How Ribadu made enemies for me – Obasanjo
Adetokunbo Fakeye with agency report
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has spoken of how efforts by the former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Nuhu Ribadu, to rid Nigeria of corruption, created enemies for him.
Obasanjo said Mr. Ribadu’s zeal as the pioneer head of the anti-corruption unit was ruthless enough to attract a lot of enemies for him. On one occasion, he said, Mr. Ribadu was poisoned.
The former Nigeria president said he doesn’t fear those enemies. “It is rather them that fear me,”.
Obasanjo made these remarks while speaking after a presentation on “Illicit Financial Flow and Governance of Natural Resources” delivered by Mr. Ribadu at the 3rd Tana High Level Forum on Security in Africa in Badir Dar, Ethiopia, on Saturday as the chairperson of the Tana Forum.
Speaking further at the conference in Ethiopia, Chief Obasanjo said he made it clear to Mr. Ribadu that there should be no sacred cows in the fight against corruption. Mr. Obasanjo said he was investigated alongside his late wife, Stella.
He also spoke about how a serving minister who was his senior in secondary school, was indicted and prosecuted by the EFCC. At that point, he said, “there was no issue of senior again”.
Mr. Nuhu Ribadu, the former anti-corruption czar in his speech offered measures African countries should follow to tackle illicit financial flow and repatriate money already illegally taken out of the African countries.
According to him, what Africa needs is honest and committed leaders who will set examples with themselves by eschewing corruption and close in avenues of illicit financial flow.
He said, it is the seriousness demonstrated by the political leadership that will convince other foreign countries to work with them towards recovering looted monies stashed abroad.
In his remarks, the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Hailemariam Desalegn, thanked Mr. Ribadu for his presentation, which he said highlighted many good things about Nigeria different from what is portrayed in the media.