Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has decried corruption as a “great monster” that continues to plague Nigeria, warning of its detrimental impact on the country’s progress and development.

Obasanjo made this assertion during a ceremony celebrating the life of Justice Olayinka Ayoola (retd.), former Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), held at the Methodist Church Nigeria, Diocese of Agodi, Oke-Ado, in Ibadan, Oyo State, on Friday.

Highlighting corruption as a significant barrier to Nigeria’s growth, Obasanjo called for intensified efforts to combat the menace. Reflecting on his tenure and the establishment of the ICPC in 2000, he acknowledged the agency’s work but lamented that corruption’s pervasive influence had stymied progress.

“Corruption is a great monster that is still battling with us in the country,” Obasanjo said. “It’s not that ICPC and Ayoola had not done their job or that even I, who appointed him, had not done what I could have done; it was the pressure of this great cancer of corruption. Today, I stand to appreciate the life of this great man, great Nigerian, great African, and man of the world, and what he had done in our midst.”

Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, also paid tribute to Justice Ayoola, urging Nigerians to reflect on their contributions to society. “He has left indelible footprints in the sand of time. In all the places he worked, he raised the flag of Nigeria high. He left a legacy we should be proud of,” she said.

Corruption, ranging from contract fraud and petty bribery to embezzlement and salary fraud, is estimated to cost Nigeria billions of dollars annually. The widening gap between the rich and the poor further fuels the cycle of corruption, exacerbating social and economic inequalities.