Agenda Papers Editorial: How Not To Ask For Debt Forgiveness In The Face Of Fiscal Recklessness

Last week call and plea by president Tinubu for world bank, IMF and Western countries to forgive Nigeria of the debts being owed them did not come to many as a surprise.

This is because over the years many Nigerian rulers have engaged in this shameful act of begging for loans and debts acquired over time to be forgiven.

As at the last count Nigeria total indebtedness stands at above $112 billion with additional $1.5 billion just being granted by the world bank.

For economists and managers of the economy there is nothing wrong in somebody or a country going for a loan. This is in the sense that such a credit facility will help boost his business or help the country to achieve certain goals.

The history of loan accumulation in Nigeria has come a long way but a major breakthrough was recorded during the Obasanjo regime with World trade Organization Director-Genetal Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as finance minister when the country was granted debt forgiveness and the country’s debt profile came down to almost zero.

But over the years after the Obasanjo regime the craze for debt accumulation and foreign loans have risen to over $100 billion.

The country heaved a sigh of relief when this present regime came to power last year and one of the statements made by Tinubu was that he will no longer collect additional foreign loan.

But that promise lasted for just a few months as the record had it that when former president Buhari was leaving office he left with a debt of about $77 billion.

Today the debt profile has risen to $112 billion from $77 billion just 15 months after Tinubu took over reigns of power.

The worst is that the conditionallities for most of the loans is not clement and favourable for the country.

Analysis has shown that at maturity of most of the loans Nigeria will be paying more than double of what it collected particularly with daily depreciation of the national currency, the Naira.

Most annoying part of it all is that at the time of maturity most of them that acquired the loan must have long be dead and gone leaving the huge debt to generation yet unborn.

The multi billion dollar question is where has all these billions of dollars loans gone to. You cannot ask for debt forgiveness when you are involved in frivolities and reckless fiscal indiscipline.

A country that buys multi million presidential jet, yacht, beast car cannot in all sincerity request for debt forgiveness.

A regime that allows it’s national assembly members to purchase N160 million SUV Jeeps for each senator has no moral right to say he cannot repay the loans it collected.

A country that renovates it’s vice president lodge with N22 billion and not building an entirely new house for him cannot be asking for debt pardon.

A situation where the wife of the president with all her unconstitutional status spends N350 million for decorations for events in just three months and spends billions of unbudgeted funds is not entitled to debt forgiveness.

Above examples are just a tip of the recklessness that the government of the day indulges itself and still has the temerity to ask for debt forgiveness.

The countries that Nigeria are asking for debt forgiveness are not stupid. They see and hear all the squandamania and recklessness going on in the country. They know that Nigeria is endowed with natural resources whereas most of the countries that borrowed them don’t have such abundant resources and so may be wondering how to pardon the country with such massive wealth.

This has been shown in the recent embarrassment of the country by countries like China confiscating it’s assets anywhere they set eyes on it.

Such international debasing is the level Nigeria has gotten itself with the kind of leaders they have.

If you are the person or country that Nigeria is owing will you be able to grant such forgiveness.

It’s high time that Tinubu stopped the international embarrassment of asking for debt forgiveness. He should brace up and start repaying the loans or at least ask for debt rescheduling.

He should also as a matter of national importance stop forthwith any other plans for more foreign loans.

Enough is Enough!!!