Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has warned professionals against seeing public office in Nigeria at any level as synonymous with the accumulation of power, privilege and wealth.

Osinbajo said there was no point in having professionals in politics if the professionals are driven by ethnic, religious and other parochial considerations.

Osinbajo spoke on Monday at the All Progressives Congress Professionals Forum’s Conference, which held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Publicity, Laolu Akande, disclosed this in a statement titled ‘Osinbajo to professionals in politics: public office should’nt be synonymous with accumulation of power, wealth.’

According to the vice president, professionals interested in politics and nation-building must turn the tide where “holding public office in Nigeria at any level is largely perceived as synonymous with the accumulation of power, privilege and wealth.”

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He said professionals that would shape the country’s future in one way or another are those that have the “understanding that public office is an instrument of service and responsibility to the people.”

The vice president also observed that Nigerians must break the paradox of individual genius and collective underperformance, especially as the country has “many gifted, accomplished and remarkable individuals across all walks of life all over the world.”

“There is a clear mismatch between our individual quality and our national outcomes. We have not yet become greater than the sum of our individual selves,” he said.

In his view, the needed synergy between living up to the merits of professional calling and dedication to public service will produce the desired national impact.

He added: “While it is true that we have several excellent individuals in various spheres of society, we must recognize that success in a country such as ours can no longer be defined in personal or individual terms…True progress is about reimagining our collective circumstances and creating an environment that enables prosperity for us all.

“To this end, we must see ourselves as stewards of the common good who have been entrusted with the privilege of managing our collective destiny – the collective destiny of our people – for an allotted time. It is only through public-spiritedness and dedication to the common good that we can as a people truly become greater than the sum of our parts.

“There is no point in having professionals in politics if the professionals are driven by ethnic, religious and other parochial considerations. Because the whole point of professionalism is that you are defined by merit, by your professional acumen.”

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