How 'Someone Somewhere' Recommended Me to be Vice President - Yemi Osinbajo Breaks Silence

Vice-president Yemi Osinbajo has given a hint of how
he became President Muhammadu Buhari's running
mate, saying 'somebody somewhere' recommended
him for the position.

VP

Tunji Bello, secretary to the Lagos state government,
who served in Tinubu’s government, had described
Paden’s account as half-truth, saying he was in the
know of how Osinbajo emerged as Buhari’s running
mate.
Speaking at a presidential dinner in honour of the
beneficiaries of the amnesty programme on Wednesday
night in Abuja, vice-president, Yemi Osinbajo gave a
hint of how he became President Muhammadu
Buhari’s running mate, saying “somebody somewhere”
recommended him for the position.
Recall that President Buhari’s authorised biographer,
John Paden, had claimed in his book ‘Muhammadu
Buhari: Challenges of Leadership,’ that the president
chose Osinbajo as his partner in the 2015 presidential
election despite pressure from Bola Tinubu, who
wanted the position.
According to TheCable News, the vice president for the
first time, spoke subtly on the matter saying, “I was in
a group of young men and women and one of them
asked the question how did I become vice president; I
was never a politician or anything like that,” he said.
“So, I tried to explain it is quite simply that someone
somewhere has to recommend you. Somebody
somewhere has to give you a helping hand.
“Whether to be a vice president or to be an aircraft pilot
or to be an engineer, somebody somewhere has to give
you an opportunity and I think that all of you that are
here today are the beneficiaries of the opportunities
that you have somehow received.
“And this is why this event is so important. I think that
it is one way we have to remind ourselves that we are
bound as individuals to give opportunities to
everyone.”
Osinbajo urged Niger Delta militants to lay down their
arms and embrace peace, saying the region was also
losing in the bombing of oil installations. “The fact
that you did so well was a tremendous opportunity for
other people,” he said.
“We all have the responsibility to ensure that the future
of the country is one that is secure. That cannot
happen under the atmosphere of conflict. There is no
point blowing up pipelines. If they are blown, who are
the losers at the end of the day? All of us, even the up-
and-coming ones.”