 change in history can they say that we are finished we have just begun when we have nowhere else to run do we have nowhere else to go so get out of our dreams we are the nation we are part of the history we are so amazing that's the least we shall be at the heart of the nation changing history I know ... we are going to go to a new world that's the least we shall be at the part of the nation changing history just begun when we have to go so get out of our dreams we are the nation Welcome to the official book launch of a quintessential leader, Oshiba Jo, The Stripes. My name is Maryam Bukar Hassan, and I would be your host for today. Alongside my incredible co-host, Mr. Dio Akitole, who is a communications specialist with over three decades of experience working with international organizations with a notoriety in political communication. So to get into this event proper, I request that we respectfully rise for the national anthem. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome again to the public presentation of the book Oshiba Jo Stripes, Defining Moments of an Innovative Leader. My name is Dio Akitole, and it is a great honor to be here today to co-anchor these proceedings. I say a very big thank you to my co-anchor, Alhanislam, who introduced me at the beginning of this program, but didn't tell you that she's an esteemed poet with international recognition and is also a United Nations peacekeeping authority. So between me and her, we will guide you through these proceedings today, and we look forward to having an extremely wonderful time. It gives me great honor to stand before you today to celebrate an exemplary leader, someone who has demonstrated throughout his public service career attributes that are second to none in the history of political office holders in Nigeria. I speak of none other than his excellency, the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Professor Oluyemi Oluleke Oshiba Jo San GCFR, GCON. So without further ado, because we kept you waiting a few minutes before we started, for which we apologize, and so I'm going to try and speed things along to make up for the time that we lost. So I would like to go ahead, I give you a little background about how this project came about. This book is an effort or an initiative of a group called the PYO Collective. I give you three guesses as to what the PYO stands for. I'm sure that we should give a prize for whoever gets it right. Nonetheless, this is a group of private individuals, 25 seasoned media professionals who came together as journalists to celebrate this exemplary leader of Nigeria, who in the next month or so will go from the outgoing Vice President to the outgoing Vice President, and we thought we should celebrate all that he has done in his public service career beginning as far back as the 1980s when he was a special advisor to the Attorney General of the Federation, all through to his two terms as Vice President of the Federal Republic. So without further ado, since I've told you who the PYO Collective is, I would like to say that their representative, Mr. Richard Akinola, will come forward in a short while, not come forward physically, but he will come forward virtually the same way that most of you are also watching these proceedings and will give you a little bit more background. But before we do that, I'd like to recognize the presence of some of the special guests that are joining us today for this August occasion. We recognize the presence of President Mohamedu Buhari GCFR, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, ably represented by his Chief of Staff, Professor Ibrahim Gambari. Your Excellency, the Head of State, President of the Federal Republic, we thank you for honoring us with this invitation today by being here. We thank you for your stewardship of the Federal Republic over the last eight years, and we thank you for the implicit trust that you place in your deputy, which enables us to be here today to celebrate this extraordinary man. Also with us is the former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowan, who will be our Chairman of this occasion today. I don't know how many of you in the audience remember, go on with one Nigeria. That was a wonderful refrain in the late 60s, and it's one that resonated over the years. And the good General has continued to be an elder statesman and wise counsel to all of us across the country in the years that have succeeded since when he was in government. General Yakubu Gowan, thank you very much for chairmaning this occasion today. I would also like to recognize the presence of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, right Honorable Femi Bajabia Miller, your most welcome Honorable Speaker. The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Boss Mustafa, thank you for joining us today, sir. And we have in the House a number of governors beginning with Governor Daco Abiodu, who of course would never not be here because Obu State is the home state of our celebrants today. And so his Governor is here to celebrate with him on this occasion. Thank you, your Excellency Governor Abiodu. Welcome Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State, Governor Aminu Tambua of Sokoto State. His Excellency, well all of them are his Excellencies. So pardon me if I missed out saying his Excellency before any of them. Governor Inua Yahya, Yahya of Goomba State, thank you for joining us, your Excellency. We appreciate your presence. We also have with us his Eminence, Emiya Sanusi Lamidu. Sanusi, thank you very much for joining us. And the Nigerian Literary icon who will be addressing us a little bit later in the program, Shimamanda Adichie is also here, as is Prof Chinedu Ezeana and seasoned and renowned broadcaster, broadcast journalist Kadaria Ahmed. There are so many others also, but we want to move the program along. So from time to time during the pendency of the proceedings, I will come back and mention one or two other names. Suffice it to say each and every one of you who are with us now is a special guest. We are truly humbled by your presence. We appreciate your taking the time out of a restful May Day, which being a public holiday, you should actually be taking it easy at home. But you have found it worthy to come out and honor an exemplary Nigerian and we definitely appreciate that. Having said that, let's move on to the next item on the agenda, which is to bring up Mr. Richard Akinola, representative of the PYO Collective, to give his welcoming remarks. Thank you. Yesterday, tomorrow is now for the taking of the future and I receive. I am so grateful that these are dreams that shall be. That's the hug of the nation changing history. So get up. I am the nation that is changing the future and I receive. Yesterday, tomorrow is now for the taking of the future. Welcome back, fellow Nigerians. Did I just say fellow Nigerians? That is not a phrase that Nigerians like to hear. Let me take that back. Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen. While we're waiting for Mr. Richard Akinola, who is having a little bit of technical issues connecting with us, I'd like to invite my co-anchor back to come and give you a little bit of teaser by reading some selected readings from the book to whet your appetite a little bit for the nuggets, the beautiful nuggets that are in this book that you will all get to enjoy and and imbibe in a very little while. So without further ado, Alhan Islam, will you please kind of come forward and come and give a sample to our guests of what they can expect in the book once it gets into their hands? Can we have Alhan Islam? The future is here. The future is here. But yesterday, tomorrow is now for the taking of the future is here. Yes, I am soul-lating. Thank you very much, Mr. Dayo Aki to me. It's really an honor to be here standing before all of you great men and great leaders and great women to read some chapters of the book, Oshiba Jo Strides. And I'm going to start with the chapter titled, Healing the Wounds of the Nineja Delta by Arukayno Umukoro. The VP's effort has since reported significant successes. Call it Oshiba Jo Mission possible to the Nineja Delta. One thing not in doubt was that the VP showed deft leadership skills adopting strategic engagement with stakeholders and people in the region. Oshiba Jo's leadership acumen has not only helped rebuild the trust of many who had been skeptical of the federal government plan for the region, but it also contributed significantly to the peace and stability in the region. The VP's brilliant handling of the issues was crucial in ending the series of pipeline explosions and militant attacks on oil facilities, restoring the maximum oil productivity and helping the country to exit recession of 2016. It also restored peace and stability in the once-rested region. I'm going to move to the next chapter, The Cold Senior Citizen, Naka Senaka by Fatima Mamondora. And she says, the message I got was that nothing is worth being passionate about unless it will translate to a political gain for the impassion. Just oppose this response with that of the vice president during one of our discussions and my clearly more measured submissions to him. He said words to this effect, young people like you who truly want to serve give me hope for a better Nigeria. In my mid-40s, I consider myself a little too long in the truth to be considered a young person. But since our number two senior citizen considers me young, so be it. Borrowing from the trending house of phrase of the northern political parlance of the 2023 elections, Naka Senaka, which loosely translates to your own is your own, used by politicians to encourage northern voters to vote another. I say and totally devoid of political intonations as the VP is not running for any political office. That professor is our own because our own is our own. Why is he our own? In Nigeria, poverty wears a woman's face. But it also disproportionately wears a northern face. Speaking from a northern perspective, VP Oshiba Jor, in his personal capacity, has worked quietly but impactfully to address some of the most pressing northern development issues. Since 2017, he personally saw to the setting up and running of a successful school in Meduguri Borno State, which caters to the team in Boko Haram orphans, turning out STEM champions every year and turning the fortunes of hundreds of otherwise hopeless orphans to reach their full potentials with the confidence to compete with their peers even internationally. More recently, Professor Oshiba Jor was instrumental in the take off of a similar school for girls in the heart of Sokoto Town to provide poor girls with a world-class education and 21st century skills and the opportunities that come with such privilege. Thank you very much. Islam for those snippets of what awaits us all in this tone, this book that is so rich. And you heard just a few of the great initiatives and achievements that our vice president has recorded within the last eight years. When you delve into that book, it will take you back in time all through his public service career, his life as a pastor, his life as a lecturer, his life as a lawyer, as a special advisor. Such a rich resume, one that has been brought to bear in the affairs of the federal republic with a view towards contributing his own quota to creating the Nigeria of our dreams. All right, time to move along with the program. I'd like to present to you a mini documentary on the life and times of Professor Yemi Oshiba Jor. You will see some never before seen photographs of him. You will also view some video of some of his engagements in the past. And you will get to appreciate the depth, the charisma, the emotional intelligence and all the great attributes that this exemplary young man has brought to governance and brought to bear on the citizens of Nigeria. So sit back, relax, grab a Coke and some popcorn. The movie is about to begin. Vice President Professor Yemi Oshiba Jor. Yemi Oshiba Jor arrives to Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Character is a key to success. It's not an old-fashioned thing or merely a religious thing. It's a business and success decision that you must make. Be known for your integrity and your reliability. And also be diligent and be prepared. Character is self-discipline. I'm not a lot from you, particularly the spirit of tolerance. I remember one particular day with Adbren Shonin, but you came not strong, I showed maturity. I have heard from you even in managing my state. We thank you for your interventions. At those very difficult times, when a number of states would not even pay salaries, bail out, and such other interventions really helped all of us bear our states to really discharge our constitutional disabilities to our states. Oh, let me see you. Let me see you. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, wait a minute. You know the booga has to be a real booga. Let me see you. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. You got it. Welcome back. Okay. Trust you enjoyed your night out at the movies, but that was not a production of the Hollywood world of make-believe. That was a real life documentary showing a man of the people expressing a common touch, showing empathy and understanding and reaching out across various divides in his overtures to unite Nigeria to do wonderful things for the various people of the country. Well, I'm happy to announce now that the technical problems that be deviled Mr. Akinola's technology have, the gremlins have now been sorted out and Mr. Akinola is ready to come and give us a bit of background on how this project, how this work came to be, what its origination was, how it evolved and how it became this humbling experience that all the writers discovered in researching, observing and articulating the attributes of the subject of the work. I am almost certain that this book will be a keeper. It will be one that will have a place on your shelves for your children and grandchildren to enjoy. That's how rich it is. So let me go back to Mr. Richard Akinola now to come and give us a little bit of background about how this book, or Shibadu, strides the defining moments of an innovative leader came about. Over to you, Mr. Akinola. On mutual support. Here you and all our guests can also hear all of the rich things you have to tell us about how the PYO Collective put this project together. All right. Yes, that's what I was going to ask. If I have to speak, are you going to come and switch it, switch me on or what? Actually, can you hear me now? Can you hear me? Yes, I can hear you now. He's going silent again. Can you hear me now, please? I can hear you. Mr. Richard Sir, please don't mute yourself. We can hear you. Okay, we can hear you now. Can you hear me now? Can you hear me now? Yes. Okay. On behalf of the PYO Collective, a multicultural group of Nigerians from diverse backgrounds who are interested in good governance and economic development of the country, and whose core values include ethics, professionalism, honesty, accountability, and good governance. I welcome you all to this important book presentation in honor of the vast presence of Professor Yemu Shibadu, Senior Booker of Nigeria. He was a collective of both unity and prosperity of our dear country. Our membership is drawn from across the country and includes writers of the essence of this book. The book is essentially a collection of essays written by 25 journalists, writers, and other persons from different walks of life. It prescribes the vast presence of this service since he was special advisor to the Akron J.A. dissertation in 1988 to date. The book took our principle, the vast presence by surprise. It was a cool sort of throughout the period of conceptualization to the planning, writing, and various stages of production. We kept it under wraps. We didn't want the vast presence to know how we succeeded in ambushing him with this book. It was God's back since a copy of the book when it was presented to him. I must thank all members of the Collective for this literary cool. For a self-efficient man with profound simplicity, our principle actually deserves an even more. For those of us who had known him closely even before he came into public service in 1988, the experiences encapsulated in this book is just a tip of the iceberg of the Oshiba Joe persona. I use this opportunity to thank my other colleagues in the P.W.A. Collective for a job well done and for the sleepless nights and stress in making today a reality. Once again, I thank every of our special guests, particularly President Robert Buhari and our former head of state and all the Pacific Islanders virtually in honor of the vast presence. Thank you and God bless you. Thank you. Thank you. Collective, which is the reason we're all here today. Next on the agenda is the chairman's remarks and for that I'd like to invite his Excellency General Yakubu Gawan, former head of state, revered elder statesman, Christian Extraordinaire and Nigerian Patriots. So I want to assure you that we are still going on with one Nigeria even so many years after. Thank you for your life of service to this country. All right, sir, the floor is yours. Welcome. General Gawan, sir, could you kindly unmute your audio, sir? We can see you, but we can't hear you, sir. You need to unmute your audio, sir. Okay. Sorry, sorry about that. Sorry. Okay. Mr. President, Mr. Vice President, your Excellencies, Honorable members, eminent and distinguished participants, ladies and gentlemen, all other protocols observed. Greetings. It is my pleasure to be the chairman at this virtual book launch that showcases the defining moments of an innovative leader. Hashim Bajo strikes. This book highlights the life and times of one of Nigeria's most remarkable and accomplished leaders, Vice President Yemi Hashim Bajo. As you all know, Vice President Hashim Bajo has been at the forefront of many groundbreaking initiatives that have transformed Nigeria's economy and its people. From his work as a legal practitioner to his foray in politics and public service, the Vice President has always exhibited a passion for innovation and a commitment to the development of Nigeria. Professor Hashim Bajo is the most effective, is one of the most effective Vice President Nigeria has ever had, and that is why I say congratulations to this government. The Vice President has put in a lot of effort with the kind of work he's done. How can anyone say this government hasn't accomplished anything? I know the amount of effort he and the government has put in is admirable and I commend him and the government for what they have succeeded in doing. The book Hashim Bajo strikes is a testament to the Vice President's dedication to service and his unique approach to problem solving. It chronicles his journey from a young lawyer to the Vice President of Nigeria and it showcases his contribution to the Nigerian economy, his commitment to good governance and his passion for social justice. One of the key highlights of this book is the focus on Professor Hashim Bajo's leadership style. He is known for his collaborative approach to governance, which has enabled him to work effectively with different stakeholders in achieving common goals. This book provides insight into how he has been able to build a strong relationship with leaders across not only Nigeria, but across Africa and beyond. Furthermore, this book also shed light on some of the challenges that Professor Hashim Bajo has faced during his tenure as Vice President. It highlights how he has been able to navigate these challenges with resilience and determination, ultimately emerging stronger and more focused on achieving his goals. This reminds me of the effort of my administration, the administration's effort to unite Nigeria through many ways, including my introduction of the National Youth Service Corps, which aimed to promote national unity by exposing young people to different parts of the country and different cultures. I also recall the three R's policy, which stood for reconciliation, rehabilitation, and reconstruction. This, and of course the fourth one, is reintegration, reintegration after the civil war. I also recall the three R's policy, which stood for, as I've said, reconciliation, rehabilitation, reconstruction, but reintegration was part of it. This policy aimed to rebuild the areas that were affected by the war, rehabilitate those who were displaced or injured, and promote reconciliation between different ethnic in a group. This program, of course, continued from the beginning to the end. These efforts are similar to those that Professor Hashim Bajo has implemented in ensuring that internal displaced persons are returned to their homes and in good living conditions too. He did this not only in his capacity as the number two citizen, but in his personal capacity as well, building schools and houses and empowering as many as possible. The book also highlights Hashim Bajo's critical role in the administration's economic policies, such as the nation's, the national social investment programs, economic recovery and growth plan, and national economic sustainability plan, to mention few of which have helped to stabilize the economy and boost growth. Additionally, he has been strong advocate for education and health care reforms, ensuring that Nigerians have access to quality education and health care. You can read more in the book. So before I end, I would like to say well then to this PY Collective. These 25 journalists who have done so well and they have written along with millions of Nigerians to commend Professor Hashim Bajo for his unflinching service to his fatherland and for being a loyal deputy to Mr President Mohamedu Bihari. You have done well, Mr Vice President. We are proud of you and you have made this government the pride of all of us. I say well done and I wish you good retirement from being Vice President in about a month's time. God bless and thank you PY Collective for the good work you've done to show peace. Mr Vice President, well done. Thank you. Thank you for excellence for that heartfelt and deeply introspective look at both the Vice President and the publication. I'm not sure how many Nigerians remember that you were the one who gave us the National Youth Service Corps so many years ago. However, it's reflected in the PYO Collective, the rich diversity that came out of that program because when you look at the 25 authors, they're from every single part of Nigeria. The Youth Corps program started that. It started an integration, it started intermarriage, it started Nigerians relocating to various parts of the country separate from where they were born and raised and essentially it created a rich tapestry of our diversity that has continued to strengthen us as a people. And of course the Vice President, Professor Yamio Shibaju has continued to champion that unity. It's as if it has been a natural progression from what you left off with the Youth Corps to what he has been doing in the last eight years. Thank you, Your Excellency. We appreciate you. All right. Let me bring back my co-anchor. I'm sure all of you have missed out on the last items on the agenda that I have been boring you with. And so I'd like to bring her back to add a little bit of interest to the proceedings and she will come and give us some more readings so that she can wet your appetite further after General Gohwan told you a little bit about the book. Of course by virtue of him being chairman, he has already read the book, he's seen it and he's going to appreciate the contents. So let's have Al Hanisma come up and read you a little bit more of what to expect when you get your hands on the book. Thank you and stay with us. Thank you very much, Mr. Dio Akintovic, my incredible co-host. I would further read two more chapters and this one is titled A Leader for All Seasons by Azu Ishekwene. Have you seen him lately? His hair has grayed not a little since he became vice president eight years ago. This is a little surprising considering that former president Gulak Jonathan himself who is a vice president, a former vice president once said a VP's job is essentially to read newspapers or to quote the first US vice president, John Adams, who described his office in a letter to his wife as the most insignificant contrivance ever contrived by man. But that's precisely the source of Oshiba Jo's festering gray hair in the last eight years. The job of Nigeria's vice president has been anything but a spare. He has been acting president during which time he took a few of the most consequential decisions. Oshiba Jo has been the Buhari government's face of the youth rallying them, speaking to and for them on all things from crypto to ICT and innovations. Surely in a country where people under 40 make up about 65% of the population, these exertions are more than insignificant contrivance. I'll move to the next chapter, the consummate's loyalist by Gerber Muhammad. President Muhammad Buhari had caused to render glowing eulogies extolling Oshiba Jo for his unbendable loyalty. He described Oshiba Jo's loyalty as most exemplary. It was Femi Adeshino, Buhari's spokesman, who said this and many more in a statement on Yemi's 65th birthday. In the same vein, Buhari lauded Oshiba Jo for his uncommon courage, humility, and resourcefulness. At no known time was there any altercation or friction accord between Oshiba Jo and his principal, the president. This is in sharp contrast to what was obtained in the past, where there was round chorus moments between the two top most occupants of the villa. History will expectedly be kind to Oshiba Jo, when stories of Nigeria's past vice presidents are narrated. Thank you. We are the nation, we are part of this, oh, we are the nation, we are part of this. We are the sound, the future is here, the future is here. But yesterday, tomorrow is now for the taking, the future is here, the future is here. We are the future, we are the dream, we are the nation, we are part of this. Yes, we are so amazing, that's the least we shall be. The heart of the nation changing history. Can they say that we are finished, we have just begun, when we have nowhere else to run, do we have nowhere else to go, so get out of our dreams. We are the nation, we are part of this, oh, oh, we are the nation, we are part of this. The future is here, the future is here. Today, tomorrow is now for the taking, the future is here, the future is here. The future, the heart of the nation changing history. Raise your hands in the air if you believe the future has come now. The future is here, the future is here, the future is here. The future, the future has, the future has come. The future is not a time zone that is yet to come. The future is everything that we can be, but have not yet come. The future is everything that we can do, but have not yet done. The future is here, the future is now. So go ahead, think about the future, because you can. The future has come. The future is not a time zone that is yet to come. The future is everything that we can be, but have not yet come. The future is everything that we can do, but have not yet done. The future is here, the future is now. So go ahead, think about the future, because you can, because you must. Together, go ahead. Yes, we are so amazing. That's the least we shall be. Mission changing history. And they say that we are finished. We have just begun. When we have nowhere else to run, do we have nowhere else to go? So get out of the land of our dreams. We are the nation, we are part of this. All right, welcome back, Nigeria. I hope you're having a lovely time so far, as we all are, and as much fun as the PYO Collective had with putting together this seminar work. I guarantee that history will be kind to this publication, and as I said earlier, it will occupy a prominent space in your bookshelf for many years to come. Well, once again, I thank General Gohan, and also I thank my co-uncle for the last few chapters or paragraphs you read of the book, a few minutes ago. What struck me between both what General Gohan said and the selected paragraphs in the book is that Professor Yamiyoshi Bagyo is a champion of both youth and technology. You might notice that this is an unusual setup for a book launch. The typical way of doing it in Nigeria is getting a large hall and physically assembling everyone and having all the speeches physically and all the representations on the one roof. Well, as a soap to Professor Yamiyoshi Bagyo's affinity for technology, we decided to surprise him and do a fully virtual book launch. I believe it might be the very first time in the history of Nigeria that such a thing has been done completely virtually. I've seen some that have been hybrids, where some people have been assembled and others join in, but I believe this is the first time it's been done completely virtually, and that is in a service to Professor Oshiba Joe's love for all things tech. We are aware of his innovations in the fintech sector. We know what he has done for Yabakon Valley, which is our own version of Silicon Valley in Nigeria. We are aware of how it has continued to encourage our youth to reach deep down into that reservoir of creativity, innovation and imagination that spurs development and growth. This is the time of the youth in our country, and that is one of the key attributes of the vice president, is that he has not only recognized the potential of our youth, but he has also done something about it. He has put his money where his mouth is and has backed our youth to the hills to reach for the sky in terms of what they can achieve as future leaders of tomorrow. All right, thank you for staying with us thus far. I would like to call on Governor Dakbo Abiodu being the governor of our celebrants home state. I'd like to call on him to do the presentation of this book. However, before he comes up, I'm so used to saying come up because normally we are physical and you just invite the person up to the stage to take the lectern and begin to deliver his address. So you'll pardon me when I say come up because he's not really coming up here, literally. He's not, but he will make his address virtually from where he is at this point in time. However, before Governor Abiodu comes on, we'd like to play a one minute video of the unveiling of the book. So for the first time, I present to you, where's the drum roll? Where's the drum roll? I need a drum roll so that with a dramatic flourish for the first time in Nigeria, you can see this seminar work that celebrates our very own Vice President, Professor Yemi Oshibadjo. I present to you Oshibadjo Strides, the defining moments of our history. We are the nation, we are part of this. Yes, we are so amazing, that's the least we shall be. At the heart of the nation changing history. Can they say that we are finished? We have just begun, when we have nowhere else to run. Do we have nowhere else to go? So get out of the way of the land of our dreams. We are the nation, we are part of this. We are the nation, we are part of this. Future is here, the future is here. But by yesterday, tomorrow is now for the taking. The future is here, the future is here. The future has, the future has come. His Excellency, Governor Dapo Abiodu kindly do us the honors of presenting this book. Thank you sir. Governor Abiodu sir, we can see you but you kindly omute your audio sir. We can see you, we can't hear you. Kindly omute your audio sir. I think I have successfully done that. Can you hear me? Can you hear me? Can you hear me? Have you some tech problems? Can you hear me? Yes. We can see you, can you please omute your audio? We can hear you. I am on mute. I am on mute sir. We can hear you now, can you go ahead sir? Your Excellency, our very distinguished and amiable Vice President Professor Yemi Oshibaju. The former head of states, Nigeria, General Yakubu Gawan, my colleague Governor's that are connected via this platform, these virtual, these rather very unique virtual book presentation, all other very eminent and distinguished guests. Ladies and gentlemen, it's indeed very humbling and a pleasure for me to join virtually this book presentation today. The book titles defining moments of an innovative leader, the Oshibaju Strikes. I was taken aback, I must say, and confessed when I was called on that we're going to have such an important, very important occasion for such an illustrious son of Augustine and of course an illustrious son of Nigeria, virtually. My first question was why would we do this very important occasion virtually? But I guess it speaks again to the very kind of person that our Vice President himself is. He's someone who is very techie and who does things differently and I'm sure that the organizers of this event only keyed in into the very attributes of who they know. Our very own Professor of Pastoral, Yemio Oshibaju, our Vice President, I would describe as the Omonlua Bi Pustaboi of our generation. When you hear the word Omonlua Bi, the first person that comes to mind is Professor Yemio Oshibaju. He has distinguished himself as a completely metabolized Nigerian, a nation builder, a statesman, a leader who has consistently advocated for the unity and strength in Nigeria's diversity. I must commend Professor Loyalty to his boss, a loyalty that is exemplary. His patience, his humility, his ability to pay attention to details on issues, particularly issues of national importance. I must say that I had the privilege of serving with him as a member of the National Economic Council that he chaired, a council that he provided leadership. Well, I can't compare that council to previous councils because this was my first time, but from all accounts, this was a council with a difference. He provided direction for the nation of the economy. Prof's passion for education, youth development, technology growth, and MSN is contagious, and I must confess that I caught that bug and I've been trying to emulate him. He has to say, I look at Prof as my role model in every way. Prof's commitment to social welfare and empowerment for the poor and vulnerable in a society across the 36 states through the various social investor programs championed by his office is truly been defining and very commendable. I'm not sure that I could easily spend an hour talking about this phenomenon of a man, a complete gentleman, a leader, a politician, a pastor, a professor of law. I want to appreciate all those that put this program together for finding it in their time to say all what this book says and portrays of Professor Yemi Osheband. I'll run up by saying Prof is a breath of fresh air in Nigeria's political space. Amongst other stellar attributes, his character, his integrity, his brilliance as a professor of law and a pastor has remained and made him a moral compass in life, in public service and in politics. We will continue to watch and learn from him because he's a leader who is worthy of emulation in these our journey and our resolve to build a new Nigeria. I therefore would like to commend again all those I put this book to together and also would like to recommend this book as a read for every young man who is aspiring to be a leader. You know, only recently I was talking to Prof when I was in one of those moments when, you know, one has as a leader and you need someone to talk to and I said to him, I don't know what is wrong with that people, you're selfless, you give it your all and yet many times, you know, what you put in does not equate to what you get back and Prof simply said to me that the problem we have in Nigeria is not that of leaders elude but also that of followers and I should continue to hold my chin up and that is pro for you. I as the governor of your home state on behalf of myself are the good people of your home state, I would like to unveil this book with a small sum of five million Naira. Thank you very much for having me and congratulations, Pastor Prof, as you prepare to wind down and to start a new phase in your political journey. Congratulations there. Thank you very much. Of fresh air in Nigeria's political space, that one resonated with me in Governor Abiodu's address because I'm sure that just like the governor said, each and every one of us recognize the fact that Professor Oshibaju has been a very different kind of leader from what we're used to in Nigeria over the years. Thank you sir, your excellency for your address and for your very generous donation. I would like to acknowledge the presence as I promised at the beginning of this broadcast that from time to time I would break in and recognize those who have joined us in process. We have among us Governor Simon Nalong, his excellency, the executive governor of Plateau State. We also have the executive governor of Aqwa Ibon State, his excellency Udom Emmanuel. Also with us is the secretary to the government of the Federation, Mr. Boss Mustafa, who is representing President Muhammadu Buhari. I know I said something different earlier, but pardon me to is human to forgive his divine. So sometimes technology gets ahead of us and we have full power, but I've corrected myself and I hope you all accept. So, Boss Mustafa, my apologies. Thank you for joining us. Thank you to President Buhari for asking you to represent him at this event. I would also like to recognize the presence of the chairman of the ICPC, Professor Owa Son Oye. Sorry I bombed that. Owa Son Oye. All right, so let us carry on where we stopped and next I would like to invite his excellency, the executive governor of Plateau State, Governor Simon Nalong, to present the book in his own way. Thank you, your excellency. You're welcome. Well, thank you very much. Your excellency, Mr. President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, heavily represented by my brother, Secretary of the Government of the Federation. Your excellency, the vice president himself here, life, the chairman of this occasion, our father, your excellency, the governors that are here, distinguished guests that are here, invited guests that are here, ladies and gentlemen. I feel also honored to be part of this occasion, presentation of what I call tribute to our leader, Professor Yemi Osibanjo, GCON, GCON and the vice president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Let me start on where I first met this gentleman. As a Speaker of the House of Assembly, we had, we went through turbulence, turbulence in Brazil State. That is the illegal impeachment of the government. At that time we were running up for solution. This is a pioneer effort, so it's unavoidable that one or two things may go wrong. There may be hitches here and there, but we are attempting to bring you a seamless transition, transmission, not transition, transmission, seamless transmission and we'll continue to work at it. Our techies are hard at work behind the scenes and I'm sure that they will get it right eventually. So we lost Governor Samuel Long's transmission. I believe the network may have failed on his part, but as soon as we can get him back, we will bring him up to continue and finish his presentation. In the meantime, while we're waiting for Governor Long to come back, I would like to move on and welcome the Executive Governor of Sokoto State, his Excellency, Governor Aminu Tambuwal, who I introduced and acknowledged earlier in the program and would now like for him to take the microphone and introduce him to the presentation of the group. You're welcome, your Excellency. Governor Tambuwal, over to you, Mr. Thank you very much, Mr. President of the French Republic of Nigeria, aptly represented by my elder brother, the SGF, Mr. Post-Mustafa, the chairman of this occasion, our father, from my head of state, General Fubo Gawan, G.G.F.R., Mr. Vice President himself, a celebrant and chairman of National Economic Council, my colleagues, governors on this platform and our very eminent personalities, ladies and gentlemen, a very good evening to you all. I was not given any notice that I was going to be invited to make any formal presentation on this very important platform. However, at moments like this, we must always press up to accept, to give honor to whom honor is due. And indeed, the celebrant of today, Vice President Professor Yemi Sibadjo, G.G.C.O.N., Senior Advocate of Nigeria, is such a personality on whom, whenever we are called upon, we must respond and respond positively. I commend and congratulate the organizers of this event. And I believe that you have done the right thing. And the timing of this program is very apt, coming May the first day of May, 2023, barely four weeks to go for the Vice President and some of us to honorably exit having exhausted our constitutional time and time as specified in our constitution for us to serve out our various terms. I must congratulate the Vice President for having such a cream of individuals around him and such a group that has been able to come up with this. It's a clear, also, additional testimony as to how and why the Vice President has been able to carry on as one of the most industrious and indeed one of the most active Vice Presidents ever. We have had, I can say, on the planet of African continent because you surround yourself with individuals and people that have ideas and who believe in democracy and good governance. And that's why you've been able to succeed in doing what you've been able to do as Vice President of this country. Having said that, I must join people of goodwill in commending once again because I did that on behalf of all of us that assist Governors when we had the session of the National Economic Council of commanding and the Vice President for his very many quadratic roles in stabilizing the quality and providing leadership and standing up at a time when we were facing challenges as sub-national and indeed as a country and he did very, very well in that regard. I must commend you and I will relate to you for all of your achievements in office and our prayers are with you that God Almighty shall continue to guide you and protect you as you continue to prosper and as you continue to serve Nigeria, definitely in different capacities after I made 29th 2023. Having said that and without taking much of your time, I believe that it would not be out of place if I joined my colleague, the Governor of Okun State, the home state of Mr. Vice President and in this respect on behalf of all the 36 Governors of Nigeria to present this book on behalf of the NGF with a token sum of 50 million. Thank you very much and God bless you. Long for his address for his kind consideration and for honoring us with his presence here today. We will continue with the presentation by various invited guests and next up I would like to introduce the Deputy Governor of Nassarawa State, Dr. Immanuel Akabe representing his Excellency the Governor of Nassarawa State. Thank you, your Excellency for being here today. Over to you, Dr. Immanuel Akabe. Your Excellency, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, ably represented by the NGF, the Chairman of this occasion, our father, General Kawan, a celebrant today, his Excellency, the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Your Excellencies, the Governors that are here, other invited guests, ladies and gentlemen, I'm here on behalf of my principal, his Excellency, Governor Aesule, who will have wished to be part of this occasion but unfortunately in the last minute he couldn't connect and has asked me to represent him. All he has asked me to say have been said by his colleagues, particularly his Excellency, the Governor of Oregon State and the Chairman of Nigerian Governors Forum. He holds his Excellency, the Vice President in very, very high esteem and he has seen him as an inspiration and a guide. He has all the while had a lot of respect for his Excellency, for his patience, for his intellectualism and for his sense of humility and loyalty. He has always praised Mr. Vice President in everything he does to us and really will have wished to be part of this. His Excellency's greetings, his Excellency's congratulations. He wishes the Vice President wealth and praise the successful launch of this on behalf of the蔡 Excellency Governors and is part and parcel of it. Thank you very much, your Excellency Dr. Akabe of Nassarawa State. We thank you for your generosity of time and for honoring us with your presence today. All right, I also wish to thank Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambua, his Excellency, who spoke a short while ago for his generosity, both of his time and of his pocket. His bank book is a lot leaner after he generously did wonderful things towards honoring this book. Thank you, sir, for your generosity of spirit, generosity of pocket. We appreciate you greatly. All right, I would like to next move on to someone that is a highly revered and eminent personality in Nigeria, someone who has been an academic, a royal father, a social critic, a political activist, and a lover of his people. I speak of none other than his eminence, emir sanusi lamidu sanusi. Your Excellency, thank you for joining us today. Over to you sir. Thank you very much, your Excellency, the President of the Federal Republic, represented by the SGF, your Excellency, our father, General Yakubo Gawan, your Excellency, the Vice President, and Celebrant, Professor Yemi Osimba Jor, GCON, your Excellency's Governors and Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen. It's a great honor for me to have been given this opportunity to say a few words on the occasion of the presentation of this book on this great Nigerian. Professor Osimba Jor is a personal friend. He was my friend before I became Vice President. He's my friend today, and I hope he'll remain my friend for the rest of our lives. And one of the great things about him is that he is someone who never changed in office. He kept his friends throughout the years he was there, and I assure him that his friends will be here to receive him when he leaves office and stand by him the way he has stood by us throughout the years we've known him. Speaking about him in government, it's not difficult for me because even though I was out of government when they came in, I've had an opportunity to interact with them on many occasions, and I would like to mention just three or four perspectives that are different, which give us different dimensions to the man. One is Osimba Jor the intellectual. Someone I would sit with and debate, and as you know I've been very critical of some of the policies of the government, and he would debate, and he had the ability, as we all know, to accept a superior argument. Sometimes he would explain why it cannot be done. Sometimes he would explain that it's something that he also agrees with, but he hopes would take time to fix. Sometimes he would outright not accept and would agree to disagree. But the interesting thing about this intellectual is that no matter how strong the disagreements, he understood that this was a discussion about Nigeria, about the Nigerian people. It was not personal, it was not enmity, it was not bringing down the government, it was a Nigerian expressing his opinion, which is informed and his own right as a Nigerian to participate in national discourse, and this is something that is missing with many of our politicians. The second level of interaction for me was with Vice President Osimba Jor on the Nutrition Council of Nigeria. That's one council that he heads, and I have seen firsthand his concern for the poor people of this country. The question of malnutrition and infant mortality, his commitment year after year to see improvements in the structures and the funding and the processes of nutrition, and I do hope that the work that he has done will begin to see light in the near future, and he will get the credit that he deserves in history for the foundation that he has laid in that area. The third element of this interaction was Osimba Jor's acting president, dealing with problems of a president who was somewhere and a nation that was in crisis, and giving us an insight into how he would ruin this country if he had the opportunity. And I dare say we all agree that Nigeria is worse off for not having someone like him as president, but I do hope that he'll be available to serve and to advise and to put in his best to the country and continue to do so as I'm sure he will in whatever capacity he finds himself in the future, and maybe we'll still be lucky to have him lead us at some point or take some leadership role as a statesman. The final interaction with him is that of Osimba Jor as a peacemaker. On at least two occasions, concerned about the problems between Fulani Hertzman and farmers, I saw him in action calling meetings asking what are the problems, trying to understand the root cause, trying to come up with recommendations on how to resolve them, and basically involving himself and throwing himself into these problems, be they in Taraba or in Adamawa or in Nasarawa, and trying to have an overall view, a removed, impassioned view as to the root causes rather than being focused on the symptoms. And on these, if I just talk on these four dimensions, I think we see the picture of a man who has the qualities that we need in leaders and the qualities that I hope other leaders would emulate. So I haven't read the book, but I'm sure that while reading the book, I probably find many of these elements knitted together. I would like to congratulate the people who put together this book. I'd like to congratulate your excellency for eight years of successful service. Whatever happens, you're going to hold your head high. You're going to be proud of what you've done. And I hope we will see more and more of you. And this country will not lose your services after May 29th. Congratulations. And all the best. And again, as I said, we are here. We are friends. We'll remain with you after office. And we will be working together to see how we make this country a better place in the future. And thank you, everyone, and thank you for this honor. And God bless. Thank you so much for your patience. I know this has been a long day so far, a long event due to various technical issues here and there. And also because we keep switching back and forth from live transmission to recorded stuff and back. So I want to thank you for bearing with us. I want to thank all dignitaries who have speak, who have opted or volunteered to speak today on behalf of our celebrants. We'd like to say a big thank you for your selfless participation and for your endless patience that you've demonstrated today. All right. And we've resolved the technical problems with Governor La Long. Oh, I'm sorry. I need to thank his eminence, Emya Sanosi Lamedo Sanosi, for a very good retrospective speech about the attributes of today's celebrants. And I particularly noted his appreciation of his Excellency's leadership of the National Economic Council, which as we know, Emya Sanosi Lamedo Sanosi has a very good reason to understand based on his own academic background, he understands economics exceedingly well and can appreciate the work that his Excellency has been putting in that council. All right. Before I bring back his Excellency Governor La Long, I would like to show you physically what this book looks like. Up to this point, you've only seen virtual copies. You've seen digital copies online, but I pleasantly want to inform you that I actually have physical copies right here in my hand. On my right hand is the hard copy. On my left hand is a soft copy, the paperback copy as is called in the industry. So this is the book. It is real. It is rich. It will resonate and you need to have a copy. The easiest way, as one of our distinguished guests said, you need a copy for every youth in Nigeria. Every youth in Nigeria should read this book and learn some deep lessons and some homegrown truths of what our Vice President stands for and what they have to gain from the example he has set for all of us to follow. To acquire your own copy of this very rich tone, you can go, as we speak, as this event is unfolding, you can go to oshibajostrides.com or oshibajostrides.ng. Let me repeat. You can go to oshibajostrides.com or oshibajostrides.ng and when you get there, you can order the hard copy for 10,000 Naira. You can order the soft copy for 5,000 Naira. There's also an e-copy that you can order and I see, I've been told reliably that people are actually already on that website ordering as we speak. There is also for those in the diaspora because we have many people who are watching from the United States of America, the United Kingdom, from Latin America and from all over the globe. And for those who may be interested from overseas, the cost is $10. When you get to that website, it will give you information about how the book can be delivered to you and if there are any delivery costs associated with sending it to you. All right. Having concluded that bit of business, let me go back to Governor, His Excellency, Governor Simon Lalong for conclusion of his remarks that were unfortunately interrupted earlier. Your Excellency, Governor Lalong, you're welcome, sir. Thank you very much and let me once again apologize for that interruption. I was going to conclude, although I've not read the book too, that I hope part of the book will include some messages or information about how he started SME because the face of SME in Nigeria, he produced from Plattus, Plattus State. So I was going to conclude that the VP as a statement leader and dependable ally to President Buhari, from the very beginning of their partnership as the vice president, Osiman Joe displayed a level of loyalty and dedication that was truly inspiring. Even President Muhammad Buhari described him as a trusted, dependable and worthy deputy. Professor Osiman Joe as state firstly has shown the exemplary attribute of loyalty, courage, sagacity, humility and remarkable resourcefulness in the discharge of his official function, responsibilities, and by extension his wider interaction with everyone. There have been no altercation or friction of any kind between the VP and the president, despite the work of mischief makers. This is in sharp contrast to what obtained in the past administrations. The VP inspiring a new Nigeria through the right values, principles and action. Professor Osiman Joe believes in a new Nigeria that we and generations to come will be part of. He believes and advocates for fairness, equity, justice and the rule of law in all areas, both publicly and privately. So I will say that on behalf of the good people of Platu State, on behalf of the celebrants, I will call them celebrants, those who emerge as the first of SME in Nigeria and subsequently winning a lot of things and introducing and widening the scope of SME in Platu State, it is my honor to say that they've all agreed, we have all agreed in Platu, to make a handsome donation. When my friend that will make donation, I know that Oguni is richer than Platu State. However, I'm not donating in competition with him, but I'm donating out of not only sheer respect for appreciation for the giant strike made in SME on the Platu. So on behalf of the good people of Platu State, as I said, I've not read the book, but seen the cover of the book, I've seen beautiful things in that book. So we'll give a donation of 10 million Naira for 17 copies, both the heart and the soft coffee for 17 local governments in Platu State. I once again thank you for the privilege and I thank you very much for giving me this opportunity. Thank you Your Excellency Governor Long for being patient enough through the technical problems and coming back to address us and conclude your remarks. Thank you for your time, thank you for your generosity. All right, now we move on to the next part of the program, which is remarks and a review of the book by Nigerian literary icon Shimamanda Adiche. I know you've all been looking forward to this and the moment has come where will we hear from her and get her opinions about not just the content of the book, but also the subject that is accurately portrayed by that piece of seminal literature. All right, Miss Adiche, welcome to the program. The floor is yours. Okay, good evening. I'm not sure if this is it. Okay, good evening. First I would like to say congratulations to all of the people who were involved in putting this book together, particularly to Jamman and Nicola or who and did the editing because I know that the editor collection of this sort is is never an easy task. So congratulations. The essays in this book, you know, they come from a diverse range of writers and they're all very different in style, but they all have a kind of organic enthusiasm to them. You read them with the sense of reading pieces written by people who actually wanted to write them. And so it feels to me that this book is a labor of love. And the fact that it is a labor of love says something about the subject, Profiemi Shibajo. It speaks to a humane and a human quality that he has, the ability to bring diverse people together. And it is also evident this ability to bring diverse people together in the team that he has worked with as vice president and I had the good fortune of meeting some of them last year in Prof's office. And I want to specially acknowledge his wonderfully talented photographer, Hulani Ali. Her photographs are beautiful and haunting. And most of all, I think that they show us this humane and human quality in Prof. I wish Prof a happy birthday personally, but I would like to also do it publicly. Happy birthday, Prof. I wish you joy. I will never forget the kindness you showed when I lost my mother in March of 2021. And speaking of my mother, my mother was a remarkable woman who had very considered and firm opinions about everything. And so I remember once we were watching television and Prof was speaking. And my mother said in that very firm tone of hers, now, this one is a gentleman. And there was, of course, an undercurrent to her words. And there was something left unsaid, rather loudly left unsaid, which was, the others are not gentlemen. One of the writers in this book, Aureola Ogumbi, rather beautifully where she says that she was struck by Prof's careful attentiveness. And reading that, I thought perhaps that this would be a wonderful definition of a person who's a gentleman, a person who was the quality of careful attentiveness. And so this brings me to a recurring idea in this book, which is that Prof Yamiyu Shibajo is different, unlike the others, unexpected. It is an idea to which I too subscribe. I remember watching Prof's magnificent speech at the APC primaries. And I was particularly struck by these words from him. You cannot wish this country well and vote for someone you do not believe in. And after listening to that speech, I was certain that Prof would win. It seemed to me to use an American colloquialism, a no-brainer. But by some magically mysterious or perhaps mysteriously magical process, he did not win. And so I remember sending Prof a message saying that I had hoped he would win. But also telling him how conflicted I would have been because he is the only other person I could have supported in this election. And this support would have been based on his humane and human qualities, but also the fact that he has demonstrated leadership. And particularly so, I think, when as acting president, he took a principled action to tell us Nigerians that one cannot desecrate the sanctity of the National Assembly. But I must say that I'm surprised that this book does not have someone who wrote of Prof as a teacher. I think it is, in fact, one of the fundamental traits that he has that he's a good teacher. I think the greatest gift a teacher can have is the eternal gratitude of his or her students. And Prof has that. I remember watching a very wide range of Prof students talking about him as a teacher, how patient he was, how he really wanted them to understand the concepts, and also how he wasn't burdened by that quality of ego, which sadly I think afflicts many academics in Nigeria. And I must say that hearing Prof's students talk about him warmed my heart particularly because it reminded me of my own father, who was a dedicated professor and taught for more than 40 years at the University of Nigeria in Osaka. And so today we celebrate a man who is different. A man who is vice president, lawyer, teacher, a man who has said that a new Nigeria is possible, but is a new Nigeria possible. Since the Nigerian presidential elections this part this February, I found myself on many days fighting of a cloud of despair because the elections were so bravely and horrifyingly mismanaged and therefore destroyed the faith of so many Nigerians. But I do not word of this, I do actually word of that despair with some effort because I love this country and love is persistent. And so I do believe that we can have a new Nigeria. I sometimes wonder whether we are a nation. We might be a country, but I wonder whether we are a nation because a nation is an idea. A nation is an act of faith. And to become a nation we have to believe in something that is bigger than ourselves. And I don't mean religious faith, which quite frankly I think has often been desecrated at the all power of politicians. It seems to me that we need politicians to talk less about God and act more like God would want them to. But the only way to create this new Nigeria I think is through leadership. I remember when this present administration first came to power, a friend of mine who lives in Abuja said to me and I suppose he was only half joking. He said people have stopped stealing, they're waiting to see if this anti-corruption thing is real. And I think this anecdote is telling in its simplicity. It just shows us that a leader sets the tone. We cannot have a new Nigeria if we continue to have the kind of leadership similar to what we've had in the past. We must reject the politics of patronage, the politics of personal interest, and instead embrace the politics that is people-centered. Politics should not be lucrative. We cannot have a new Nigeria if politics continues to be seen as a lucrative enterprise. And transparency should be the default. But instead what we have now is a situation in which deception is the default. I've always been fascinated in the way that one is fascinated by something that's perverse, by how adept at deception so many in Nigeria's political landscape are. Yes, of course, we sometimes lie as human beings. Nobody's perfect. Hopefully we don't lie too much. But with the Nigerian political class, it is a kind of endless churning of bare-faced lies to a population that knows that it is in fact being lied to. And we have examples of melodramatic lies, like snakes eating, swallowing money, and politicians suddenly having doubles. But also the consequential lies, lies that have a real impact on the lives of Nigerians. And this is the way that cynicism sets in. Still many Nigerians are cynical, cynical about politics, cynical about government, and one cannot blame them. And so if we are going to have a new Nigeria, we need to make truth the priority. We need to say things as they are. We need to stop pretending. And maybe we could also take a leaf from the book and the spirit of the late President Musa Yeridua. Now here was a man who had the moral conviction to acknowledge that the system that brought him to power was flawed. And so this man, the late President Yeridua, actually set up a commission to investigate a system that had brought him to power. I think that speaks of a kind of moral courage that I wish we would see more of. But of course, it's also important to say that the panel that he set up, I think, had quite a few recommendations and none of them have been passed. And so a new Nigeria is possible only if we begin to refuse certain things. We must refuse to be desensitized. We must always keep our sense of outrage alive and dead. And as an example, I want to remind us that we should continue. We should never stop being outraged by the fact that the Nigerian government turned guns on its own citizens who were merely asking for a better life. And of course, I'm talking about the ensarse protests. And maybe also one of the things we need to do if we are going to have a new Nigeria is that we need to, one of the problems I think that we have is a failure of imagination. And I think we see this in all facets of Nigerian life. So I go to get my head on and I'm telling the hairdresser, well, I want to do it this way. And she says, no auntie, this is how we do it. So no imagination. Teachers, for example, are often unwilling to see imagination in their students. You follow one path and that's how it's done. We need to make sure that we set our lights, the imaginations of Nigerians. We need to say to people that they can bear to imagine something different. Things that exist today, the structures, the institutions, they haven't always existed. Somebody made them exist. And so we can in fact make things differently. And I think that Prof's life illustrates this and with such examples as when he was Attorney General of Lagos State. And I know this by the way because some lawyers with such gratitude and enthusiasm about how Prof had made real practical changes to the judicial system in the state. One of which spelled to me particularly people-centered because it was in creating centers of arbitration where people actually sought out their problems without having to go to court. That to me is an example of a people-centered policy. And so I'm going to conclude very soon. But a new Nigeria is possible because we actually see it today. And I say that because I believe that the Nigerian political landscape has been changed forever. And this was done by one man as a catalyst. One man was the catalyst. But actually it was done by the Nigerian people. And we see examples of this in the way that in different states in Nigeria, old school politicians were just completely swept away to their own astonishment. Because I think in some ways they had felt entitled to their positions. And so these examples are small. But I think it shows what is possible. That we can in fact have a voice. We can in fact create change. And I'm also personally very pleased about Mrs. Eretzi Kingibe who is now Senator-elect from Abuja. Who is another politician I hope and believe will do well because she also believes in telling the truth. And so a new Nigeria is possible also if we keep focused on the idea that there is gross inequality in this country. One of the things I think that the COVID period and the COVID lockdown showed the Nigerian elite was how precarious the positions are. And so it makes both the moral but also a practical sense, a practical sense and practical reason to fight inequality. To try and make sure that yes we know that there's always class differences but it's too wide in Nigeria. But I have to say that there is a kind of exquisite irony in the fact that Prof. Yamio Shibajo who clearly believes in the idea of unity and diversity happens to belong to a party which I believe is responsible for an assault on this idea of unity and diversity. And in thinking about this I could not help but think about a part of the book where Prof. Shibajo is quoted as talking about having had this personal experience with God in which he hears God saying to him you are salt. And if you're going to make a difference you have to go into the soup to change parts of the soup. You cannot change it but lean outside. So this idea of being salt, of having to go into a system in order to make changes in that system in some ways I think kind of captures Prof. Shibajo and also brings me to his own words where he says it took public office for me to be able to get the scale of change that is required to make a difference. And so I want to end by thanking Prof. Yamio Shibajo and I want to thank him for speaking out, for speaking truth and I say this and I'm going to quote his words where he recently said ethnic profiling took place in polling booths. That needed to be said. Prof. Shibajo said it and I thank him for it. And I'm going to end by saying that this is a book that I hope many people read. I also hope that somebody actually will write a proper biography across sometime in the future and to say that Prof. Yamio Shibajo, vice president, teacher, lawyer and a good man. Thank you. You enjoy that. Thank you very much, Miss Adichie. You have proven worthy of your metal and why you are a globally recognized and highly acclaimed literary icon. Each and every one of us thoroughly enjoyed your presentation. We thank you so much for everything you have to say about his excellency, the vice president of the federal republic of Nigeria. We look forward to more great works coming from you and for you continuing to contribute your quota to the Nigerian dream. All right. Thank you very much everybody for your patience up to this time. We'll move the program along by introducing the next presenter of the book but before that I'd like to call your attention to something that I just thought of on my own that is excellency who are here celebrating today. Many of you might have noticed that he's actually a fashionista as much as as humble as he is and as much as he is so understated in everything about him. He's always so impeccably turned out and essentially what he has done is he has spawned a new fashion trend in Nigeria as you can see from my head gear. I want to tell you that in our situation room here today, numerous number of people here today are dressed like this without discussing it among ourselves earlier. So your excellency son, my little ten-core boy, if I may say, is that after your tenure is over and you have retired back to Ikenne, we implore you to become the next Ralph Lauren or the next Gianni Versace and I promise you the whole country will buy these hats because not only do they represent a symbol of excellence, a symbol of integrity, they have come to exemplify the Obolua B ethos which we all embrace and we're proud to wear it like a uniform and I see everyone here who has won on equally wanting to emulate your admirable qualities. So sir please take it really seriously as a consideration that you become a fashion mogul after your vice presidency is over. All right so that was my little attempt at humor if it fell on flat feet forgive me. All right so without further ado I'd like to call on our next book presenter Mr. Aig Imokwede. Mr. Imokwede I believe was one of the founding fathers of Access Bank I think it was he was the founding chairman of Access Bank and he has been a long supporter and admirer of vice president, his excellency vice president Yemi Oshibadi. Mr. Imokwede the floor is yours, welcome. Thank you very much. Your excellency the president here represented by the secretary to government, the chairman, our father, General Yakubu Gawan, your excellency professor Oshiba Joe, the special man whose giant strides in life we celebrate this evening. Of course other distinguished leaders of government and society who are participating this evening. Let me start by commending the PYO collective for writing and publishing the life story of a truly gifted and impactful Nigerian statesman. For me and several thousands hundreds of thousands maybe in their millions it has been such a joy to watch this humble enlightened and most refined professor of law. I studied law so I'm a lawyer as well and seventh of God whilst he has served Nigeria in his role as vice president of Africa's most prominent country. Professor Oshiba Joe the vice president is a master of soft power and through this mastery I believe he's probably one of the most admired vice presidents across the world and will be remembered when many presidents will be forgotten. Only recently heads of state gathered in Kenya I believe it was to participate in more Ibrahim's regular conference on governance. I couldn't attend this year but I asked those who attended how it went and it was plaudits about the contributions of our own vice president Yamio Oshiba Joe who stood out as always. This is a man whose leadership has been very key to the strides being recorded in federal public service reforms. He has painstakingly sacrificed a lot in pushing for an improved environment for doing business and certainly we in the private sector which is my primary constituency are very proud of the work he has done. He is quite frankly our hero. His presence in government has given hope to millions of young Nigerians that their dreams to be able to start a successful business will one day become a reality. He is the face of startup Nigeria. Because I'm limited by time I can only scratch at the surface of his giant strides. Since I must keep my comments very brief I must conclude by saying that the 25 members of the PYO collective must be lauded publicly because I know our humble vice president is too self-effacing to lead the celebrations of a book in his own honor and these 25 guys will go uncelebrated. So to the writers and publishers I promise you will see my hand in private as I will buy multiple copies of your books or of your book for young people across Nigeria. So I very dear Mr. Vice President I know that there's more service to come from you because for anybody who reads this book and anybody who knows you the one constant in your life is service. Service to God, service to family and service to humanity. May the Almighty continue to bless the work of your hands and I thank you all for listening. God bless. The incredible speech and for eulogizing the incredible leader Professor Yemi Oshibajo. Without further ado we're going to move straight to taking the speech of the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Mohamed Rubuhari who is ably represented by the incredibly awesome amazing Secretary General of the Federation and the person of Boss Mustafa. Your Excellency Professor Yemi Oshibajo, S.A. and G.C.O.A Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Your Excellency the Chairman of the Occasional General of Kubu Gawan, G.C.F.R., our father and the leader of this nation. Your Excellency the Governors and the Deputy Governors who are attending virtually the launch of the book Oshibajo's Try. Your Royal Highness, members of the PYO Collective, the reviewers of the book Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen. Let me start by apologizing that I'm looking the way I'm looking because in the sense of associating with the Nigerian Liberal Congress I attended the May Day celebration representing both the Vice President and the President. And I want to thank the Collective for putting up this book in honor of Professor Yemi Oshibajo, a great leader of our times. Let me start by saying that having served President Mohamed Buhari and the Vice President for the last five and a half years as Secretary to the Government of the Federation, I can attest to one fact that they had the most sweetest working relationship I've ever seen between the President and the Vice President. And I can lay that claim because I was around when we returned to democracy in the year 1999 to 2007. I was an active participant. I saw the intrigues. I saw the crisis that engulfed the leadership of that time. From 2007 to 2015, very much around to, and I can attest to the fact that the relationship exhibited by the President and his Vice in the year 2015 up till now has been one of the stabilizing factors in the Nigerian enterprise and dispensation. And I've worked closely with Professor Yemi Oshibajo in the course of the campaigns preceding the 2015 elections. I served as the Director of Contact and Mobilization of the campaign. And from the onset of the campaign, I could deduce the strength and the compliment that Professor Oshibajo brought to the ticket. And I splitted the campaign into two. One was the mega rallies across the 36 states on the federal capital territory. The second was the town hall meetings that we held across the major centers, urban centers of this country. And I knew the skills and the strength, the soft power, the power of persuasion that was always exhibited by Professor Yemi Oshibajo. So I discussed it with President Buhari, then a candidate, that we needed to split the campaign into two while Professor Oshibajo concentrated on talking to the Nigerian people through a town hall setting while President Buhari, who is very good at rallies because of the massive fellowship that he has cultivated and developed in his enterprise and sojourn in politics. And that accounted to my mind to the victory that we got in 2015 and was repeated in 2019. And for that reason, I congratulate you this evening, your excellency, for doing a great job for our nation and for being a very strong compliment to your enterprise and partnership with President Mohammed Buhari. I will speak to two, three, four things about Professor Yemi Oshibajo, the vice president. One, the VP is a true path forward, a liberalized Nigerian, a proponent of unity and a nation builder. He has always preached the message of unity and diversity, love and peace. He struck alliances across board. He engaged with people and he is very honest about his engagement with people. And in his speeches over the course of these eight years, he has risen above hatred and cautiously walked towards strengthening the bonds of our national unity. The second thing I will speak to, this is passion. Professor Yemi Oshibajo is a passionate man. In everything he believed, education, tech and youth development, among other social issues, as I believe presented by most of the speakers before me. And I believe it is his passion that has helped us to drive youth engagement, youth employment, and their desire to participate in MSMEs. Another thing that I would like to speak about is Professor Yemi Oshibajo's concern for social welfare, empowerment and people. In 2019, he was accused of sharing money in market places through different interventions that he was championing. The market money, the trader money, and all those other interventions were informed by his desire and concern for the social welfare and empowerment of the ordinary citizens of this country. I would say that Professor Yemi Oshibajo is a statement, is a leader and a dependable ally to President Muhammad Abu Hari. In the five and a half years I have served as Secretary to the Government of the Federation. Not once have I ever had the President complaining or Professor Yemi as his vice complaining about their working relationship. In spite of whatever intrigues that were played around their relationship, they always stood together and that accounted for most of the successes that were recorded in the course of their sojourn as President and Vice President. And lastly, the inspirational leadership of a new Nigeria through right values, principles and actions. Professor Yemi Oshibajo is a Godfrey Arima. His concessions is deliberate and he holds his values very high. And his principles and actions are always informed by his godly heritage and he will never, for whatever consideration, give up those heritage and do anything otherwise that would call to question his faith and his belief. I believe he is a breath of fresh air in Nigeria's political space. And I believe that Nigeria is not done with him yet. There are brighter days. And I can say that his better days are still ahead of him. Among other stellar attributes, his character, integrity, brilliance, confidence and passion for excellence stands him out. His unenviable status as a professor of law and pastor has remained his compass in life, public service and politics, which guides his values and principles. He is a leader worthy of humiliation in our journey to build a new Nigeria. Your Excellency, I congratulate you. And on behalf of members of the Federal Executive Council, I would like to launch the book of Sibangio Stride with a modest and a token of five million Naira. Thank you and God bless you. Thank you very much. Your Excellency, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Mohamadu Buhari, ably represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Boss Mustafa. We thank you for your generous donation of time. I heard you announce a monetary song to support the book. We thank you for your generosity with your resources. And I also took away from that when you said you haven't seen the degree of cooperation between a President and a Vice President as exists between President Buhari and Vice President Oshibadu. That is indeed a partnership that is worthy of emulation. And we thank you for recognizing the loyalty, the faith, the steadfastness of your deputy throughout your association together and your collaboration to move the country forward. All right, we want to move to the next item on the agenda. And before we do that, it will be remiss of me not to say this, even though I've not been authorized to, but I feel a personal desire to recognize Mr. Laolu Akonde, who is the senior special assistant to the Vice President on media and publicity. Without him, this entire project would never have seen the light of day. The PYO collective approached him, told him of their plans, and he wholeheartedly embraced the notion, supported the project and worked tirelessly behind the scenes, tirelessly burned the midnight oil day in, day out to see that today became a reality, from encouraging all of the writers to giving research materials, anything that was asked of him, he was willingly ready at any time to make it happen. So we give great kudos to him. We also, in the process of working with him, have also appreciated his loyalty to his principle and his dedication to his duties and his office. Just like the person that he works for, he is also an exemplary Nigerian and is a chip off the old shoulder of the Vice President. So we, on behalf of the PYO collective, we have to doff our heart to Mr. Laolu Akonde and say a very big thank you to him for making today a reality. All right. So we are going to welcome our guest of, our special guest of honor in a few minutes. But prior to that, I would like to also go to a short break in which we will have a video for you. And when we come back, we'll be welcoming our special guest of honor. All right. Stay with us. Thank you. Vice President, welcome. Vice President, Professor Yemi of Shibajo. Welcome back. All right. Welcome back. Thank you for your patience. We are our guest of honor, our special guest of honor, His Excellency, the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the man of the moment, the man for whom we're all gathered today, the man who has blazed a trail in the political space in Nigeria and who has left a record that will resonate into perpetuity. The man of the moment, Professor Oluyemi Oluleke of Shibajo. Welcome, sir. His Excellency, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Mohamedu Buhari, ably represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Boss Mustafa. His Excellency, the Chairman of the Occasional and former Head of State, General Yakubo Gawan, GCFR. His Excellency, the Governor of Sokoto State and Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum, the Right Honorable Aminu Tambua. His Excellency, the Governor of Ogun State, Rinzda Poab Yodun MFR. His Excellency, the Governor of Plateau State, the Right Honorable Simon Bakolalon. His Excellency, the Governor of Akwaibob State, Mr. Udomi Manro. His Excellency, the Governor of Nassaraw State, ably represented by his Deputy, the Deputy Governor of Nassaraw State, his Excellency, Dr. Emmanuel Abadu Akabi. His Royal Highness, His Royal Highness, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the Keynote Speaker, Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche, the Founder and Chairman of Coronation Capital Limited, Mr. Aiboji Aigumokwede, the Book Reviewer, Mr. Chiedu Eziana. Honoured guests, ladies and gentlemen. First, let me thank the Almighty God for the privilege of life and the opportunity to serve a great country. I must also thank a role model and all-time mentor to millions and to many of us in public service, of course, the chair of this book launch, General Yakubu Gawan GCFR, former head of state. Thank you for the incredible privilege of your company today, and I'm deeply grateful to you for doing me this honour. Let me also thank former President General Abdus Alam Abu Bakr for the great honour done to me by the very kind comments that he made in the forward to this book. My gratitude also to his Excellency Governor Aminu Tambua, chair of the Governor's Forum, who spoke on behalf of the Excellencies Governors of the States and for his usual support and his kindness all the time. My dear brother, Governor Simon Thank you, and also my own Governor and brother, His Excellency Dakwab Yodun MFR. Thank you for being there always. His Excellency Dr. Akabe, representing my brother, His Excellency Engineer Aesule, thank you very much indeed. And my deep gratitude to his Highness Lamedo Sanusi for his solidarity and very generous comments. And I must then thank all the friends and colleagues, the PYU Collective, who spend time and resources to write the chapters of this book in my honour. And I must again here thank Laulua Konde, who has already been very gratefully acknowledged by the Master of Ceremonies for so ably coordinating the work of the PYU Collective and for also keeping me informed as to what was going on. I'm very, very grateful to you, Laulua. I must also thank my dear sister and friend, Chimamanda, for those wise words and for your gracious and kind comments. What a journey the past eight years have been and I'm deeply grateful to my team of advisors and assistants and the strong civil service team that supported me these many years. Public service for all of us who love this nation and its peoples unconditionally only terminates when we die. Our country deserves our commitment and service and I commend you all compatriots in the public service, especially those who are not public service. Social activists, third sector activists as your sometimes quote, for your steadfastness through the years. As we march on towards a new Nigeria, while there might be a lot to depress us, we must not give up. So I want you to take away with you and I want us to leave this event with a paraphrase of what Chimamanda said a few moments ago and I quote, we who love this country must not give up because love is persistent. End of quote. So on behalf of Dali, my dear wife, my family, the OVP team, I thank you all and I dedicate this book to the people of our country to whom we always owe the duty and responsibility of selfless service. Thank you all very much. God bless you. I must not forget to thank my dear brother, boss Mustafa, who very, very kindly represented the president today and for those very generous and kind words. Thank you very much, the boss. Thank you to our special guests for speaking and the ones who did not speak, we still recognize you and we appreciate your presence. And with this, we have come to the end of this incredible event that we celebrated our incredible leader, Professor Yemi Oshibajo, and I do hope that you have a great evening. And to just close out, I would still call that we rise for the national anthem. Mr. Vice President, welcome. Well, Mr. Vice President, Vice President, Professor Yemi Oshibajo, is a key to success. It's not an old-fashioned thing or merely a religious thing. It's a business and success decision that you must make. Be known for your integrity and your reliability. And also the diligence. I'll be prepared. Character is self-discipline. And God for you, particularly the spirit of tolerance, particularly the day we had mentioned it, but you, Mr. Vice President, who you came from, I show you maturity. I have borrowed from you even in managing my state. Well, thank you. Let me see you. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Wait a minute. No, no, no, no, no. No, no, no, no, you got it!