Olusegun Obasanjo, a former president of Nigeria, says the best approach to tackling corruption in government is to start from the top.
According to Channels Television, the retired army general made the remark on Sunday during a programme titled ‘Boiling Point Arena’, hosted by a private radio station in Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital.
Obasanjo also called for a change in the recruitment and appointment of leaders into public offices in Nigeria.
He added that curbing corruption requires continuity and political will.
“The best way of fighting corruption is starting from the head, that is where corruption has to be fought from. Corruption is very hydra-headed and eats deep,” he said.
“I think it was the Sultan of Sokoto, the father of the present Sultan, who said corruption is like a ‘Babariga’. If you are folding it on one side, it’s falling apart on the other side.
“When you carry it on both sides, you cannot hold your hands up and as soon as you put your hands down, it’s falling apart.
“It’s not a one-day affair. It’s not a one-regime affair. It’s not even a two-regime affair. It has to be consistent. It has to be continual. It has to be a daily affair. Once one regime is let off, it spreads.”
Obasanjo said not all leaders are made by God.
“So I will say most leaders are prepared by God and they are put in place by God. And when that happens, the chances of success are higher than when you make yourself a leader which may not be the act of God,” he said.
“And again people saying all leaders are made by God, I don’t accept that. A leader can also be made by Satan.
“In the case of Job, you can remember Satan was going up and down and went before God and God was commending Job but Satan said Job was upright to God because he has gotten from God
