President Goodluck Jonathan

The Coalition against Corrupt Leaders has decried President Goodluck Jonathan’s recent statement that corruption in the country has been blown out of proportion.

President Goodluck Jonathan, at a meeting with the Nigerian community in Windhoek, Namibia on Thursday, had said corruption in Nigeria had been exaggerated and the trend had negatively affected the image of the country.

The President also noted that his administration would not condone the menace, but that using the proverbial big stick would not be a solution to end corruption.

In an interview with our correspondent, the Chairman of CACOL, Mr. Debo Adeniran, said the President’s statement underscored the fact that the President did not appreciate the implications and extent of corruption in the country.

“The President’s statement shows that he does not recognise the enormous damage that corruption is doing to the fabric of Nigeria, within and outside our climes. It means that the President does not appreciate that corruption is a negative behavioural trait that he should tackle.

“If not for corruption, we would not be in perpetual debt; we wouldn’t lose our access to power and other amenities; our factories wouldn’t have closed down; our roads wouldn’t have been dilapidated to the extent of becoming death traps.

“If not for corruption, our hospitals would be effective; our schools, colleges and universities would be producing skilled manpower that will make Nigeria self-sufficient in manpower development. And let’s not forget Boko Haram. All these are products of corruption,” he said

Adeniran added that instead of using the big stick, the President was using kid gloves to tackle corruption.

“He said it himself, he is not a lion, so he won’t use a sledgehammer; he won’t use force. But because he is not using force, people think that he is condoning corruption.

“The way out is for the President to accept responsibility for all the wrongdoings committed by those close to him. He said Sanusi Lamido was fingered as the perpetrator of all the vices in the Central Bank of Nigeria, because he is the head. Well, Jonathan is the head of government in Nigeria.

“Since there has been several of them that have been involved in scandals, he should take responsibility and resign, to show that he doesn’t want to condone corruption. Otherwise, he should ensure that everyone that has been involved in corrupt practices is brought to book,” he said.