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<\/p>\nFormer President, Jerry John Rawlings, has called for change in the fight against corruption to ensure that it does not create undue hardship on people.<\/p>\n
Mr. Rawlings, who was speaking in Nigeria, said corruption had eaten so deep into the fabric of society that the quest to clean up seems to rather create hardship instead of reducing the cost of living.<\/p>\n
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\u201cA new way may have to be devised to fight this kind of corruption without creating undue hardship for our people,\u201d the former President said, when he delivered keynote remarks at a lecture organized by the University of Ibadan Alumni Association (UIAA), at the Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti in Nigeria last week.<\/p>\n
Many Nigerians have baulked against the anti-corruption drive of President Muhammadu Buhari because of the austerity measures taken to curb the menace.<\/p>\n
Former President Rawlings said good leadership could be sustained and preserved if citizens used the power of our vote wisely. Both the people of Ghana and Nigeria, he noted, had served notice to leaders that if they fail to protect the interest of the people they will not be allowed to stay in power.<\/p>\n
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Dr. Makanjuola Owolabi, a renowned aviator, consultant physician, human factors instructor, farmer and retired Senior Nigerian Air Force officer delivered the lecture on the theme, \u2018Leadership with Character\u2019.<\/p>\n
Flt. Lt. Rawlings also charged Nigerians to check the dangerous corruption of ethnicity that appears to be gaining ground in that country.<\/p>\n
![\"the-former-president-was-presented-with-flowers-upon-his-arrival-at-the-akure-airport\"](\"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/The-former-President-was-presented-with-flowers-upon-his-arrival-at-the-Akure-airport.jpg\")
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\u201cLet\u2019s find a way out of this dark trap. Stop threatening each other on tribal grounds. Let\u2019s learn to accommodate each other. The continent needs you strong and united,\u201d he urged.<\/p>\n
The former President also questioned the quality of some of the personalities who ascend to political leadership positions on the continent.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cThe culture of the wealthy by any means becoming leaders is problematic. Unfortunately we have under the guise of democracy allowed the rich to purchase our power of choice. Leadership is no longer about desirable traits such as honesty, hard work, empathy and courage but simply a position for the highest bidder.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday to be a successful politician all one needs is a pocket large enough to sway the conscience of the vulnerable in society. The watchdog role of the media has slowly been eroded. Gradually we are losing focus on the things that are important like proper qualification and character,\u201d the former President said.<\/p>\n
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![\"ambassador-rashid-bawa-and-dr-makanjuola-owolabi\"](\"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Ambassador-Rashid-Bawa-and-Dr-Makanjuola-Owolabi.jpg\")
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\u201cWe need to self-identify as a continent where our development is no longer dependent on the West. We need to start helping our communities. It is unfair that when there is a crisis in Somalia, Africa responds only when the West has taken the initiative. Lately the narrative is changing as we saw in The Gambia not too long ago. ECOWAS and the African Union found their lost teeth and supported the Gambian people to restore the change they had voted for.\u201d<\/p>\n
–<\/p>\n
By: citifmonline.com\/Ghana<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Former President, Jerry John Rawlings, has called for change in the fight against corruption to ensure that it does not create undue hardship on people. Mr. Rawlings, who was speaking in Nigeria, said corruption had eaten so deep into the fabric of society that the quest to clean up seems to rather create hardship instead […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5,11],"tags":[524,36,3,751,1980],"yoast_head":"\n