Nigerian president slams Cameron’s embarrassing remarks
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Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari addresses delegates at the start of a conference to tackle corruption at the Commonwealth Secretariat in London on May 11, 2016. (AFP photo)
UK Prime Minister David Cameron’s embarrassing remarks about Nigeria drew harsh criticism Wednesday from Nigerian senators and President Muhammadu Buhari who said he would not want an apology but “something tangible.”
Chukwuka Utazi, Chairman of Nigeria’s Senate Committee on anti-corruption and financial crimes, slammed Cameron’s “hypocritical” remarks, saying he was “taken aback” by the comments.
“Let these governments return all these stolen funds in London, then we can believe what he is saying. If he just comes here and makes guarded statements like he did yesterday, we as a nation are not happy about it.”
“Great Britain, as a great ally of Nigeria, should do better than they’re doing for this country. Hypocritical - that’s just the word,” the Nigerian senator added.
“If there's no market for stolen goods, then there would not be a thief. As long as the criminals steal, and Britain is ready to welcome them over here... it smacks of irresponsibility.”
On Tuesday, Cameron was caught on camera telling the Queen that “leaders of some fantastically corrupt countries” would be present at the UK government’s anti-corruption summit scheduled to be held on May 12.
The British premier singled out Nigeria and Afghanistan as two of the most corrupt countries in the world, the Guardian reported.
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