Olugbon of Orile-Igbon, Oba Francis Olushola Alao, has challenged Chief Olusegun Obasanjo to integrity test, declaring that the former president is a corrupt former Nigerian leader.
The traditional ruler also said there was no way the former president can exclude himself from allegations of corruption.
Olugbon further dared Obasanjo to surrender himself to the Economics and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to wash himself clean of alleged corruption.
The traditional ruler stated these in a statement he personally signed in reaction to a statement credited to Obasanjo declaring that most Nigerian political leaders are corrupt.
Obasanjo had, while receiving some members of the House of Representatives, on Friday, said: “Our main problem is ourselves and until we take care of ourselves, we may have one term of four years, one term of six years, one term of seven years, if it’s the same people and same mentality and way we do things, then it won’t change.
“Yes system, yes democracy, we have to rethink democracy, we have to 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 in the gallows and that is the truth.
“Now if these are the people that are ruling us, then what do you expect? So, the point is the character of the people that are coming to the government. Their attributes, the sort of people they truly are.
“We need to really think about how we select leaders. What should be the character of a leader we select? What should be their track record?
“Where should we find them? Are they role models? And I think those are the first things we have to think about.”
The Olugbon said he aligned with Obasanjo’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.”
The Olugbon cited, among others, allegation of corrupt failure to fix the challenges of power supply during his tenure and corrupt funding of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library.
“For instance, during his tenure as president of Nigeria from 1999 to 2007, Chief Obasanjo’s administration spent billions of US 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. Chief Obasanjo cannot wash his hands clean of all activities that brought Nigeria to this undesirable state. Doing so will amount to a pot calling kettle black.
“Chief 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 (EFCC) as an example. Nigerians should be watchful of Chief Obasanjo.
“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 grave 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. Chief Obasanjo has shown 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,” the Olugbon, who is also the vice chairman, Oyo State Council of Obas and Chiefs, stated.
