Stealing by Nigeria’s past leaders shameful – Osinbajo

Traditional rulers in the country should raise a strong voice of condemnation against those who have stolen public funds and engaged in corruption capable of crippling the country, the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), has said.
Meeting with a group of traditional rulers and leaders from Remoland, Ogun State, Osinbajo said: “As leaders we must condemn corruption in the strongest terms.”
He added: “I think it’s right that we condemn corruption in strong terms, more so that traditional rulers do not belong to any political party.
“The kind of corruption we experienced in the recent past is the kind that in any other part of the world it would be considered as a crime against humanity.”
Osinbajo noted that the kind of corruption that has been observed in the country is one for which people should be ashamed.
While the nation is fighting a war, he lamented some people were stealing the money, the resources meant to provide the weapons.
“What the leaders did in the past few years is very shameful,” Prof. Osinbajo emphasized.
Continuing, he said: “Corruption is such a terrible thing and I don’t think it is a matter of politics.
“I think it’s one thing everybody should be ashamed of, if you consider what the leaders of this country had done.”
Osinbajo added that such corruption can completely cripple the nation.
Vice President Osinbajo told the delegation, led by the Akarigbo of Remoland, Oba Michael Adeniyi Sonariwo, that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration was fully committed to the anti-corruption crusade and “going forward, the determination of this government is to ensure that people know that corruption has consequences.
“We will not only hold those who have served to account, but also hold ourselves to account.”
Osinbajo said this is how to avoid the Hobbesian state of nature where life is “poor, nasty, brutish and short”.
Stating that the anti-corruption fight is hinged on transparency, he explained: “We are trying to put in place a system that ensures that there is consequence if you do wrong. So that the people you serve, very poor are not treated like animals.
“I think that one of the major problems that we have faced is just that the level of corruption is high. The fact is that when you look at what has happened, the truth is stranger than fiction. When you look at the facts and figures, it doesn’t make sense.”
Earlier in his remarks, Oba Sonariwo commended the government of President Buhari for its anti-corruption policies.