Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has described President Bola Tinubu’s claim that borrowing is not leprosy as “absolute nonsense”, warning that mounting debt could damage generations of Nigerians.
Obasanjo made the remarks on Friday at the Ajibosin Platform, a public forum in Abeokuta, Ogun State, themed “Leveraging Artificial Intelligence to Solve Grassroots Problems and Accelerate National Development.”
He argued that the consequences of debt extended beyond the present generation, contrasting it with leprosy, which he said affected individuals.
“And for anybody to say debt is no leprosy, is absolute nonsense. Debt is worse than leprosy. Because leprosy destroys only one person. Debt destroys generations,” the former president said.
In April, Tinubu defended his administration’s borrowing policy, saying the government would borrow when necessary and work to repay its obligations.
“If we have to borrow, we borrow. Borrowing is not leprosy, we just have to work hard to be able to pay for it,” the President said during a meeting with Plateau State leaders at the State House in Abuja.
The remarks came amid concerns over Nigeria’s rising public debt and the share of government revenue used to service loans.
Obasanjo also questioned Nigeria’s economic performance, citing the depreciation of the naira against the US dollar over the past 47 years.
“When I started my farm, 47 years ago, naira to the dollar was one naira to $1.85. Forty-seven years ago. What has Nigeria done in 47 years that we now have 1,500 naira to the dollar? What have we done?” he asked.
He further questioned the knowledge and capacity of the country’s political leaders to make decisions that would improve the lives of citizens.
“What do our leaders know? And what do they not know? And from what they know, what can they do for us?” he said.
The former president also criticised Nigeria’s reliance on foreign institutions, particularly the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), arguing that their policies might not adequately address the country’s specific economic needs.
He recalled that Nigeria had been discouraged from subsidising agriculture, despite what he described as the support provided to farmers in developed countries.
“World Bank and IMF were not designed for us. They were not built by us. They were built before we became independent. And that’s the people who would determine what we do,” Obasanjo said.
He cautioned against adopting economic policies recommended by foreign-trained experts without considering Nigeria’s local circumstances.
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