The Olugbon of Orile-Igbon in Oyo State, Oba Francis Alao, has told former President Olusegun Obasanjo to stop parading himself as a saint.
The monarch’s statement comes days after Obasanjo declared on Friday that most Nigerian political leaders of this dispensation were not morally upright and should be behind bars.
This was as the deputy spokesman for the House of Representatives, Philip Agbese, said Obasanjo lied on the claim that National Assembly members fixed their own salaries and were being bribed by the executive.
The ex-president insisted that the country would not progress towards achieving its goals unless leaders and citizens embraced what he termed “moral rearmament”.
Obasanjo reportedly spoke in Abeokuta when he received six members of the House of Representatives, who are co-sponsors of bills proposing a single six-year term, rotation of the Presidency between the North and South, and rotation of governorship slots among the three senatorial districts of each of the 36 states.
“Our main problem is ourselves. Whether we adopt a single term of six years or two terms of four years, if we maintain the same mentality and approach, nothing will change.
“The real issue is ourselves. Yes, the system needs rethinking, but the character of people in government must change. With all due respect, many in government should currently be behind bars or on the gallows”, Obasanjo had submitted.
Taking the former President on Sunday, Oba Alao, in a statement made available to reporters, said Obasanjo could not claim to be a saint.
The monarch said though he aligned with Obasanjo’s position, the former President should lead by example “by submitting himself for incarceration as a leader of this generation of the so-called corrupt people. There is no way he can exclude himself”.
Oba Alao claimed that during Obasanjo’s tenure as President of Nigeria from 1999 to 2007, the administration spent billions of United States dollars to fix the country’s power supply challenges, “yet there is nothing to show for it”.
“So, excluding himself from those he described as corrupt leaders is nothing but grandstanding since Chief Obasanjo cannot wash his hands clean of all activities that brought Nigeria to this undesirable state. Doing so will amount to a pot calling the kettle black.
“Chief Obasanjo should stop parading himself all over the world as a saint when he is one of the leaders that steered the ship of Nigeria from 1976 to date. He is inclusive of the 90 per cent of Nigerian leaders that should be in prison for corruption.
“Let him go and surrender himself before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission as an example. Nigerians should be watchful of Chief Obasanjo”.
The monarch, who is also the Vice Chairman of Oyo State Council of Obas and Chiefs, said in Obasanjo’s eight-year tenure, “he failed to reconstruct Lagos-Abeokuta and Lagos-Ibadan roads, leaving them as death traps for motorists”.
Also, the deputy spokesperson for the House of Representatives, Philip Agbese, berated Obasanjo over his comment.
Agbese, who spoke to journalists in Abuja on Sunday, described as spurious Obasajo’s allegation that members of the National Assembly fixed their own salaries.
Agbese said, “The former President is wrong because the 10th House of Reps is totally different from his era.
“As a parliament, we have strived to maintain the highest level of accountability and transparency in all that we do under Speaker Tajudeen Abass”.
The spokesman said it would be wrong for Obasanjo to recall the National Assembly of his era to the current legislature.
“I am bold to say that the very respected former President is right and wrong because of the things that transpired between him and the National Assembly during his time as President.
“Stories abound that he was helpless. This is no longer the case, as the current crop of representatives has done quite a lot to deliver to the poor masses.
“We mean what we say and everything that we do as a parliament. The era of narrow interest is over. We are here for our people and their collective interests”, Agbese said.
On the N100 million and N200 million allegedly given to members of the National Assembly, Agbese said that no such thing happened under the current administration led by President Bola Tinubu.
He said President Tinubu’s tenure was totally different from all past Presidents in so many ways, adding that the President was getting legislators’ support out of sheer diplomacy and consultation.
Agbese noted, “We know what President Tinubu wants for Nigeria, and supporting the President to deliver on the Renewed Hope Agenda is the best for the country.
“The Speaker, Honourable Tajudeen Abbas, has earned the respect of members not just because he is a kind and God-fearing man, but also because he strives daily for excellence.
“Obasanjo tried, albeit unsuccessfully, to bribe members of the National Assembly in his time to support positions that were not in line with the Constitution.
“That informed his decision to amend the Constitution through the backdoor, which was rejected by the majority”.
This alone, according to Agbese, showed that apart from the few bad eggs that the former President had in the parliament as collaborators, the majority were still men and women of good conscience who could not sell their country for a pot of porridge.
He said far from Obasanjo’s era, President Tinubu was leading by example by not interfering with emergency changes to the leadership, either in the Senate or the House of Representatives, adding that this was why some former leaders were envious of their relationship.
“They are not happy that Abbas is not like Ghali Na’Abba, and the President is making progress to salvage the situation”, Agbese said.
