Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Monday accused some state governors in the country of living like emperors while demanding sacrifice from the citizens for Nigeria to survive the prevailing hard times.
Obasanjo spoke at the inaugural conference of the Ibadan School of Government and Public Policy at the University of Ibadan, where he was the chairman on the occasion.
The two-day conference has as theme, ‘‘Getting government to work for development and democracy in Nigeria: Agenda for change’’.
The Chairman, Board of Governors of the ISGPP, who is a former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, and a professor of international history and politics, John Evans, also delivered addresses among other speakers.
Obasanjo said when he became President in 1999, he recognised corruption as a major impediment to the development of the Nigerian state.
This, he added, informed his decision to set up the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission to fight the bane.
He, however, said after he left, corruption returned to Nigeria with a vengeance, draining billions of dollars from the nation’s economy that could hardly afford to lose even a million dollars.
He said while Nigerian leaders demanded sacrifice from the citizens, they lived in opulence.