“Don’t Go Into Politics If You Don’t Want To Be Scandalized” – Obasanjo

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has asserted that all political
actors and leaders are prone to scandals.
He made the assertion yesterday while responding to a question
by a participant at the Murtala Mohammed Foundation Summit in
Lagos that scandals in politics was widespread.
The former Nigerian leader was among a panel of discussants with
former Malawian President, Dr. Joyce Banda and Aisha
Mohammed-Oyebode, Chief Executive Officer of the Foundation
and widow of the late Military Head of State, Gen. Murtala
Mohammed.
“Scandal is not just for women in politics; all leaders are
scandalized”, he said. “If you don’t want to be scandalized, don’t
go into politics”.
Mr. Obasanjo noted that anyone who has been following the news
for political events in the United States of America, which prides
itself as the world’s most advanced democracy, would have
noticed the mudslinging between the camps of the Republican
and Democratic presidential candidates – Donald Trump and
Hillary Clinton respectively – all in a bid to outdo each other in
the race for the White House.
But the former Nigerian leader, who himself, is not new to
scandals in and out of public office, had this word of
encouragement: “What I believe is important is your conscience.
Ensure that whatever you do is what you can defend with your
conscience”.
Earlier in her address titled “Women in Solidarity: a new
paradigm for inclusion”, Banda called for partnership among
African women even as she reiterated the need for them to have
the support of their male counterparts to lead the continent.