Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has said that the Gross Domestic Product (GDPs) of ten states in Nigeria exceed those of some African countries.
Osinbajo made the remark on Sunday during a visit to the Presidential Villa in Abuja by some Harvard Business School students, arguing that Nigeria should not be compared economically to “smaller” African nations.
“For instance, Borno State is about the size of the whole of the United Kingdom (UK) plus Sweden or Denmark,” Osinbajo said, according to a statement from his media aide Laolu Akande.
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“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 stated that he values integrity, transparency, and social justice, noting that he began his presidency with these values.
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.”