Integrity in Nigeria is on a big decline – Osinbajo

Former Vice President of Nigeria, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, has expressed concern over the increasing scarcity of people with integrity in the country.

Despite the challenges, Osinbajo emphasized that individuals with integrity are still highly sought after, even by those engaged in unethical activities.

Speaking at the matriculation ceremony of MIVA Open University in Abuja, Osinbajo noted that even thieves in society look for trustworthy individuals to manage their ill-gotten wealth.

He encouraged students to remain steadfast in their honesty, reminding them that life is a marathon and that those who uphold integrity will ultimately prevail in the long run.

Osinbajo said, “If you borrow money, you should pay it back. Don’t make promises you can’t fulfil. Integrity pays. It is getting scarcer. It’s becoming more difficult to find people of integrity. So, it is in high demand. And I can say that because people of integrity are in demand; they are much sought after by everyone.

“Even thieves are looking for men and women of integrity to keep their stolen money with. Life is a marathon. It’s not a hundred-metre race. The person who will last in that marathon is trustworthy because trust is the currency of business and interpersonal relationships. If you are known to have no integrity, everyone will soon know it.”

Speaking on the future of education in the country, Osinbajo said micro-education could displace university degrees.

He stated that micro-education could potentially rival university degrees in the future, especially as the world of work and learning continues to evolve.

“Adaptive learning platforms can now, as you know, use artificial intelligence to design coursework that meets the specific needs of every individual student and the best pace at which to teach each student.

“Now and in the future, what we will teach and how we will teach will never be the same again. This change is motivated by the type and quality of employees that the market wants today and that the market will take for granted tomorrow. It is also influenced by how technology, especially artificial intelligence and machine learning, is rapidly transforming business, the professions, and the entire marketplace.”

The former Vice President also called for the evolution of teaching methods in schools, adding that employment criteria now focus more on solving real-life, multifaceted problems.

He said, “Teaching methods and resources are changing and must continue to evolve, thereby creating an increasingly personalised form of education in order to encourage studying at one’s own pace.

In employment criteria, the emphasis now is not on how much information one has but on how it can be used to solve real-life problems, which are multifaceted and not tied to the curricula of many of the old and existing disciplines.”