…. Commissions BBHS centennial projects, charges alumni associations on nation building
Vice president Yemi Osinbajo has advocated the need to teach right values in schools in order to give a fresh breadth of life to the nation amidst difficult period.
The Vice president spoke on Tuesday in Abeokuta while commissioning multi billion Naira projects facilitated by Old Boys Association in Baptist Boys High School (BBHS), Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital to mark the Centennial celebration of the founding of the school.
To achieve this ,he called on alumni associations to complement government effort in inculcating moral values and ethical standard in the students.
Osinbajo, Tinubu meeting to exchange pleasantries
According to Osibanjo, what distinguishes successful nations is not just talent or material resources, but values.
Prof. Osinbajo maintain that the Old Boys Association of Baptist Boys High School, Abeokuta have showed that Nigeria can produce highest quality of individuals that can run the most efficient government and private institutions if the right values were taught in schools.
Delivery the 100 Years Anniversary Lecture titled, “Value: The Difference Between Success and Failure,” the Vice President maintained that what distinguishes nations is knowledge and skills which are global commodities in the 21st century, stressing that building institutions do not come by miraculous occurrence but as a result of hard work, diligence and deferment of gratification.
He emphasized that Nigeria will fail completely if the leaders do not accept and implement ethical revolution where values, hardwork, trustworthiness, honesty, discipline, perseverance and intergrity form the character of individuals.
He said government must lead the ethical revolution by rewarding ethical behaviors and ensuring speedy punishment for misconduct.
“Schools like BBHS inbuilt in their students the core values of moral discipline. This is the difference between successful countries or failed or failing countries. It is the difference between success and failure. What distinguishes nations is not just talent or material resources, it is values.
“We have seen from the four examples of the BBHS Old Boys who were public service and who attained significant and greatness. That they are successful is not based on talent and opportunities alone, they all worked hard, they fought for what they believed in and in three of the four cases they even went to jail for their beliefs.
“I believe that BBHS has shown that Nigeria can produce highest quality individuals and that we can run the most efficient government and private institutions if we teach we the right values in our schools.
“There is need for national consensus or at least an elite consensus. The political elites, the religious elites and the business elites must agree that our country will fail completely if we do not accept and implement an ethical revolution. One where we establish a national work ethics of honesty, of hard work. It is what is taught and learned that shape the character of individuals and nations. But it is not just teachings, government must also lead this ethical revolution by rewarding ethical behaviours and ensuring speedy punishment for misconduct.
“Our religious elites must reinforce the ethical direction agreed by showing that wealth and influence are built by hard work as diligence and the deferment of gratification and not just by miracles, building institutions don’t come by just miraculous occurrence but they come by building hard work step by step, line by line, preset by preset, this is what our religious leaders must teach.
“Religious elites must also reject and orchestrasized public officers and persons whose wealth cannot be explained or is clearly from shady or suspicious sources. It is a terrible thing indeed if the religious elites accept that public officers can give them money or can give them resources which ofcourse belong to the government and they look the other way.
“The religious elites must ensure that they are able to say no and this is all part of national ethical consensus as government does its own, schools must do their own and religious elites must also do their own. Every modern society has had to deal with corruption. Corruption is not a Nigerian thing, sometimes we deceive ourselves it is Nigeria. In fact, most countries of the world had been more corrupt than us, but their elites sat down and decided they have to deal with it because if they don’t deal with it, it will deal with them.”
Prof. Osinbajo, therefore, eulogized the virtues of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Chief MKO Abiola and Chief Bola Ajibola who are old students of the school, describing them as extraordinary people who characterized their lives on the knowledge gained from BBHS.
Source:Encounter
