Former Governor of Abia State, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, has urged the Governments of the United States, United Kingdom and Germany to expose the real treasury looters in Nigeria.
Kalu also called on the Federal Government to institute a process where famous auditing firms will audit all public office holders to ascertain their sources of wealth.
He made the remarks on Friday in the United States while delivering a speech on: “Democratic Process in African Countries,” at the War College, Washington DC.
According to him: “US, UK, Germany know those who have stashed millions of dollars, transferred directly from Nigeria to western countries, without working for it.”
The former governor said the looters acquired the wealth with no trace of evidence of business transactions, services or contracts.
He also said Nigeria needed three basic things he listed as justice, obeisance to the rule of law and accountability to move forward.
According to Kalu: “People see no good in other people’s job. The leaders and the governed have become so greedy that they forget the ethics of a nation.
“A nation is supposed to be a committed area that must have the interest of the citizens as priority. It is only in Nigeria that a form is clearly specified to identify tribe, state, local government and religion.
“That means that the government of Nigeria since 1960 have been in support of tribalism. There is no country in Nigeria that wants to move forward and still have such specifications in a form.
“Corruption is the greatest problem in Nigeria. Those past leaders who claimed to be fighting corruption were only accumulating wealth.
- “Most of them came to be leaders of our community with only N20,000 and below, and they make no pretense in showing their wealth and affluence in their different communities.
“I was governor for eight years. And in that eight years, I never knew somebody can take public fund as his own. I never knew somebody aside security vote can take away people’s money.
“People who had nothing came into office and turned to multi billionaires and nobody asks questions about how the money was made.
“I call on the government to restore a process whereby the KPMG, PWC, Deloitte and others be given opportunity to audit all our past leaders.
“You can not just make someone a Governor today and next, he buys a house in Victoria Island without stating how he got the money.
“Likewise a minister and he is already buying houses in Maitama or Asokoro. Sometimes, possibly someone you know before.”
Kalu also spoke on what has become of those of them who supported the political movement in Nigeria prior to the military leaving the political stage.
He said: “Among the people who supported political movement in Nigeria in 1998, few of us are being tried. I had mentioned this in most forums I have been.
“The former President Olusegun Obasanjo wrote to your President, George Bush Jnr, requesting that I should be arrested in the United States. But your President after investigation said no.
“They equally wrote to the British prime minister, but he disagreed after investigation. But I am being tried in Nigeria for a law I do not know where it comes from. But I cannot dwell on this since it’s in the Court of competent jurisdiction.
“Last time I spoke in Washington DC during a dinner, I repeated the same thing. Nigeria is a beautiful country where given the appropriate rule of law.
“If everyone is made to obey the rule of the land and respect the law; If all our people are made to subject themselves to the laws of the land, Nigeria will be a beautiful place to live.”
Speaking on the Nigerian economy and the orientation of the leaders and the led, the former governor said: “We need people who will see Nigeria as Nigeria.
‘People who will not attach any religious or tribal sentiments about the country. We need people that will call a spade a spade. Last week, I urged President Muhammadu Buhari to tackle the economy the way he tackled Boko Haram.
“In all honesty and being factual, I still suggest that President Buhari as a matter of urgency should declare economic emergency. The economy is in very bad shape and the citizens are not happy.
“What we also need Nigerians to do is to come out and support civil democracy. Civil democracy is the only way interests of others can be protected. People blame politicians and everybody but themselves.”
