Nigeria’s corruption has reached a critical point, according to former President Olusegun Obasanjo, emphasising that urgent action is necessary to combat this menace, which threatens the very fabric of Nigerian society.

He said this in his keynote address on the topic, ‘Leadership Failure and State Capture in Nigeria,’ delivered at the Chinua Achebe Leadership Forum, Yale University, New Haven, in the United States of America.

The former president noted that the country will go into extinction “if we keep pretending that she is only slightly indisposed.”

Obasanjo hinted that corruption continues to rank among the most important problems affecting Nigerians.

He said: “More than N700 billion in cash bribes were paid by citizens to public officials in 2023. Most bribes are paid in the street or in a public official’s office. Private sector bribery is increasing but continues to be less prevalent than in the public sector.

“Corruption goes with power; therefore to hold any useful discussion of corruption, we must first locate it where it properly belongs – in the ranks of the powerful.

“Corruption in Nigeria has passed the alarming and entered the fatal stage; and Nigeria will die if we keep pretending that she is only slightly indisposed.

“Ranked 150 out of 180 countries in the Transparency International 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index,1 Nigeria’s ranking places it in the bottom 20 percent of the Comity of Nations and illustrates how systemic and embedded corruption is in the country. It is, in my opinion, and those of many, the most serious developmental challenge to the nation.”

He insisted that the nation would continue to sink into chaos, insecurity, conflict, discord, division, disunity, depression, youth restiveness, confusion, violence, and underdevelopment as long as it is embedded in corruption.

Obasanjo, however, gave a message of hope that all will be well with the country if the challenges of immorality and corruption are squarely addressed.

Obasanjo, who served as Nigeria’s head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as president from 1999 to 2007, has been a vocal advocate for good governance and transparency.

His warning comes at a time when Nigeria is grappling with various challenges, including economic stagnation, insecurity, and social unrest.

The former president’s concerns are rooted in his experience as a statesman and his understanding of Nigeria’s complex socio-political landscape.

As a key figure in the country’s transition to democracy in the 1970s and its consolidation in the 1990s, Obasanjo has witnessed firsthand the devastating impact of corruption on Nigeria’s development.

As Nigeria navigates its complex challenges, Obasanjo’s warning underscores the need for collective action against corruption.

It is essential to foster a national conversation about the consequences of corruption and the importance of ethical leadership in building a better future for all Nigerians.

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