Vice President Yemi Osinbajo says the gross domestic capital (GDPs) of 10 Nigerian states are greater than that of some African nations.
Osinbajo made the comment on Sunday when some Harvard Business School students visited him at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, maintaining that Nigeria should not be economically compared with “smaller” African nations.
“For instance, Borno State is about the size of the whole of the United Kingdom plus Sweden or Denmark,” Osinbajo said, according to a statement from his media aide Laolu Akande.
“So, when it is reported that there is violence in Nigeria, it is probably an incident in one remote area of the country, and many people in Abuja and Lagos may hear about it on social media, such is the size of this country.
“When they talk about the economy, we are often compared with smaller African countries, but there are 10 states in Nigeria that have bigger GDPs than those countries, it is a huge target market.”
VP Osinbajo also added that he values integrity, transparency, and social justice, noting that he assumed office with these.
He said, “for me, spirituality connotes values. I came into government with values about what I think is important, especially around transparency, social justice, and justice, among others. You are almost always a product of the values you believe in. Fortunately, a lot of these values cut across different faiths, they are not necessarily restricted to a religion or one faith.
“In societies that are more developed institutionally, you don’t need to be told that you shouldn’t do certain things because you could end up in jail if you do and there is a good likelihood that you could be detected and the process will go through and you will be punished.
“I speak about corruption and all that. But where the institutions are weak, some people have reasons for not doing the right thing.”