He described corruption as a “terrible monster” which must be tamed through the joint efforts of all Nigerians.
Delivering the 29th convocation lecture of the University of Ilorin, Carrington said: “A cure must be found for the corrosive cancer of corruption”.
He maintained that Nigeria would overcome her challenges if corruption is eradicated.
“As we all know, corruption is the most terrible monster that confronts Nigeria and we must all work hard to tame this monster. In other words, I am certain that virtually all the problems associated with governance would be removed if we can all summon the courage to tackle corruption and banish it from our activities. Development doesn’t have a bigger enemy than corruption and the development of Nigeria is hinged on riding our polity and politics of corruption and corrupt practices,” he said.
Carrington described Nigeria as a great voice in the world blessed with human resources.
“Nigerians in Diaspora have so much to contribute to their homeland and ways must be found to create the environment which will invite them to return and reverse the brain drain,” he said.
Carrington added that for Nigeria to win its anti-corruption war, Nigerians must deploy their electoral power to vote out corrupt leaders. He called for the institutionalization of a strong civil society that would champion the anti-corruption fight and hold government accountable.