THE Acting President on Tuesday inaugurated Private Sector Advisory Group for the Sustainable Development Goals (PSAG), stressing the need for elite to deemphasize the pursuit of wealth.
Performing the ceremony at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, he observed that there was so much corruption in the country because of the importance attached to wealth.
He said countries that placed more value in the contributions of individuals to the society tended to develop more than those in which people attached value to self worth.
According to him, “We have decided as elite in this country that wealth is a measure of worth. It is a decision we made consciously or unconsciously.”
“The political elite have decided that wealth is a measure of worth and that is why you find so much corruption among the political elite. Even the religious elite believe that it is a blessing of God.”
“There are some societies that have decided that the value of human beings is in their contribution to the society. Those societies, of course, have done better than those who have decided that wealth, no matter how it was obtained, is a measure of worth.
“I think is important if our elite decide that dealing with poverty is worth the while and that it will measure whether or not we are serious about our society.”
Osinbajo described the inauguration as the beginning of the unique partnership between the public and private sector, admonishing that the Nigerian elite had the responsibility to ensure that they do something for the society which will affect it fundamentally.
He said: “Everywhere in the world, it is that elite that have always make a difference in the societies. Those are the ones responsible for transformation.”
“Many of the societies that have been truly transformed have done so when their elite decided that it was necessary to do so.”
“Sometimes, when you look at our situation, you think that it is necessary to force the political and private sector elite together to do something.”
“But the truth is that whether or not we recognise it formally, they are doing things together whether it is for good or ill. The important thing is to recognise that we have an important role to play.”
In her remarks, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Mrs Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, observed that the inauguration of the (PSAG) was a landmark event as Nigeria was the first United Nation member state to have it.
According to her, it was a renewed partnership between business and government at the highest levels to build the consensus needed for the successful implementation of the SDGs.
Noting the connection among prosperity of business, a flourishing society and the health of the environment, she said few businesses can only thrive unless the countries in which they operate are thriving.
Orelope-Adefulire added: “No country has significantly improved people’s lives without the driving force of a vibrant economy.”
“In the face of a prevailing fiscal crunch, it has become urgent to leverage multi-stakeholder engagement to mobilize non-government resources for SDGs implementation.”
“It is in this recognition that the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals-Fund established the global Private Sector Advisory Group as a powerful platform for business leaders from across the world to interact, leverage comparative advantages, exchange lessons learned, promote South South, North South and Triangular Cooperation and in the process, accelerate the attainment of the SDGs.”
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