‘Somebody somewhere’ recomended me for VP -Osibajo

Ebun Francis

Prof Yemi Osinbajo, Nigeria’s Vice President for the first has spoken publicly on how he emerged as President Buhari’s running mate in the last Presidential election. The senior pastor with the Redeemed Christian Church spoke on Wednesday at a presidential dinner in honour of the beneficiaries of the Niger Delta amnesty program. According to the vice president,  “somebody somewhere” recommended him for the position.

The subject of Prof Osibajo’s emergence as  President Buhari’s running mate and subsequently the vice president of the federal republic became a topic of intense debate following the claim recently by Prof John Paden, in President Buhari’s authorised biography that the president chose Osinbajo as his partner in the 2015 presidential election despite pressure from Bola Tinubu, who also was interested in the position.

Prof Osibajo said, “I was in a group of young men and women and one of them asked the question how did I become vice president; I was never a politician or anything like that,”.

“So, I tried to explain it is quite simply that someone somewhere has to recommend you. Somebody somewhere has to give you a helping hand.

“Whether to be a vice president or to be an aircraft pilot or to be an engineer, somebody somewhere has to give you an opportunity and I think that all of you that are here today are the beneficiaries of the opportunities that you have somehow received.

“And this is why this event is so important. I think that it is one way we have to remind ourselves that we are bound as individuals to give opportunities to everyone.

“The fact that you did so well was a tremendous opportunity for other people,” he said.

“We all have the responsibility to ensure that the future of the country is one that is secure. That cannot happen under the atmosphere of conflict.

“There is no point blowing up pipelines. If they are blown, who are the losers at the end of the day? All of us, even the up-and-coming ones.”