I saw a leading news headline on Yahoo News this morning. (Yahoo! is fund of deleting news items after sometime so I am unable to link to them.) I was quite impressed:
President Umaru Yar’Adua revealed personal wealth of $5 million on Thursday, saying public financial disclosures should be standard practice as Nigeria battles official corruption.
Yar’Adua, who took power May 29 with a promise to fight graft, said he owned several buildings across northern Nigeria, where his family is prominent in business and politics.
Yar’Adua, who was required only to declare his finances to authorities, made the declaration public as an inducement to other politicians, said presidential spokesman Olusegun Adeniyi.
Interestingly, this is not the first time he is doing this. He declared his personal assets publicly when he was the Executive Governor of Katsina State. All I have heard so far about his tenure in Katsina state, has been postive accolades. I can only hope that he’d extend his honesty to the leadership of Nigeria. Kick-off bribery and corruption, Mr President!
Never mind if his election was very controversial. This man from all indication is humble, sober, reflective, analytical, honest. Lets hope all these virtues come to bear in the Nigerian presidency during his tenure and after he hands over.
The president has just thrown an open challenge to all yee top public office holders. Follow suit, if you dare! 🙂
