The Muhammadu Buhari administration has been characterised with it’s need to acquire more and more debt for the nation. Nigeria currently has a debt profile standing at over N31.009 trillion, and it seems it’s only moving towards an upward trajectory.
The Federal Government announced, on Tuesday, that it was seeking a $1.2bn external borrowing from Brazil to finance agricultural programmes in the 2021 budget.
Yet, another loan.
While it hasn’t been granted yet, a request for approval has been sent to the National Assembly. The minister of finance, budget and national planning, Zainab Ahmed requested during her appearance before the house committee on finance to defend the ministry’s budget.
A curious discovery is that the accumulation of debt has been the most prominent accomplishment of the Buhari administration. In 2006, Nigeria had paid off its Paris Club loan, reducing its external debt to $3.5 billion. Unfortunately, between the start of 2015 and December 2020, Nigeria’s external debt rose from $9.7 billion to $27 billion. Most of these debts were borrowed in the first 4 years of Buhari’s administration.
Loans are not all bad. But what is bad is that these loans are not being invested in ventures that can bring back returns. Most times, we see the government pour these monies into white elephant projects; essentially leaving Nigeria destitute.
Toluwanimi Onakoya is a spirited writer, creative and videographer. Her biggest drive is to connect with people and depict tales using various forms of media.
Toluwanimi is available on Instagram and Twitter @nimi_onaks
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