Buhari, Start the Anti-graft War With Yourself - Obasanjo Charges

Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.

Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, ex-president of Nigeria, advised President Muhummadu Buhari to start his anti-corruption war with himself, the vice-president, the Senate president and the Speaker of the House of Representatives before extending same to other Nigerians accused of corruption. 

He said, "The president promised he will fight corruption. And there is no doubt that he is willing to fight the hydra-headed monster of corruption. He has left no one in doubt about his commitment to do so. I believe very much that fighting corruption just has to start fom the top. That is, from the president, the vice president, the senate president, the speaker of the House of Representatives, the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN)."

The former president was speaking as a special guest at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun state last Friday during the institution's Staff Club's interactive programme tagged: "Seventh Roundtable with Chief Olusegun Obasanjo: Reflections of an Elder Statesman." 

Challenged by some of the participants to include himself and other former presidents in the list of those to be tried for graft, he said: "Former presidents have either done their bit when they were in office, or they did not.

"The instruments we are using today (to fight corruption) were all fashioned out by me when I was in office. We did not have anything like the instruments (ICPC, EFCC) before. Not only did I bring up these instruments, I also looked for the right people who could make the instruments to work. Nuhu Ribadu was in charge of EFCC, and the fear of Ribadu was the beginning of wisdom. For ICPC, I specially head-hunted somebody like Justice Mustapha Akanbi to run it." 

The ex-president also did not forget to throw a shot at Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka: " I will trust Wole Soyinka as an "aparo hunter" (patridge hunter) than trust him as a political analyst. Soyinka is slippery, and he is no man to be trusted. I have no issues with him."

Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.