Nigerian VP Osinbajo and outgoing U.S. VP, an invidious comparison, say Nigerians

Some Nigerians were on Thursday down to earth as they knocked comparing Nigeria’s Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo to outgoing Vice-President Mike Pence of US over his role to certify the election of President-elect Joe Biden.

Many Nigerians betrayed their ignorance that Mr Pence does not have the constitutional powers to stop the certification as they tried to compare his singular act of bravery and forthrightness to that of Prof. Osinbajo in relation to his boss, President Muhammadu Buhari.

Shedding light on the election process, some Nigerians explained that Osinbajo did not need to act like Pence because Buhari has never said he would reject an election result or even seek another term in office.

Describing the comparison baseless, they also used the opportunity to educate others that Osinbajo has been a model number two citizen, citing actions which include the sack of former DSS Director-General, Lawal Daura, for simply blocking the gate of the National Assembly in 2017.

Others instances include how Osinbajo directed the inauguration of the Judicial Panel of Inquiry following the #EndSARS protests and how he has repeatedly called for erring policemen and security agents to be prosecuted.

Also commenting on the matter, a Twitter user, O. P. Nuels wrote: “We always criticize our own. Mike Pence was mute for four years, last minute, he plays a ceremonial role and he becomes a hero. When VP Osinbajo was Acting President, he confirmed CJ Onnoghen, something President Muhammadu Buhari had kept in the cooler for months and he fired Lawal Daura as DG DSS.”

Mayowa Olaniyan also sought to educate his fellow citizens: “Even in the midst of this mess, Mike Pence never stood up to his boss but stood to uphold the constitution. Just like Pence, Osinbajo stands for the Nigerian constitution and not against his boss. The sacking of Lawal Daura is a testament to this fact.”

Another user, Ekiti ketekan listed some achievements of Prof Osinbajo even as Attorney General of Lagos.

“Osinbajo’s reformed the civil justice system in the state of Lagos. “ He reduced the backlog of cases in the High Court and extended the accessibility of the legal system to the wider population.

“He reduced the average delays and duration of commercial cases before the civil courts. In 2000, as part of the Access to Justice Programme, five free Citizen Mediation Centres were opened in Lagos “as an alternative dispute resolution mechanism,” Persecondnews quotes Ekiti  ketekan as saying.

Bola Danusi was also dismissive of the comparison, saying there is no basis for it.

“Enough of all this uneven comparison between Pence and Osinbajo. VP Osinbajo has always been unequivocally supporting the true cause.

“Have we quickly forgotten when he boldly suggested the need for a national debate to reduce the expensive cost of governance?”