Former President of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, has stated that President Mohammadu Buari is leading the country into bankruptcy, with the plan to borrow $29.6 billion.
Obasanjo expressed fears that Buhari is taking the country into more debts, adding that those advising him to take more loans are enemies of Nigeria.
Nigeria’s external debt profile has grown by $14.6 billion between 2015 and March 2019, yet the Buhari administration wants to borrow $29.6 billion more, which would push the total debt to over $44 billion.
Obasanjo said this at an event titled “Why I am alive campaign, organised by Nigerian pastor, Itua Ighodalo, in Lagos on Friday.
According to Obasanjo, the plan will spell doom for the country.
He said: “The issue of Nigeria rapidly sinking under the weight of debt; both foreign and domestic, should bother us all.
“Everyone knows that our governments are notoriously deficient in serious and adequate discipline and most often lack competence and consistency as well.
“To service this current level of indebtedness, we must commit at least 50% of our foreign earnings!! Such a situation talks about an impending bankruptcy. No entity can survive while devoting 50% of its revenue to debt servicing. It has recently been pointed out that in 2018 that total debt service cost took over 60% of government revenue.
“What is more we are not doing enough to address the fundamental, deep-seated and structural challenges that inhibit the expansion of our economy. As if this is not bad enough, we are currently seeking to add another $29.6 billion loan to our already overburdened debt portfolio.
“Our current budget out of which we are spending 25% to service debt is not our 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.”
