The Days Of Excuses Are Over, Osinbajo Tells Ministers At Economic Retreat

In its quest to deliver sustainable socio-economic development to Nigerians, the Buhari administration will no longer accept excuses that suggest such progress is not attainable, according to Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN.

Prof. Osinbajo spoke earlier today at the Cabinet Retreat on the Economic Recovery Growth Plan (ERGP) and the 2018 Budget preparation which featured guest speakers including Dr Idris Jala, a former top official of the Malaysian government.

Below is the full text of the Acting President’s remark.

REMARKS BY HIS EXCELLENCY PROF. YEMI OSINBAJO, SAN, GCON, ACTING PRESIDENT, FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA AT THE CABINET RETREAT ON ERGP IMPLEMENTATION AND 2018 BUDGET PREPARATION PROCESS HELD AT THE STATE HOUSE BANQUET HALL ON THURSDAY AUGUST 10, 2017

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After listening to *Dr. Idris Jala all I can say is as the opposition leader in Malaysia said this is what I have been saying for the past 50 years!

But seriously he is so right, the challenge is this, the discipline to be unreasonable in our targets and objectives. The discipline of attending the labs diligently and accepting to be locked in a room for as long as it takes to iron out what it is that needs to be done.

I like the point also that Dr Jala made that the excuse that it won't work here, the Nigerian factor, or some say exceptionalism, or the acceptance of failure before you even start is certainly not tenable any more.

We simply have to accept that there is nothing Nigerian about failure, because as we know in our personal lives, failure and success are commodities on offer to everyone all over the world and every individual and every country makes a choice of which to buy and I will say on our behalf that we will choose success.

Dr Jala I have heard motivational speeches, but this is one I think that challenges our whole legitimacy as persons entrusted with leadership.

I think it goes beyond motivational speech, I think it really challenges the core of our relevance as leaders and I am challenged and I know that many of us here are and I think that we will do what we need to do to make sure that we see through the labs that we have to identify specific areas where we will do this labs. We must see to it that this works.

I want to thank you again for this exceptional moment you have taken us through and to thank all of you also for taking the time to come. So the work has just begun.

Thank you.