Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has insisted that Nigeria’s battle against corruption can only be effective and successful if it begins with accountability among top government officials.
The former president argued that tackling corruption at the highest levels of leadership would set an example for others and demonstrate the government’s commitment to transparency and integrity.
Obasanjo spoke on Sunday night during an interactive session on Zoom tagged “Boiling Point Arena.”
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The conversation which was aired by some private radio stations in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital, focussed on Obasanjo’s legacies in government and his assessment of today’s Nigeria.
Obasanjo described corruption as hydra-headed and one that has eaten deep into the fabric of Nigerian society, emphasising that the fight against corruption must start with leadership for it to succeed.
“The best way of fighting corruption is starting from the head, that is where corruption has to be fought from,” Obasanjo said.
The former President also submitted that the fight against corruption must be a consistent and daily affair to nip it in the bud.
He added, “Corruption is very hydra-headed and eats deep. I think it was the Sultan of Sokoto, the father of the present Sultan, who said corruption is like a ‘babariga’; if you are folding it on one side, it’s falling apart on the other side. When you carry it on both sides, you cannot hold your hands up and as soon as you put your hands down, it’s falling apart. And that’s corruption.
“It’s not a one-day affair. It’s not a one-regime affair. It’s not even a two-regime affair. It has to be consistent. It has to be continual. It has to be a daily affair. Once one regime is let off, it spreads.”
He called for a change in the recruitment and appointment of leaders into public offices, insisting that political appointments must be made on merit rather than political or tribal basis.
Speaking on leadership, he said self-made leaders or those enthroned by Satan are bound to fail.
He insisted that only God makes a leader, and whoever he enthroned would succeed.
“So I will say most leaders are prepared by God and they put in place by God and when that happens the chances of success are higher than when you make yourself a leader which may not be the act of God.
“And again people saying all leaders are made by God, I don’t accept that. A leader can also be made by Satan. In the case of Job, you can remember Satan was going up and down and went before God and God was commending Job but Satan said Job was upright to God because he has gotten from God.
“We must accept that Satan is real and he has power, he has no salvation but he has power and the power of Satan must not be underrated,” Obasanjo stated.
