/ 27 February 2001

OBASANJO ALARMED BY ?ROTTEN? NIGERIA

NIGERIA?S President Olusegun Obasanjo says his administration did not realise the magnitude of “rottenness and decay” in Nigeria before it came to power in May 1999 after more than 15 years of military rule. If he had known how “rotten” the country was before he assumed leadership, he would have carried out a “surgical operation” in certain areas earlier than he did. He gave the example of the management board of the inefficient state-run electricity company NEPA, which he sacked last year for performing badly. – AFP