Oba Francis Alao, the Olugbon of Orile-Igbon in Oyo State, has called on former President Olusegun Obasanjo to stop portraying himself as a saint, after Obasanjo's recent comments criticizing the moral standing of Nigerian political leaders.
Obasanjo had declared on Friday that most Nigerian political leaders in the current dispensation were not morally upright and should be behind bars. The former president insisted that the country would not progress unless leaders and citizens embraced "moral rearmament."
However, Oba Alao, in a statement released on Sunday, said Obasanjo could not claim to be a saint himself. The monarch stated that while he agreed with Obasanjo's position, the former president should lead by example and submit himself for incarceration, as he is part of the "corrupt leaders" he described.
Oba Alao claimed that during Obasanjo's presidency from 1999 to 2007, billions of dollars were spent on improving the country's power supply, "yet there is nothing to show for it." The monarch accused Obasanjo of being unable to "wash his hands clean of all activities that brought Nigeria to this undesirable state."
The Olugbon, who is also the Vice Chairman of the Oyo State Council of Obas and Chiefs, said Obasanjo should stop parading himself as a saint and instead go and surrender himself to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as an example.
He further criticized Obasanjo's administration for failing to reconstruct the Lagos-Abeokuta and Lagos-Ibadan roads, leaving them as "death traps for motorists."
The monarch's statement comes as a direct challenge to Obasanjo's criticism of the moral standing of Nigerian political leaders, urging the former president to take responsibility for his own actions during his time in power.