Bafarawa who got N4.6bn for spiritual purposes says 90% of Nigerians are corrupt

FORMER Sokoto State governor Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa has declared that he has no problem with recently being invited by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to answer questions relating to Dasukigate as 90% of Nigerians are corrupt.

 

A two-term governor who served between 2007 and 2015, Alhaji Bafarawa was recently arrested by the EFCC in connection with the $2.1bn arms scandal in which money budgeted to arm the military found its way into private pockets. Alhaji Bafarawa honoured an EFCC invitation to visit their offices where he told interrogators that he received N4.6bn (£16m) from former national security adviser Col Sambo Dasuki for spiritual purposes.

 

Unlike other government officials who are angry over their invitation by the anti-graft agency, the former governor said he holds no grudge against the government for fighting corruption. Alhaji Bafarawa asked all Nigerians to team up with President Muhammadu Buhari to stamp out corruption from the polity so as to give Nigerians a new lease of life.

 

Alhaji Bafarawa said: "Well, from my analysis, corruption in Nigeria is not a thing that one man can fight and I believe fighting corruption is the responsibility of every Nigerian. Don’t forget that I served for eight years and when we took over from the military in 1999 crude oil was $9 per barrel and in 2007 it had gotten up to $30 to $40 and we left a lot of legacies in our various states during that period.

 

"When I left office, I left behind N12bn in the treasury, so you can see the fortune that came the way of the nation between 2007 and 2015 when the price of oil rose to over $100 per barrel. One begins to wonder why those who enjoyed the huge oil revenue should be asking for a bailout from the federal government."

 

He added that former president Chief Olusegun Obasanjo was committed to fighting corruption and created many institutions like the EFCC and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to handle the job.  According to the former governor, when Chief Obasanjo left, his successors Yar'Ádua and Jonathan-did not do much to fight corruption and that exacerbated the monster in the land.

 

"Today, one can say that up to 90% of Nigerians are corrupt because when you go to the grassroots level, which is where corruption starts. The electorate will demand money before they elect you into office no matter how good you are, no matter the kind of ideology you have and intend to bring for their own good. 

 

"If you don’t give them money, they would not support you. The game is that anyone who comes and shares money to them gets the support and nothing more," Alhaji Bafarawa added.

 

He said Nigerians should not see it as President Buhari fighting corruption but something that everyone must join and ensure that it succeeds because the president cannot do it alone. According to Alhaji Bafarawa, it would also be dangerous if Nigerians ignore the fight against corruption because it will swallow the country.