Former president Olusegun Onbasanjo yesterday said the late President
Umaru Musa Yar’Adua dismantled structures he had put in place to check
and curtail corruption.
He stated that the removal of pioneer chairman of the Economic and
Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), Nuhu Ribadu, was the beginning of
Yar’Adua’s mistake.
He noted that Yar’Adua had allowed former Delta State governor, James
Ibori, to push for the replacement of Ribadu, who he alleged was
poisoned but eventually survived.
Obasanjo said these in a chat with Thisday.
He, however, regretted the amount of money required in politics nowadays.
“Politics in Nigeria has been dominated by people that have stolen
money, that have godfathers or even drug barons, the type we have now at
the National Assembly.
“So youths should pool resources to become politically active in
order to replace the present crop of leaders and provide better
alternatives.
“There must be far reaching reforms to ensure we remove the old order
and introduce the new order because Africa is viewed by the Western
world as a liability.
“For the eight years I was in power, I tried to reach out to other
world leaders using my shuttle diplomacy which attracted positive
actions. I campaigned for debt relief which we got and Africa was no
longer treated with disdain,” he recalled.