Peter Obi, the vice-presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the last general election, has said corruption thrives in Nigeria because corrupt leaders get rewarded with position and titles in the society after stealing public fund.
Obi also criticized ordinary citizens for shying away from telling public office holders the truth when they fail to perform while in office.
The former Anambra governor spoke while serving as guest speaker at the first convocation of Chrisland University, Abeokuta, on Friday, where a delivered a speech on “Creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship: A critical intersection for economic development in Africa”.
Obi said, “The truth is that in Nigeria, the problem is over 75%. The country has been criminalised. Quote me, I am talking from experience of somebody who had served, I was there for eight years.
“What I found in Nigerians and your parents here, including me, I am a victim of that, I was governor for eight years, you can hardly see anybody who tells you something is wrong.
“Everybody calls you his excellency, that since you came, things have changed, even, when you know that nothing has changed.
“It is just that we have a government that has criminalised the society and people celebrate criminality. So, nobody could say to them, stop.
“Those who steal, if they come to church, they will give them front seats, so, why would they not steal? They are the ones who are given chieftaincy tittles, they are the ones who get tittles in the world. So, we need to change all that.”
The former governor urged Nigerian youths not to “toe the lines of the previous leaders in the country”.
