Nigeria’s Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo on Saturday expressed strong confidence that young Nigerian graduates can provide solutions to the biggest challenges confronting the country.
He made his submissions while speaking at the 60th anniversary of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, in Osun State, according to a statement signed by presidential spokesperson, Laolu Akande.
The Vice President, who was the Special Guest of Honour at the convocation ceremony of the University, stood in for President Muhammadu Buhari as Visitor, and was accompanied by the Osun State Governor, Gboyega Oyetola. While the Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, delivered the Convocation Lecture at the event presided over by the Etsu Nupe, Alhaji Dr. Yahaya Abubakar, as Chancellor of the University.
According to the VP, while young Nigerians, particularly the OAU graduands, stood on the shoulders of great men and women before them, the onus is on their generation to “deal with the biggest issues that confront the world, and our nation.”
‘And it is big and innovative ideas that will solve those problems. You will have to confront the problems of climate change and a world moving away from fossil fuels, and you will usher in the age of renewable energy and green solutions,’ the Vice President said.
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He added that this generation of young Nigerians are equipped and could proffer solutions in the areas of education, agriculture, health care and security.
‘Yes, the challenges are huge, but you are well equipped to resolve them; and the evidence is there… Since 2016, despite two recessions, young Nigerians have built 6 unicorns; a unicorn is a company that is valued at over a billion dollars,‘ he explained.
The VP added, ‘You will deal with the issues of feeding, educating, providing healthcare and jobs for the fourth largest population in the world in a few decades. We will need smarter Agric solutions to feed the huge numbers, technology is already helping to crowd-fund Agriculture and develop more prolific seedlings.
‘You will confront the need to vastly improve our public and clinical healthcare. We must build on the work of the Genomic Centre at Ede, and the local vaccine production efforts going on already and make local drugs for hundreds of millions of Nigerians.’
In education, while noting that the sector needed several new solutions, including designing methods to teach millions even outside of classrooms, the VP stated that ‘there are many young men and women already doing great things using technology to reach children in far flung areas with education.’
The Vice President added that the use of technology and improvement in nationwide policing would further help the country address its security challenges.
‘The insecurity problems we are experiencing, the rise of terrorism in several parts of this large country and access to modern weaponry by non-state actors tell us that we must be smarter in policing the country, using smart drones and surveillance equipment. The politicization of importation of arms tells us that we must manufacture our own arms.
‘Already Proforce, led by Ade Ogundeyin, is manufacturing APCs and MRAPS in their factory in Ode Remo and exporting. So are Imperium, and the government-owned DICON (Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria) producing different types of munitions. The future is smart weapons benefiting from A.I. and machine learning,’ he said.
Prof. Osinbajo then praised the vision of the University’s founders and management in driving the academic excellence for which the Obafemi Awolowo University is known, an institution, which he said has produced great thinkers and leaders throughout its history.
AFRICA TODAY NEWS, NEW YORK