Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has accused government officials of “creating poverty” in the country.
Obasanjo who spoke on Sunday night during an interactive session on zoom tagged “Boiling Point Arena,” said to tame corruption, it must start with leadership for it to succeed.
He said corruption is hydra-headed and one that has eaten deep into the fabrics of Nigerian society, adding that the fight against corruption must be a consistent and daily affair in order to nip it in the bud.
Obasanjo said “corruption is very hydra-headed and eats deep. I think it was the Sultan of Sokoto, the father of the present Sultan, who said corruption is like a babanriga, if you are folding it one 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. And that’s corruption.
“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.”
According to the former president, a leader made by Satan is bound to fail, while God’s chosen one will thrive, adding that just like God, Satan has power to enthrone a leader but he lacks salvation.
He said the notion that all leaders are made by God was not true.
The conversation, which was aired by some private radio stations in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital, focussed on Obasanjo’s legacies in government and his assessment of today’s Nigeria.
Obasanjo said leaders are both born and made by God. “So, I will say most leaders are prepared by God and they 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.
“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.
“We must accept that Satan is real and he has power, he has no salvation but he has power and the power of Satan must not be underrated,” Obasanjo said.
