Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has stated that corrupt leaders cannot provide effective governance, emphasizing that those with a history of misconduct cannot be trusted to lead with integrity. Speaking at a virtual event in Victoria Island, Lagos, Obasanjo expressed concern over the state of governance in Nigeria, particularly at the executive and legislative levels.
“If you look clinically at the people in government today at both executive and legislative levels, some of them should be permanently behind bars for their past misdemeanor and criminal misconduct,” Obasanjo remarked. He added that expecting corrupt individuals to make just decisions is unrealistic. “You cannot expect thi£ves to give good judgment in favor of the owner of the property.”
Obasanjo also revealed his initial shock when entering politics, describing the deep-rooted corruption among election officials and the normalization of criminal behavior in governance. “The first thing that shocked me when I went into politics was the level of corruption of election officials which was taken as normal.”
He further lamented how unethical actions are often excused as mere political maneuvering. “Every bad thing they do is passed on as politics, which means politics has no room for morality, principles, rectitude, ethics, good character, and attributes,” he said.
In his address, Obasanjo called for transformational leadership rooted in integrity and truth. He advocated for leaders to prioritize hope, inclusion, and production over exclusion, dishonesty, and corruption. “Nigeria needs transformational leaders rather than transactional leaders,” he concluded.
