(17 Jun 2006)
1. Wide shot of Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo being interviewed
2. SOUNDBITE (English): Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigerian President:
“I did not know how deep the corruption, the general decay in the Nigerian economy, the Nigerian social and political life, in our society, I didn’t know how deep the decay was. So, it took me some time to be able to come to grips with the depth and magnitude of the decay.”
3. Close-up of Obasanjo’s hands
4. SOUNDBITE (English): Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigerian President:
“Of course any country in the world can offer to act as custody for Charles Taylor. So if Britain make such an offer after due process of law, I believe there’s nothing wrong with it but Britain must of course realise that Africa does not have a monopoly of criminals.”
5. Wide shot of Obasanjo being interviewed
6. SOUNDBITE (English): Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigerian President:
“We’ve all been clamouring in Africa that African problems should first of all be left with Africans for solutions. And the world is listening to us. And we have done that successfully in Sierra Leone, we’ve done it now successfully in Liberia and that is the same model which we are following in Darfur. And I believe if we religiously keep to that model we are going to succeed in Darfur.”
7. Mid shot of photographer
8. SOUNDBITE (English): Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigerian President:
“The delta problem is a little bit complex and complicated. I would put it this way, it’s many years of accumulation of neglect by the oil companies and by the government, and by the government I mean the government at all levels.”
9. Mid shot of Obasanjo’s hands
10. SOUNDBITE (English): Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigerian President:
“You probably will remember that I was called upon to be involved in what was happening in apartheid South Africa. If there is such a call from the international community, or anybody believes that there is something useful where I can help and be useful, of course for as long as I live I will want to be useful to humanity and to God.”
11. Close-up of Obasanjo’s hands
12. SOUNDBITE (English): Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigerian President:
“We must not forget the debt relief. We’ve been able to pay off ++indistinct++ relief, pay off the Paris Club debt. At one time, that debt was as high as $34 billion dollars. Today, we do not owe Pairs Club one penny. I think that is a significant achievement.”
13. Wide shot of Obasanjo being interviewed
STORYLINE:
Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo said in an interview Saturday that he was surprised by the level of corruption with which he has had to grapple since taking office.
In the wide-ranging interview in London with the Associated Press, Obasanjo also said he was trying to calm the southern region of his country, where militants are battling the government for control of the region’s oil wealth, by addressing concerns about jobs and poverty as well as cracking down on “criminality.”
On corruption, the president said: “I did not know how deep the corruption, the general decay in the Nigerian economy, the Nigerian social and political life, in our society, I didn’t know how deep the decay was.”
“So, it took me some time to be able to come to grips with the depth and magnitude of the decay,” the president told the AP.
But Obasanjo, who completes his second and last term next year, said he has been able to make inroads and the result has been improvements in the economy and other areas in Africa’s most populous country, home to some 130 (M) million people.
Nigeria worked off 30 (b) billion US dollars in Paris Club debts through cancellation grants and buybacks.
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