*Says most Nigerian political leaders are corrupt
*Asks him to surrender himself to EFCC as an example.
By; BAYO AKAMO, Ibadan
The Olugbon of Orile-Igbon and Vice Chairman of Oyo State Council of Obas and Chiefs, Oba Francis Olushola Alao has kicked against a statement credited to former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo that most Nigerian political leaders are corrupt.
Oba Alao in a statement he personally signed and dated August 11, said there is no way the former President can exclude himself from his allegation that most Nigerian political leaders are corrupt.
According to the Olugbon, former President Obasanjo should surrender himself to the Economics and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for investigations, saying
while aligning with Obasanjo’s position, “But he should also lead by example by submitting himself for incarceration as a leader of this generation of the so-called corrupt people. There is no way he can exclude himself.”
” For instance, during his tenure as President of Nigeria from 1999 to 2007, Chief Obasanjo’s administration allegedly spent billions of US dollars to fix the country’s power supply challenges. Yet there is nothing to show for it.The Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library can be said to have been allegedly largely funded with proceeds of corruption”, he said..
Oba Alao added, ” So, excluding himself from those he described as corrupt leaders is nothing but grandstanding. Chief Obasanjo cannot wash his hands clean of all activities that brought Nigeria to this undesirable state. Doing so will amount to a pot calling kettle black”.
“Chief Obasanjo should stop parading himself all over the world as a saint when he is one of the leaders that steered the ship of Nigeria since 1976 till date. He is inclusive of the 90 per cent of Nigerian leaders that should be in prison for corruption” .
The Olugbon stressed, ” Let him go and surrender himself before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as an example. Nigerians should be watchful of Chief Obasanjo”.
“In his eight-year tenure, he failed to reconstruct Lagos-Abeokuta and Lagos-Ibadan roads, leaving them as death traps for motorists. Nigerians will continue to be grateful to his successors- former Presidents Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari -for fixing Lagos-Ibadan Expressway which had sent many citizens to early grave before their tenures”.
The royal father maintained, “The Lagos-Abeokuta road is still in such a deplorable condition, attracting curses from users daily”, adding,
“Indiscipline is also part of corruption. Chief Obasanjo has shown deficit in Yoruba culture in some of the ways he handled issues.
Oba Alao stated further, “The former president should go and re-learn culture and stop teaching us what to do in Nigeria”.
New Nigerian recalled that the former President was quoted as saying that most Nigerian political leaders are corrupt while receiving some members of the House of Representatives in Abeokuta last, on Friday.
Chief Obasanjo was quoted as saying “Our main problem is ourselves and until we take care of ourselves, we may have one term of four years, one term of six years, one term of seven years, if it’s the same people and same mentality and way we do things, then it won’t change.
“Yes system, yes democracy, we have to rethink democracy, we have to rethink the form of government. But what is the character of the people in government?With all due respect, most of them should be behind bars, some should even be in the gallows and that is the truth.
“Now if these are the people that are ruling us, then what do you expect? So, the point is the character of the people that are coming to the government. Their attributes, the sort of people they truly are.We need to really think about how we select leaders. What should be the character of a leader we select? What should be their track record? Where should we find them? Are they role models? And I think those are the first things we have to think about.”
