Wole Soyinka said that the pioneer Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu admitted to him in the UK that he (Ribadu) realised late that former President Olusegun Obasanjo was using him as EFCC boss.
Ribadu, Soyinka and Obasanjo
Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka has always been an ardent critic of the former Nigerian president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo. He recently had an interview with the correspondents of Zero Tolerance magazine, a publication of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC during which he accused Obasanjo of using the anti-graft body to suit his own interests.
Soyinka revealed that the pioneer Chairman of the EFCC, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu admitted to him during a meeting in the United Kingdom that he (Ribadu) realised late that former President Olusegun Obasanjo was using him as EFCC boss.
Soyinka said, “Why should a President involve himself in what is already structurally established and dedicated to that purpose?
“I warned your former boss, Ribadu, I told him that, your task will be done when in the course of your investigation; you discover that the source of the problem is the very person who appointed you.
“He looked shocked a bit, and eventually he and I met in London, after he was removed and (the current Governor of Kaduna State Mallam Nasir) el-Rufai was also in exile after they tried to kill him. We met and Ribadu refused to sit down. I asked him to sit but he said no, that until I accepted his apology, he won’t sit down. I asked what apology? And he said ‘I should have listened to you. I failed to listen to you.
“Something you have said to me and I failed to listen’ Ribadu admitted that he realised very late that Obasanjo was using him.
“So we have to destroy that link between power and corruption. Audu Ogbeh confirmed what I am telling you. Then, it was ‘go after this one, go after that one, ahh you did not arrest him? Arrest his mother! I am challenging Obasanjo to deny it.
"So, when you are looking for corruption, you should look at the entire stratum of the society, while some forms of corruption are direct, others are indirect."
The outspoken writer also criticized ex-president Goodluck Jonathan for surrounding himself with "unsavoury characters.” who propagated corruption to the detriment of the Nigerian state. He complained Jonathan's exit was necessary as he was becoming an authoritarian.