Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has described corruption as a major obstacle to Nigeria’s development, warning that its impact falls most heavily on the country’s poorest citizens.
Obasanjo spoke on Monday, September 28, in Lagos while chairing the public presentation of Unexplained Wealth: A Trilogy of Nigerian Financial Law, a three-volume publication authored by Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Dr Wahab Shittu.
The former president described corruption as “development’s greatest, deadly peril” and characterised unexplained wealth as “anti-social, anti-development and anti-progress”.
He said the consequences of corruption were particularly severe for vulnerable Nigerians, who often bear the burden of resources diverted from public services and development.
Obasanjo said, “Those who suffer most in the corrupt society are the poor. And it makes them poorer.”
He maintained that sustainable development would remain difficult to achieve if corruption continued unchecked, recalling efforts by his administration to strengthen Nigeria’s anti-corruption institutions, including the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Also speaking at the event, the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, said legislation targeting unexplained wealth would have limited effect without corresponding reforms in the political and judicial systems.
Sanusi said the success of anti-corruption measures depended largely on the integrity and independence of institutions responsible for investigating, prosecuting and adjudicating cases involving suspected illicit enrichment.
He warned that political connections could determine whether individuals with unexplained wealth faced scrutiny or escaped investigation.
Sanusi said, “We live in a society where if you have unexplained wealth and if you have the right political cover, nobody asks you. And if you are on the wrong side of politics, you get into trouble.”
He called for anti-corruption laws to be enforced consistently, regardless of an individual’s political affiliation or position.
Representing former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, his former Chief of Staff, Ade Ipaye, said Nigeria needed a transparent and constitutionally compliant system for recovering assets suspected to have been stolen while protecting legitimately acquired property.
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In a message delivered at the event, Osinbajo said, “What we need now most urgently is a clear, fair, and constitutionally sound approach that can recover what was stolen without threatening what was lawfully earned,” he said.
The book reviewer, Professor Olanrewaju Fagbohun, SAN, cautioned against automatically treating the absence of conventional financial documentation as proof that wealth was illegally obtained.
He said any framework for unexplained wealth should recognise the realities of Nigeria’s informal economy, where legitimate transactions and businesses may not always produce the documentary records commonly associated with formal-sector activities.
Shittu, the author of the three-volume publication, said the book was intended to contribute to the development of legal and institutional mechanisms for distinguishing legitimate wealth from illicit enrichment.
He emphasised the importance of credible records in determining the legitimacy of assets and financial transactions, warning that inadequate documentation could lead to suspicion without sufficient evidence of criminal conduct.
According to Shittu, accumulating wealth is not itself an offence; the key question is whether it was acquired lawfully.
Shittu said, “Making wealth, becoming rich, is not a crime. It’s not a crime at all. But becoming rich and making wealth dubiously is a crime.”
He said the publication examined the legal and practical challenges surrounding unexplained wealth and proposed ways to distinguish legitimately acquired assets from those obtained through corruption and other unlawful activities.
Shittu stressed that reliable financial records would remain central to that process, warning that without credible documentation and an effective legal framework, anti-corruption enforcement could become driven by suspicion rather than proof.