The NAVC, which held a street rally in Ado Ekiti, on Sunday to mark this year’s World Anti-Corruption Day, lamented that the scourge of corruption should be tackled by all Nigerians, but that religious and traditional leaders must help kickstart the war by not honouring people of questionable wealth.
The Ekiti State Coordinator of NAVC, Mr Ibukun Agbaje, who addressed newsmen during the event tagged “Integrity Rally” said corruption had reached “a near uncontrollable dimension because those who are supposed to reject overnight millionaires are not willing to apply the sledgehammer.”
He decried a situation whereby a person with no reliable means of livelihood suddenly becomes a millionaire and get honoured almost immediately by his town’s traditional ruler with one of the most prominent chieftaincy titles in the community.
He bemoaned a situation where such emergency millionaires are also often welcomed back to their hometowns with beatings of the drums and thunderous shout of praises.
ALSO READ: Secondary school closed after students held wedding ceremonies among selves
Agbaje said church and mosque clerics are also not left out of the blame of aggravating crisis of corruption as many of them do lose focus, the moment a particular rich man, even with no fixed business address brought huge tithe or Zakat to church or mosque as thanksgiving to God.
He said both the traditional rulers and the clerics alike had a huge role to play in stemming out the pangs of corruption in the country, as fraudsters would never have been so encouraged to remain in the nefarious business if they know they would be questioned or rejected at the home front.
He warned that next year’s general elections might be caught in the web of preventable corrupt crisis unless traditional rulers and religious leaders turned over a new leaf by not accommodating enemies of the society for selfish reasons.
The street rally, involving nearly a hundred participants took the team across major streets of Ado Ekiti, the state capital.
and then