Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Friday described corruption as a monster that Nigeria must conquer before achieving any meaningful progress.
Obasanjo stated this during the celebration of the life of the former Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, Justice Olayinka Ayoola (retd.), held at the Methodist Church Nigeria, Diocese of Agodi, Oke Ado, in Ibadan, Oyo State.
Ayoola died on August 20, 2024, at the age of 90.
He said, “Corruption is a great monster that is still battling with us in the country. It’s not that ICPC and Ayoola had not done their job, or that even I, who appointed him, had not done what I could have done; it was the pressure of this great cancer of corruption.
“Today, I’m standing before you to appreciate the life of this great man, great Nigerian, great African, and man of the world and what he had done in our midst.”
While giving her tribute, the Chief Judge of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, said, “I think all of us gathered here should ask ourselves the role we want to play in this place we found ourselves. What will be said of us when the time comes?
“He has left indelible footprints in the sand of time. We treasure him and all the things he had done to give Nigeria a befitting name. In all the places that he worked, he raised the flag of Nigeria high. He would be sorely missed. He left a legacy we should be proud of.”
The Bishop of the Diocese, Agodi, Revd Simeon Onaleke, while delivering the sermon titled “Serving God’s Purpose In Our Generation,” said there should be legislation barring all corrupt politicians from re-contesting.
“Do things that will make people remember you. Don’t bother yourself looking for enemies. Ayoola fought many battles, not with guns or swords. He did well.”