Past History Of Failures Must Not Define Africa’s Future- Osinbajo

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, at the weekend in Lagos challenged young entrepreneurs of Africa not to give in to the failures of the past by leaders across the length and breadth of the continent, but seek a future that is not defined by history of everything that is evil and even unpalatable.
Addressing the 2017 class of the Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Forum from Africa’s 54 countries as a special guest, he said: “Our political history in Africa would appear dominated by wars, famine, coups d’etat, corrupt governments, dictators and failed or failing states. Our economic history would also largely be of large scale poverty, infant mortality, maternal mortality, mortality in literacy, disease and misery.”
Osinbajo who spoke on the Tyranny of history, urged the 1000 beneficiaries of the $10,000 each seed fund annual for a 10-year period, not to allow such history subdue their faith or conscript their vision the society.

Such history, he continued is capable of stopping us from dreaming big, and that such history should be consigned to the past stressing that “our future is not determined by history or the past unless we allow it. The history of Africa does not determine its future. The days you live here are much greater and better than the past.”
He charged the participants and indeed budding African entrepreneurs to pursue their dreams with single mindedness, which is indeed more powerful than facts.
“Courage and persistence can triumph even over experience; no matter whose experience it is.
“The third is that hope and imagination are more potent than history. Because your history is not necessarily your destiny.”
Based on the headstart, the Vice President predicted that the 2017 cohorts of the programme “will be the wealthiest and most successful people in a few short years.

“I have always known that this group of individuals, this generation of young people will do the exceptional,” recalling his speech at the Financial Times Africa Summit, on the theme ‘What Makes Africa Work,’ expressing confidence that the answers to that question were the young entrepreneurs from the TEF programme.
“Indeed, you are right here with us – a thousand reasons why Africa will work,”
he told the participants who cut across agriculture, ICT, Hospitality, Fashion, Energy, Manufacturing, Entertainment, and many other fields.
“The breadth and depth of talent and innovation on display in the current and previous Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship cohorts have shown there is indeed hope,” Osinbajo enthused.

http://investdata.com.ng/2017/10/past-history-failures-must-not-define-africas-future-osinbajo/