President Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday, charged Nigerians to allow the enduring and honest legacies of the nation’s past heroes inspire them towards salvaging the country from the present economic recession.
The President made the call while speaking at the 20th memorial service and symposium of the first female industrialist in Nigeria and third Iyalode of Egbaland, late (Mrs.) Esther Bisoye Tejuoso, held at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
Represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Babachir Lawal, President Buhari called on the citizens to be more committed to the “unity, security and progress” of the country.
The memorial service and symposium, which had in attendance, the mother of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Governor Ibikunle Amosun and the Oni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi, among other dignitaries, was organised by the Tejuoso Royal Family in conjunction with the Development Agenda for Western in Nigeria Commission.
Buhari who hailed Bisoye as a “mentor and shining light” to many, said if the nation’s past leaders had the kind of “foresight, uprightness and managerial skills” the late female industrialist, Nigeria probably would not be having the current economic trauma.
He said the legacies of the third Iyalode of Egbaland is a “reference point for Nigeria,” adding that her “midas touch is needed today” to also get the country’s economy back on the right track.
“If our leaders had demonstrated the foresight, uprightness and managerial skills of Chief Bisoye Tejuoso our economy would have been better.
“Our past leaders refused to save and diversify the economy. Chief Bisoye Tejuoso’s success story in business can serve as a road map on how we can come out of recession.
“She rewarded excellence and merit. She was a true heroin and a woman of courage. Her life should propel us to dedicate our lives more to the unity, progress and security of our country,” the President said.
In his own message, Vice President Osinbajo advocated a state or community policing to enable the country tackle the internal security challenges which Nigeria is currently facing.
Osinbajo said the Nigerian police have not been able to “resolve” the puzzle behind the murder of the matriarch of Tejuoso dynasty 20 years after her death.
Chief (Mrs.) Tejuoso, mother of a prominent Egba traditional ruler, Oba (Dr.) Adedapo Tejuoso, was reportedly assassinated by 10 gunmen in her Lagos home on September 19, 1996.
The Vice President who recalled how the late industrialist gave him N12,000 in 1984 when his rented apartment in Lagos was gutted by fire, said Nigeria with a population of about 170 million people could not be adequately policed from an Abuja Central Command.
According to him, “state police or something like community policing is the way to go” to tackle the nation’s security challenges.
Osinbajo revealed that while there are less than 15,000 cases of conviction in Nigeria regarding criminal offenses, they have 2.2 million convicted criminals behind bars in the United States of America.
He said by that data on convicted criminals, it is either Nigeria has “more well behaved citizens or there is something wrong with the criminal justice system in the country.”
The Vice President, however, said the administration of justice in Nigeria must be properly looked into while the police should also deploy hi-tech to investigate and unravel crimes and their perpetrators.
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