KEMI OMONIYI
The Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, has said that to build a successful society and nation, the elites must be prepared to make sacrifices for the benefit of the people.
Osinbajo stated this yesterday in his remark at the “Nigeria at 62 Independence Day Anniversary Public Lecture” at the State House Banquet Hall, Abuja.
He said that there must be a deliberate effort to create unity, with equity, justice, the rule of law, accountability as components of the society.
The Vice President noted that “the story of successful societies is quite simple. It is usually the story of how the society’s elite – its best educated, its political, religious class, influence, direct and lead their societies to progress.
“Put differently, every successful society is the product of a conscious, elite consensus: the implicit and explicit agreements of the elite to change their societies for good. But the elite must be prepared to make the sacrifices for the benefit of everyone.”
The Vice President said that, even though elitism confers privilege, the privilege also comes with responsibility.
“We who are the elites are a privileged class. But privilege comes with responsibility. It is the French who describe it as “Noblesse Oblige,” the responsibility of privilege.
“There is a responsibility that comes with who we are as the elite. The first responsibility of the elite is sacrifice, the ability to make sacrifices on behalf of the communities that you represent.”
While the VP noted that there is that temptation for society’s elite – whether political, religious or intellectual elites – to seek benefits for self only, the greater good demands a higher sense of sacrifice and responsibility.
According to the Vice President, because of the urge to maximise so-called elites’ rights and privileges by some, the basis of national unity and equal opportunity is jeopardised.
Recalling a relevant encounter with President Muhammadu Buhari on the success of the N-Power, Prof. Osinbajo recalled that “when we started the N-Power programme, one day, President Muhammadu Buhari called me, and he said: “I was listening to the Hausa BBC service, and two young men called from Bauchi state. They said we applied for the N-Power programme, and we didn’t know anybody, and we were taken. And we have started receiving our salaries. Thank you, Baba Buhari!”
Continuing he said the President “told me this story…And he said, look, if this is possible, then all these young people can truly begin to believe in this country.
“So, the truth of the matter is that these things are possible, but they are only possible if the elite is prepared to make the sacrifice.
He observed that “every step of the way, in human civilisation, the bringing together of societies, have been by the sacrifices that the elites have made. They’ve sacrificed their privileges and because they have sacrificed their privileges, their societies have moved forward. Where the elite fails in its responsibilities, the society itself eventually fails.”
