Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has warned that Nigeria’s growing appetite for loans could leave a devastating financial burden on generations yet unborn, insisting that excessive borrowing is more dangerous than leprosy.
Obasanjo made the remarks in response to President Bola Tinubu’s recent position that borrowing should not be regarded as a disease, arguing that governments must simply work hard to repay their debts.
Speaking on Friday at the third Ajibosin Annual Symposium at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library in Abeokuta, Ogun State, the former President questioned the country’s debt management strategy and the economic decisions of its leaders.
Obasanjo and the leprosy illustration
He argued that while leprosy affects an individual, an unsustainable debt burden could cripple an entire country and impose economic hardship on generations that had no part in incurring the loans.
Obasanjo secured about $30bn in debt relief for Nigeria during his tenure from 1999 to 2007.
The former President also took aim at the influence of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund on Nigeria’s economic policies, accusing the institutions of promoting prescriptions that failed to accommodate the country’s peculiar circumstances.
He cited the subsidies enjoyed by farmers in developed countries, despite international opposition to similar interventions in developing economies.
Expressing concern over the naira’s persistent depreciation, Obasanjo recalled that when he established his farm about 47 years ago, the exchange rate stood at roughly N1 to $1.85.
He questioned how the currency had fallen to around N1,500 to the dollar, before declaring, “Debt is worse than leprosy, because leprosy destroys only one person. Debt destroys generations.”
He also warned that Nigeria could face another form of foreign exploitation if it embraced artificial intelligence without developing the capacity to control the technology.
Obasanjo maintained that innovations beyond a country’s control could be deployed against its interests.
Similarly, historian and political commentator, Dr Umar Ardo, warned that Africa could lose control of its valuable data and technological resources if it failed to build local capacity in artificial intelligence.
Ardo said Africa had repeatedly supplied labour and raw materials throughout history while foreign powers controlled the technology and captured the benefits.
He cautioned that data generated from African businesses, hospitals, farms and public institutions could become the next target of external exploitation unless the continent secured ownership of its digital infrastructure, intellectual property and technological systems.
Kehinde Ayanboade
Kehinde Ayanboade is the Managing Editor and Publisher of Naija Metro News, with over eight years of experience covering Nigerian politics, crime, legislative proceedings and metropolitan affairs.
