Former chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, (ICPC), Justice Mustapha Akanbi has said that Nigeria is plagued by many corrupt individuals occupying different levels and positions in the country.
Akanbi made this observation in Ilorin, the Kwara state capital at the public presentation of a book entitled, “Appreciating Criminal Law in Nigeria” written by a journalist, now a lawyer, Ifeolu Koni.
The respected jurist lamented the terrible state of corruption in the country, charging all legal practitioners in the country to enlist in the vanguard of fighting corruption by churning out books that could prick the conscience of corrupt Nigerians.
He said ,“nobody can single-handedly fight corruption in Nigeria, but lawyers and judges will through book writing.”
“We all have to fight corruption with our efforts and with the books we write. If we are able to come up as a body to fight those who plunder the wealth of this country, then we would have done a great thing for posterity.”
He urged Nigerians to imbibe the culture of voracious reading, saying reading is the antidote to the country’s transformation.
“Education, reading book is very important. I sleep and wake up with books. When you are called upon to read, if you are a good reader, if you believe in reading, you do not have to look elsewhere. The ideas will come. You have a lot to talk about. “The author is here because of reading.
“I want us to have positive changes in this country, the type of changes that will improve the quality of life and professionalism in this country. It is not easy to produce a chapter of a book,” Akanbi stated.
Also speaking at the event, the Grand Khadi of the Kwara state Sharia Court of Appeal, Justice Idris Haroon, said that, “reading is the mother of all knowledge.”
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