The convener of the Save Nigeria Group, Pastor Tunde Bakare said former President Olusegun Obasanjo took corruption to new heights in Nigeria.
He made the statement whilst he spoke as the guest speaker at the 10th Chief Gani Fawehinmi Annual Lecture/Symposium organized by the Nigerian Bar Association, Ikeja chapter.
He said, “Media was censored, outspoken critics were targeted and judicial decisions were subjected to executive interpretations. Meanwhile, Obasanjo himself raised the mountain of corruption to an unimaginable level.
“As apathy set in among the electorate, General Obasanjo, indignant that he could not foist third term agenda on Nigeria, imposed sick president on the nation through a fraudulent election, I beg your pardon, selection, overseen by Prof. Maurice Iwu.”
“The atmosphere of abundance provided the breeding ground for personal aggrandisement as politicians, from the Presidency to the state and local governments, helped themselves to the nation’s resources.
“Then, complacency set in as General Obasanjo, satisfied with his supposed achievements, which however did not reflect significantly in the living condition of the average Nigerian, sought to perpetuate himself in power and so unleashed the machinery of state against perceived enemies among the political class.”
Bakare said a potential solution to the country’s problems was for the proposed National Conference to morph into a people-driven constitutional conference where the errors in the current federal system could be corrected.