Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, on Monday in Ottawa, the Canadian capital, disclosed that though a few citizens dent the country’s reputation abroad, the vast majority of Nigerians are honest, hardworking and straightforward people who are making positive impact globally.
“The vast majority of Nigerians all over the place are honest, straightforward people trying to survive in those places and be responsible citizens wherever they find themselves,” the VP said during an interactive session with some leaders of Nigerian groups across different provinces in Canada.
This is according to a statement signed on Tuesday by the Senior Special Assistant to the VP on Media and Publicity, Laolu Akande, titled ‘Osinbajo commends Nigerians abroad, says majority honest, hardworking & thriving.’
According to him, “What you tend to find is that a few people do the damage. There is a negative characterisation that comes out of that.”
Therefore, to prevent this he urged Nigerians in the diaspora to engage with each other “to ensure that people see the damage that is being done to society.”
“We can engage with our people and have a lot more conversations around trying to prevent people from committing offences and crimes, but more importantly, being able to self-regulate in our communities, talking about it frankly and openly.
“We must engage countries also so that Nigerians are not profiled. This is something that we have been doing, working with embassies in different countries to be sure that Nigerians are given a fair chance and that there is no negative profiling of Nigerians,” he added.