Obasanjo: Thieves in Govt Can’t Deliver Good Governance

Former President Obasanjo declares that corrupt officials in government cannot deliver good governance. Read more about his strong stance on corruption.

Obasanjo said this during a virtual speech at Denis Joseph Slattery’s memorial lecture, which was held at Victoria Island’s Civic Center in Lagos.

The talk honored the late missionary who arrived in Nigeria in 1941 and was born in Ireland. It was organized by the Old Boys’ Association of St. Finbarr’s College.

The former president denounced and called political figures of dubious character “thieves,” emphasizing their incapacity to implement just administration.

“It is unrealistic to anticipate that robbers will make wise decisions in the property owner’s favor,” stated Obasanjo.

He went on to say that these people ought to be punished for their wrongdoing and put in jail.

“Accountability is the most important demand of anybody involved in governance at any level,” stated Obasanjo, emphasizing the inability of morally bankrupt leaders to make judgments that serve the larger good.

Read Also: Corruption in Government Hinders Good Governance, Says Obasanjo

He went further to critique the present political landscape, adding, “If you look clinically at the people in government today at both executive and legislative levels, some of them should be permanently behind bars for their past misdemeanour and criminal misconduct.”

Recalling his own experiences with corruption, Obasanjo described how, when challenged, a government official normalized unlawful behavior.

“The degree of election official corruption, which was accepted as routine, was the first thing that struck me when I entered politics. The second was widespread and illegal misconduct that went unpunished, according to him.

Nigeria requires “transformational leaders rather than transactional leaders, truth instead of lies, honesty instead of dishonesty, integrity instead of disintegrity, hope instead of despair, production instead of deduction, inclusion instead of exclusion and marginalization,” according to Obasanjo’s additional highlights.