Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has emphasized that Nigeria’s anti-corruption campaign will be efficient and successful only if senior government officials are accountable.
The former president claimed that addressing corruption at the highest levels of leadership would set a good example for others and reflect the government’s commitment to openness and honesty.
Obasanjo spoke on Sunday night during an interactive Zoom event called “Boiling Point Arena.”
The discussion, which was broadcast on various private radio stations in Abeokuta, Ogun State’s capital, focused on Obasanjo’s political legacies and his opinion of today’s Nigeria.
Obasanjo called corruption as hydra-headed and one that has eaten deep into the fabric of Nigerian society, underlining that the battle 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 stated.
The former President also stated that in order to eradicate corruption, it must be fought on a daily basis.
He went on to say, “Corruption is very hydra-headed and eats deep.” I believe it was the Sultan of Sokoto, the father of the current Sultan, who stated that corruption is like a ‘babariga’: if you fold it on one side, it falls apart on the other. When you carry it on both sides, you can’t hold your hands up, and the moment you put your hands down, it falls apart. And that is corruption.
