“I was the Senate leader between November 1992 and November 1993 when the late Sanni Abacha ousted us. But the Senate I led was not paid. Only N5,000 was paid to each of us to visit our constituency once in a month. We were all lodged and fed free at the Hilton Hotel. I have said it many times that we were not paid a dime.
“Our problems are the people and not the politicians. We vote them to go and steal and bring home the loot. When Abacha drove us out, I came to my house in Oyo. That is my only house in Nigeria. I had no car, so I took a bus and arrived home at 2am. I actually had two Mercedes Benz cars that were at home for 15 years before I gave them out. I was using taxis to go out.
“I went to Lagos twice in Danfo (commercial bus) as a senator. On one occasion, I sat in the front seat. We entered Lagos at 5.30 am. In the bus, people were talking about me. They said that I went to Abuja and I returned a poor man taking taxis each time I went out. One of them said that people like me who could not steal should not be voted for.
“When the bus stopped, I looked back and greeted them. I introduced myself to them and they were shocked. The people make politicians thieves. I don’t cherish material things. My father built the house I live in in 1918 after he returned from the World War. I only built more houses in the compound to be comfortable. That is all I have.
