Accumulating debt for Nigeria’s next generations is criminal – Obasanjo tells Buhari govt

Former president of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo, has warned the federal government over taking fresh loans, amid widespread outcry over incessant borrowing by the current administration.

Obasanjo, during an interview with Channels Television in South Africa, described it as criminal. He said the federal government was accumulating debt for the next generation to pay.

Obasanjo expressed worries that if the existing debt remains unserviced or unpaid by President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, it might become a huge problem for successive governments. Buhari, a few days ago, requested the approval of the National Assembly to borrow the fresh sums of $4,054,476,863 and €710million.

Reacting, Obasanjo who believes that borrowing is not a problem, however, stated that the challenge would be the utilization of the borrowed fund and the plan or capacity to pay back.

He said, “But if you are borrowing and accumulating debts for the next generation and the next generation after them, it is criminal. What are you borrowing for?

“If we are borrowing for recurrent expenditure, it is the height of folly. If we are borrowing for development that can pay for itself, that is understandable. Then the payment, how long will it take to pay itself?”