National Telescope national telescope newspaper
By Daniel Ayantoye | Abuja
The Vice President of the federal republic of Nigeria, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo on Saturday charged graduands to be trustworthy in order to be successful in their Career.
Osinbajo who spoke at Baze University 6th Convocation Ceremony in Abuja maintained that Integrity is a fundamental principle of success that is more valuable than money. Adding that a person with good integrity will attract money.
“In my relatively modest experience in professional practice at some business and lately in politics, have come to realize that trustworthiness is fundamental to the success of practically everything that you will do in life.
“In other words, if you can build your reputation in such a manner that you can win the trust of others; your boss, your clients, your co-workers, your business partners. You will be tremendously successful. If you cannot be trusted or people cannot make up their mind whether to trust you or not, you are already on the backfoot and you are unlikely to succeed.”
Speaking on how Iack of integrity has affected Country’s reputation in the world economy, Vice President Osinbajo noted its now impossible for anyone carrying a Nigerian passport to open a bank account in UK because many Nigerian have abused the trust bestowed upon them by the banks. Adding that, most foreign banks had also closed accounts of some Nigerians because of fraud.
“The world economy system is actually built on trust. Giving credit or loans is built on trust. In giving a loan most bankers will tell you that the first important consideration is not the collateral that you offer, it is your integrity or your trustworthiness. And this is why credit bureaus are developed to continue to track and to determine the track record of the repayment of any potential borrower.
Narrating his story while undergoing his post graduate degree in United Kingdom in 1981, Osinbajo disclosed that a loan was giving to him by a UK based bank to support his school fees based on trust and he was able to uphold the trust by paying back the loan as agreed.
“…A few years after this, it has become impossible for anyone carrying a Nigerian passport to open a bank account in the UK bank because many young Nigerians at a time had taking advantage of the trust and abused the trust by taking loans but not repaying. Some taught how foolish oyinbo people are. So they use their credit cards to buy cars and run back to Nigeria without honoring the trust.
“In the past few years many foreign banks have closed the account of some Nigerians because of the numerous attempts to defraud on those accounts. So because of the untrustworthiness of a few people the whole nation is painted black.”
“Developing trust also means you must repay when you borrow. Whether is from a friend, a relation or a bank. “Trust worthiness built a business from nothing to multibillion naira business” he added.
While congratulating the graduands, the Vice President urged them to be ready to engage with the realities of life which is “the business of living by making a living.
