President Olesegun Obasanjo of Nigeria has described this week's much criticised G8 rescue plan for Africa as "satisfactory".
Aid agencies have expressed disappointment at the G8 African Action Plan, but on a visit to Ireland yesterday President Obasanjo said: "What we got was satisfactory."
He added: "No human institution or human arrangement can be regarded as perfect, but if both of us adhere and live up to our expectation on what we get, that is the departure not the arrival."
President Obasanjo is one of four leaders from Africa on a partnership body which offers good governance in return for aid, the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD).
He said his main mission for his country was not merely building roads or schools.
"My main mission is the reorientation of Nigerians away from selfish and self-centredness, away from corruption so they see themselves as people who have a stake in a country that is wholesome, in a country that is best run for the best interests of Nigeria, and that is not a thing that you can achieve overnight."
Asked whether he was disturbed that more than 12,000 Nigerians have sought asylum in Ireland in the past five years, President Obasanjo said it didn't bother him too much.
"When I was talking to the President [Mrs McAleese] today I thanked her for taking care of those Nigerians who were genuinely afraid for their lives and came and looked for asylum. Some of them were looking for greener fields because the country could not provide adequately for them economically . . .
"What I have known of Nigerians is that they love their homes. When situations improve at home you will be surprised how those people will come back home."
President Obasanjo denied there were any political prisoners in detention in Nigeria. A former military leader, he returned to power as a civilian in 1999 after spending three years in prison at the hands of a military dictator.
The Human Rights Watch annual report for this year said corruption in Nigeria remained rampant and the human rights picture was mixed.