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By John Ogunsemore
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said that the fight against corruption must begin at the top echelons of government if it must succeed.
He said it must be continuous and transcend administrations or the gains recorded by one government could be lost under the next one.
Obasanjo said this during an interactive Zoom session titled “Boiling Point Arena”, hosted by a private radio station in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
The former president said, “The best way of fighting corruption is starting from the head, that is where corruption has to be fought from. Corruption is very hydra-headed and eats deep.
“I think it was the Sultan of Sokoto, the father of the present Sultan, who said corruption is like a ‘Babariga’. If you are folding it on one side, it’s falling apart on the other side.
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“When you carry it on both sides, you cannot hold your hands up and as soon as you put your hands down, it’s falling apart.
“It’s not a one-day affair. It’s not a one-regime affair. It’s not even a two-regime affair. It has to be consistent. It has to be continual. It has to be a daily affair. Once one regime is let off, it spreads.”
Obasanjo harped on the need to improve the system of selecting leaders in the country.
“So I will say most leaders are prepared by God and they are put in place by God. And when that happens, the chances of success are higher than when you make yourself a leader which may not be the act of God.
“And again people saying all leaders are made by God, I don’t accept that. A leader can also be made by Satan.
“In the case of Job, you can remember Satan was going up and down and went before God and God was commending Job but Satan said Job was upright to God because he has gotten from God.”
