Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s position that borrowing is not leprosy, arguing that Nigeria’s growing debt burden poses a greater danger to the country’s future and generations yet unborn.
Obasanjo made the remarks on Friday while speaking at the third Ajibosin Annual Symposium, held at the amphitheatre of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
The symposium was themed “Leveraging Artificial Intelligence to Solve Grassroots Problems and Accelerate National Development.”
Tinubu had recently defended his administration’s borrowing strategy, stating that borrowing was not leprosy and that the government simply needed to work hard to repay whatever it borrowed.
However, Obasanjo disagreed strongly with the President’s position, describing the argument as “absolute nonsense.” He maintained that while leprosy affects an individual, excessive borrowing could place a financial burden on an entire country and generations that have yet to be born.
The former President also questioned the country's increasing debt profile and the ability of its leaders to manage the economy in a way that would protect the interests of future generations.
Beyond the issue of borrowing, Obasanjo criticised the policies and influence of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), arguing that their recommendations were not necessarily designed to promote Nigeria’s development and prosperity.
To support his argument, he recalled an encounter with former British Prime Minister James Callaghan, whom he said received agricultural support for every sheep he owned.
Obasanjo questioned why Nigeria was discouraged from subsidising its agricultural sector when developed countries provided similar support to their farmers.
He said, “I was sitting with the former Prime Minister of Britain, Jimmy Callaghan. Callaghan was a sheep farmer. He was being paid four euros per annum on every sheep he owned, and they say we must never subsidise agriculture, and if we subsidise agriculture, we won’t get money from the World Bank or from the IMF.”
The former President argued that the World Bank and IMF were established before Nigeria gained independence and questioned why the country should rely heavily on their recommendations when determining its economic policies.
He further criticised what he described as Nigeria's unquestioning acceptance of economic advice from foreign experts, despite the country's unique population, circumstances and development challenges.
Obasanjo also questioned whether highly educated foreign economists and policymakers, regardless of their academic qualifications, could fully understand the realities of managing a country like Nigeria.
He illustrated his point by referring to his daughter, Iyabo, who studied at Cornell University, asking how she could be expected to dictate how he should manage his household simply because of her academic background.
He said, “How can Iyabo be the one who will tell me how I will run my home?”
He further argued that Nigeria should develop economic policies that reflect its own needs rather than blindly adopting recommendations from international financial institutions.
The former President warned that accepting such policies without carefully considering their consequences could undermine the country's development and economic independence.
His comments have brought renewed attention to the debate over Nigeria’s borrowing strategy, debt sustainability and the influence of international financial institutions on the country's economic decisions.
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