Afe Babalola: Nigeria’s debt crisis scaring away foreign investors

Founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), Aare Afe Babalola (SAN), has expressed concern that Nigeria’s mounting debt burden is discouraging foreign investors and weakening economic stability.

Speaking at the 2025 International Leadership Conference on Leadership, Governance, Sustainable Change, and Wealth Creation held at ABUAD over the weekend, Babalola said urgent fiscal reforms and responsible economic management were needed to rebuild investor confidence and promote sustainable growth.

He lamented that Nigeria’s total public debt, estimated at ₦152.4 trillion (about $99.7 billion), has positioned the country as a “big debtor nation,” creating fear among potential investors.

According to him, even local financial institutions are affected, as some commercial banks have reportedly complained that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is no longer honouring government-issued promissory notes due to the debt situation.

Babalola cited Section 14 of the Nigerian Constitution, which defines the government’s primary responsibility as ensuring the security and welfare of the people, urging leaders to prioritize citizens’ well-being over political or personal interests.

In his lecture, titled “Transformational Leadership in an Insecure and Disruptive Era,” development expert and founding Executive Director of the African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development (CentreLSD), Dr. Otive Igbuzor, emphasized that transformational leadership was key to addressing corruption, bad governance, unemployment, and inequality in Nigeria and across Africa.

Igbuzor called for a new generation of leaders who reward merit and innovation rather than mediocrity and patronage, urging the institutionalization of leadership training across schools and universities to build ethical and visionary leaders.

Also speaking, ABUAD Vice Chancellor, Prof. Smaranda Olarinde, described the conference as timely, stressing that international and regional partnerships are crucial to tackling Nigeria’s major challenges, including insecurity, hunger, poverty, and infrastructural decay.