era of 1970’s and 80’s when Nigeria incurred debts that
plagued the country until they were paid up in 2005.
Speaking at the symposium “X-raying 50 years of military intervention in Nigeria’s politics” organised by the Department of Political Science at the University of Lagos,Femi Falana noted that such borrowing would leave Nigeria indebted for years, thereby mortgaging the country’s future.
He said:
“Between 1978 and 1986, this country incurred debts to the extent that we did not know how much we owed under the regime of General Ibrahim Babangida. They had to engage the services of a consultant in the West to tell us what we owed, and of course, the London Paris Club gave us a figure. That was the extent to which governance deteriorated.By the time [former President Olusegun] Obasanjo was paying the debts, in one fell swoop in 2005, this country parted with $12.4bn for the West to forgive our debts. Meanwhile, they were the real sinners.
At that time, on both the principal and the interest, we had paid $42bn. That amount alone could have eradicated poverty in the entire Africa.“Now again, President Buhari wants to get a loan of $30bn. You know what that means? For generations unborn, we will mortgage their future, except the money is genuinely meant for infrastructural development, which is usually not the case once the money comes in.
“So, Buhari should forget about the $30bn loan when he can get more than that if he goes after our stolen money in the West.” Meanwhile, the All Progressives Congress (APC) has appealed to the Senate to reverse its decision to reject the $29.96bn loan request by President Buhari The publicity secretary of South East chapter of the party Hyacinth Ngwu, in reaction to the lawmakers’ decision, described the Senate’s rejection as an “ill wind that would blow no one any good” .
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