, business, religious, and anywhere in the world; it is this class that determines the economic, moral, and even the political direction of their nation. What they hold dear is what society considers important and what they disavow is what is rejected. They are the opinion moulders.”
Osinbajo highlighted the dangers of business owners trying to keep up an image of success that impacts the majority of startups or businesses, leading to the collapse of such.
He stated: “The lifestyle of business owners is a problem, in my own opinion, for Nigerian businesses. There is a huge pressure that Nigerian business owners have, which probably business people elsewhere do not have.
“To maintain a perception of success that is usually above the means of the business. If the business cannot support your lifestyle. There is pressure to look and spend as though you are very successful even though your business is only a few years old.
“The pressure is worsened by the unrealistic lifestyle of allegedly successful people on social media and an environment where most wealth is unexplained or unexplainable and where so many people are rich before becoming business persons. There are so many people who were wealthy already before becoming business owners and you are looking at those people and thinking surely, I should be like those people.
“Consequently, every CEO or middle cadre of business enterprises feel the need to buy the best cars, the same cars that the richest man in Africa drives and they travel first-class. So, a lot of the investible resources are spent on maintaining appearances,” he added.
