Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said there are criminals, drug addicts, vagabonds, bandits and kidnappers occupying several royal thrones as monarchs in Nigeria.
Obasanjo stated this in one his two books released recently to mark his 88th birthday.
The book is titled “Nigeria: Past and Future.”
The former President, in chapter 14 of his new book, said the dignity, honour and distinction with which Nigeria’s traditional institution were known in the colonial days and early post-independence days, have been “diluted and polluted.”
Obasanjo said, “Today, there are criminals, drug addicts, vagabonds, bandits and kidnappers as so-called traditional rulers.
“This is a great pity, and it has greatly contributed to the problems of Nigeria by traditional rulers. How do we account for a traditional ruler snatching a ballot box at an election polling station and running away with it?
“The class of traditional rulers with their distinction, honour and dignity, as we knew them in the colonial days and early post-independence days, has been diluted and polluted.
“That dignity, aura and respect should be brought back and traditional rulers should be an asset to Nigeria’s development and greatness and not a liability.
“There is a need for moral re-armament among the traditional rulers – the ancient and historic ones. And they can and should make meaningful contributions to the Nigeria of our dreams that will serve the purpose and interest of all.”
