The Olugbon of Orile-Igbon and Vice Chairman, Oyo State Council of Obas and Chiefs, Oba Francis Alao, yesterday, berated former President Olusegun Obasanjo for declaring that most Nigerian political leaders in the current dispensation are corrupt and should be behind bars.... CLICK TO READ THE FULL NEWS HERE▶▶
Olusegun Obasanjo
[FILES] Former Nigeria president Olusegun Obasanjo
• Alleges ex-President’s presidential library largely funded with proceeds of corruption
• Urges him to surrender himself before EFCC
• Many people in Obasanjo’s administration should rot in jail, says Obono-Obla
The Olugbon of Orile-Igbon and Vice Chairman, Oyo State Council of Obas and Chiefs, Oba Francis Alao, yesterday, berated former President Olusegun Obasanjo for declaring that most Nigerian political leaders in the current dispensation are corrupt and should be behind bars.
Obasanjo, while receiving some members of the House of Representatives on Friday, had said: “Our main problem is ourselves. If it’s the same people and the same mentality and way we do things, then things won’t change.
“We have to rethink democracy and 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 on the gallows and that is the truth.”
But while reacting to the comment in a statement made available to journalists in Ibadan, Oba Alao said Obasanjo is not excluded from the corrupt leaders.
The monarch said the former President should stop parading himself as a saint when he is one of the leaders who steered the ship of Nigeria since 1976 till date.
Oba Alao alleged that the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library could be said to have been largely funded with proceeds of corruption.
He, therefore, challenged the former President to surrender himself before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to serve as an example.
Also, the former Chairman of the Special Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Property during Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, Okoi Obono-Obla, has said that some people who served in Obasanjo’s administration are supposed to be in jail.
Obono-Obla, in his reaction to Obasanjo’s recent comment that some persons occupying positions in government should be in jail, said: “So many people in Obasanjo’s eight-year Presidency equally should have been in jail. However, as a lawyer, I cannot subscribe to such fallacious arguments no matter how attractive they sound.”
The human rights activist said that as a lawyer of many years standing, it might be wrong for him to make such a conclusion because mere allegations do not make one guilty until proven by a competent court of jurisdiction.
The monarch further said: “I align with the elder statesman’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 the country from 1999 to 2007, Obasanjo’s administration spent billions of 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 largely funded with proceeds of corruption. So, excluding himself from those he described as corrupt leaders is nothing but grandstanding since Obasanjo cannot wash his hands clean of all activities that brought Nigeria to this undesirable state. Doing so will amount to a pot calling the kettle black.
“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.
”Let him go and surrender himself before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission as an example. Nigerians should be watchful of Obasanjo,” the monarch said.
He added: “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 graves before their tenures. The Lagos-Abeokuta road is still in such a deplorable condition, attracting curses from users daily.
“Indiscipline is also part of corruption. He has shown a deficit in Yoruba culture in some of the ways he handled issues. The former President should go and re-learn culture and stop teaching us what to do in Nigeria.”
