Executive Chairman, Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, CACOL, Debo Adediran, on Wednesday in Lagos, said that disaster awaits Nigeria, if President Muhammed Buhari, decides to impose his successor on the country, at the end of his tenure.
Adediran stated this during a one-day capacity building workshop for police officers held at Area F police command in Ikeja, Lagos.
Speaking on the theme: ‘Introduction to the Dynamics of Corruption and Call to Action,’ the CACOL leader said that over the years, corruption has grown to become endemic because corrupt Nigerians are greedy, selfish, avarice and are therefore desperate to use their wealth and power to suppress the poor and the weak in our society.
He identified attitudinal corruption, gluttony, economic corruption, moral corruption, pseudo corruption, and true corruption, as some of the sub-sectors of this cankerworm, permeating all the sectors in our society.
On economic corruption, he explained that it involves couples giving birth to many children in the name of traditions, customs and the pressure to ensure that their grandparent’s see their grand children before they die.
This has led to people living above their economic means and therefore looking out for corrupt ways to make more money outside their legal and legitimate income.
His worlds: Corruption, which begins from the minds of individuals, through to families, communities, states and the nation, could onle be tackle, is people know that their thoughts, words and deeds today will manifest in their lives tomorrow.
He further explained that since democratic government returned to Nigeria, it is only President Muhammed Buhari that has the political will to tackle corruption headlong.
His words: “Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, used Nuhu Ribadu, the former Chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to intimidate his real or perceived political and other enemies, without relly fighting corruption”
Obasanjo drafted Atiku Abubakar to become his vice president, fell out with him(Atiku), when the Adamawa State born politician was not dancing to his(Obasanjo), musical tones, swore that God should punish him, if he supports Atiku in his future political ambition and only turned around to support the former vice-president during the last presidential election, Adediran said.
That spelled disaster for the Peoples Democratic Party when Obasanjo attempted to impose Atiku on Nigerians.
According to him, if Buhari, who may have a preferred successor in mind decides in 2023 to impose his candidate on Nigerians, it could leade to disaster, as the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, may be floored at the presidential level by any strong political party then.
Also, the many achievements the Buhari-led regime have recorded in first term in the areas of anti-corruption war, agriculture, security, the economy and other sectors, could fall back to the bad old days of Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan regimes.
In his comment, Olusoji Adebajo, Area F Police Commander, said that the poorly equipped police force cannot be expected to perform wonders, even as he called on police officers to be bold, stubborn, courageous, professional in the discharge of their duties.
He explained that though corruption exists everywhere, police officers, who are professional in the discharge of their duties may be punished, or deployed to dead beats, so to say, but succor will come from God at the end.
Many police officers have being dismissed from the force across the country and still more are going to be dismissed for involving in corrupt practices in the years ahead, he said.