Nigeria’s Rising Debt Profile: Obasanjo Raises Alarm, Warns FG

Former Nigerian President , Chief Olusegun Obasanjo has raised the alarm again but this time over impending bankruptcy likely to face the country in view of its current debt profile.

Obasanjo disclosed this as a keynote speaker at the “Why I am Alive” campaign celebration in Lagos on Friday.

According to him, “Nigeria’s external debt grew by as much as 700 percent to N24.947 trillion ($81.2.74 billion), from $10.32 billion in just four years (2015), meaning that the country wouldhave to commit half of its foreign earnings to servicing its current level of indebtedness.

“Such a situation talks about impending bankruptcy,” the former president warned. He insisted that “no entity can survive while devoting 50 percent of its revenue to debt servicing.”

He explained that the current budget out of which Nigeria spends 25 percent to service debt “is not the country’s total earning; a lot of it is also borrowing. Simply put, we are borrowing to service what we have borrowed and yet we are borrowing more.

“I do not need the brain of any genius to conclude that those who use statistics to dig us deeper into debt are our enemies: statistics can be used to serve any purpose, and that is why Winston Churchill talked of lies, damn lies and statistics, meaning statistics can be made master of lies.”

Calling for national dialogue or debate on Nigeria’s short, medium and long-term plans as a nation, Obasanjo said his biggest worry was that, with the scale of debts the country was walking into, “there are already fiscal challenges to meet(ing) our obligations.”

Obasanjo, who was twice head of the Nigerian government in both military and civilian capacity between 1976 and 2007, was a special guest of the “Why I am Alive” campaign celebration tagged “The Nigerian Story” created by media personality and chief executive of Eureka Productions, Caroline Moore in Lagos on Friday.

He has been very critical of governments since he left office after completing two terms of four years each as a civilian president in 2007.

Pastor Itua Ighodalo, who moderated the Friday session, said the campaign was “designed to empower young Nigerians for the future by tapping into the key lessons from success stories of eminent personalities that have contributed to the social, economic and political growth of Nigeria.

Let’s recall that it was the government of President Obasanjo that Nigeria cleared all her foreign debts.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Community Economy Government Health News People Religion

JUST IN: Terrorists kidnap 87 in fresh Kaduna attack

Terrorists on Sunday night kidnapped 87 people after launching a fresh attack on the Kajuru-Station community in Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State. A member of the Kajuru-Station Youths, Harisu Dari, confirmed the incident to our correspondent on Monday in Kaduna. Harisu said the terrorists also broke into some shops and stole food items […]

Read More
Community Entertainment Fashion Lifestyle News People Sports

Anthony Joshua knocks out Cameroonian Francis Ngannou in two rounds

March 9, 2024 British-Nigerian boxer Anthony Joshua has dealt his Cameroonian opponent Francis Ngannou a second-round knockout in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Joshua proved too strong for Ngannou, a former UFC champion, in their highly-anticipated match early Saturday. Ngannou entered the bout with the aura of his impressive debut against Tyson Fury back in November 2023. […]

Read More
Business Community Economy Entertainment Government Health Lifestyle News People Politics Religion Sports Technology

JUST IN: Governor Rotimi Akeredolu Is Dead

Reports reaching us just confirmed Gov Akeredolu of Ondo state is dead. Akeredolu, who became the Governor of Ondo in 2017, had announced his decision to embark on a medical leave on Wednesday, December 13, 2023, as a follow-up to his treatment and also handed over power to his deputy, Lucky Aiyedatiwa. Aiyedatiwa will be […]

Read More