Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has decried the rampant corruption in Nigeria, describing it as a “great monster” that continues to plague the nation.
He made this statement during a tribute to the late Justice Olayinka Ayoola (retd.), former chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), at an event held on Friday at the Methodist Church Nigeria, Diocese of Agodi, Oke-Ado in Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State.
Obasanjo underscored that corruption remains a significant barrier to Nigeria’s progress and development, stressing the urgent need for its eradication in order for the country to prosper.
He acknowledged the ICPC, established in 2000, for its efforts, but pointed out that the relentless tide of corruption has undermined its effectiveness.
He said, “Corruption is a great monster that is still battling with us in the country. It’s not that ICPC and Ayoola had not done their job or that even. I, who appointed him had not done what I could have done; it was the pressure of this great cancer of corruption.
“Today, I’m standing before you to appreciate the life of this great man, great Nigerian, great African and man of the world, and what he had done in our midst.”
Also speaking, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, said, “I think all of us gathered here should ask ourselves the role we want to play in this place we found ourselves. What will be said of us when the time comes?
“He has left indelible footprints in the sand of time. We treasure him and all the things he had done to give Nigeria a befitting name. In all the places that he worked, he raised the flag of Nigeria high. He would be sorely missed. He left a legacy we should be proud of.”
From contract fraud and petty bribery to money laundering schemes, embezzlement, and seizing salaries from fake workers, corruption is estimated to cost the country billions of dollars annually.
The gap between the rich and the poor in the country contributes immensely to corruption.
