The news that the President has asked the National Assembly to approve 1 billion dollars external loan to fight Boko Haram is quite worrisome. In as much as this action shows that the Government has finally owned up to its failure to handle this insurgency, the fact that we have to get to borrow should give everybody who loves this country a cause for concern.
It is looking like the government has lost clue as to what to do about this insurgency as recent pettiness which are unbelievable and laughable suggest-Petty issues like buck passing about everything, including visitation of some escaped Chibok girls and their parents and all that- the same people this government has not bothered about for over 3 months.
You know we have lost it when the SSS starts accusing innocents who ask questions, like the Bring Back Our Girls Movement, of aiding terrorism.
But seriously, are we considering borrowing 1billion dollars to fight Boko Haram? I am wondering what we would do if, God forbid, we are at war with another country?
Now, this loan we understand is for upgrading of equipment, training logistics and the rest of them. This I believe means we have been relying on moribund equipment all these while despite having huge sums allocated to defence. If this is anything to go by,then it suggests it must be true that we do not match Boko Haram weapon for weapon as has always been rumored. This is no good news because it suggests that we are not even prepared if, God forbid, a war comes to us. Why then should we be deceived into believing the Army is always ‘on top of the situation’? What has been our defence budget over the years? What have the allocations always been used for? How true is it that some people are there to loot and make money at the expense of our security? How true is it that instead of purchasing sophisticated weapons, what we do here is purchase sub –standard war materials which serves little or no purpose in the end?
Infact we lose Men in the process. Whose head has rolled ever since? It is not rocket science to know that misappropriation is responsible for the recent state of our security.
Our representatives really need to ask questions as regards this recent move by the Government as one does not understand the motive behind this loan. What is the guarantee that the money we are borrowing will not go into private pockets as have always been the norm here?
Does this in any way have anything to do with next year’s election?
Believe me; in this clime anything is possible. Does this have to do with the assistance we are getting from the international community to fight the sect as in the end they stand to gain, if this loan thing goes through? What progress has been made since the involvment of the international community in this fight against Boko Haram?
If this government really needs 1 billion dollars, then I suggest it recovers our monies looted by known crooks and then use same for what they want it for. How much was recovered from the Abacha family? What happened to them all? We have billions of looted dollars out there screaming to be recovered and we are talking about borrowing to fight one sect.
Recently an alarm was raised as regards some missing billion dollars. We huffed and puffed for a while and everything has gone cold. This, I think is the right time to look for that money. If the government is hell bent on borrowing 1 billion dollars for whatever it says it needs it for, then it can as well recover the missing billion dollars and use for same.
Nigeria has a lot on her plate already and cannot afford to start owing that much again-Not for this!
We all desperately want an end to this insurgency but the government has to come up with a better reason to borrow One billion dollars .If we are borrowing one billion dollars to fight the high unemployment and illiteracy in the North-the key reasons why book haram soars, fine. If we are borrowing one billion dollars to improve our health care facilities et al(even though we can do them without borrowing a dime), fine. Just don’t come finger our brains with some equipment-upgrading-training-logistic BS when N968.127bn was appropriated to Defence in the 2014 budget.
Chiechefulam Ikebuiro
@thalynxis