The Ijaw leader and former chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Edwin Clark, has urged Nigerians to support President Muhammadu Buhari in his quest to deal with the problem of corruption.
The elder statesman, who made the call when the Think Nigeria First Initiative Group, visited him at his resident in Abuja, said that though former President Goodluck Jonathan had great plans for the country, he lacked the political will to fight corruption.
Despite being a staunch-supporter of the ex-president, Clark said: “Jonathan is a gentleman. He is too gentle. Drivers under his administration are now living in palatial buildings.”
“This is not the kind of country we want. Being a gentleman is not enough to govern this country,” he added.
He also took a swipe at former president and military head of state, Olusegun Obasanjo, saying his administration institutionalized corruption.
According to Clark, “it is not everything done by the opponent that is wrong. I will therefore support the policies that are good for the country because Nigeria belongs to all of us.
“We should support Buhari, particularly in his determination to eradicate corruption. For eight years, ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo legalized corruption. Yet, he’s talking about corruption. If your brother was arrested, did he give you money? If your sister was arrested for corruption, did she give you money?” he stated.
“Nobody should distract President Buhari from fighting corruption. People should stop talking about sectional or selective justice,” he urged.
Clark lamented that people who live above their means are never questioned in Nigeria, noting that this fuels corruption and impunity.
“In advanced countries, when you are living above your means, people query you. This is not so in Nigeria,” he observed.
“In an ideal society, when a man who earns N20, 000 as salary and all of a sudden, he acquires something that is worth N100, 000, he should be questioned. But in Nigeria, immunity has covered those that should be questioned,” he further stated