BY EMMANUEL ONWUBIKO<\/p>\n
Nigeria is a hoax. NIGERIA is a paradox. NIGERIA is a wonder of the
\nworld.<\/p>\n
These three phrases sum up the sentiments that run through the minds
\nof most critical thinkers of Nigerian origin who are unable to
\ndecipher or offer any logical explanation for why Nigeria is rated as
\na resource rich nation but doubles as home to the largest population
\nof absolutely poor and dejected members of the human community.<\/p>\n
Broadly speaking however, it is known that the reason for the
\nunwelcomed paradox is because of the crass ineptitude of the political
\nclass that have through extensive manipulations of the electoral
\nsystem, managed to hold on to political power since the last half a
\ncentury after flag independence.<\/p>\n
Professor Chinua Achebe\u2019s summed up the above scenario of
\nincompetent leadership that Nigeria has been cursed with almost in
\nperpetuity.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe trouble with Nigeria is simply a failure of leadership\u2026The
\nNigerian problem is the unwillingness or inability of its leaders to
\nrise to the responsibility, to the challenge of personal example which
\nare the hallmarks of true leadership,\u201d – Professor Chinua Achebe.<\/p>\n
To underscore the debilitating leadership crisis that Nigeria is faced
\nwith, all that a person needs to do is to understudy the
\nadministrative style of the current president who was once a military
\ndictator retired Major General Muhammadu Buhari.<\/p>\n
Since he assumed office five years back, this president has rolled
\nback Nigeria right into the inglorious class of a member of the
\nworld\u2019s heavily indebted nation.<\/p>\n
Nigeria has under president Buhari made a negative detour to become a
\nnotorious borrower to an extent that there is now hue and cry from all
\nconcerned patriots who are sounding loud note of warning that the
\ncurrent administration will lead Nigeria into an economically enslaved
\nnation to the lenders such as China.<\/p>\n
This sordid tale of an inglorious reversal of the gains made by the
\nprevious president Olusegun Obasanjo\u2019s administration who led
\nNigeria out of the debts trap, need to worry every Nigerian because of
\nthe dimension that the addiction to borrow has become with president
\nBuhari\u2019s government and his aversions to public opinion which is of
\nagainst the toxic move. But why make Nigerians the unwilling slaves of
\nChina through the ireational borrowing patterns? Did the Nigerian
\nCustoms Service not told us that in 2019 alone, it raked in N341
\nTrillion as revenues? Did the Federal Inland Revenue Services not
\nclaiming to raking in billions from taxes? Where are these money and
\nwhy does government borrow so much and claims to be building national
\ninfrastructures which still remained collapsed? These conundrums are
\nwhat every reasonable Nigeria is asking because it is a notorious fact
\nthat only few years back we exited from that disgraceful class of
\nheavily indebted nations. From www.cgdev.org we are told the story of
\nNigeria\u2019s freedom from debts as follows: \u201cNigeria, home to one in
\nfive Africans, has been the continent’s most indebted nation.”<\/p>\n
“With $36 billion in external debt, 100 million people living on less
\nthan a dollar a day, and a fledgling democratic government attempting
\nreforms, Nigeria should have been a strong candidate for debt relief.
\nYet, in part because of its oil revenues, Nigeria slipped through the
\ncracks of debt relief programs. In 2004, CGD set out to provide
\nanalytical support to Nigeria’s efforts to persuade creditors to agree
\nto an appropriate debt relief package.\u201d<\/p>\n
In October 2005, Nigeria and the Paris Club announced a final
\nagreement for debt relief worth $18 billion and an overall reduction
\nof Nigeria’s debt stock by $30 billion.<\/p>\n
According to the authors, the deal was completed on April 21, 2006,
\nwhen Nigeria made its final payment and its books were cleared of any
\nParis Club debt. CGD Fellow Todd Moss, who led CGD’s work on Nigeria’s
\ndebt, explains the outcome of the deal.<\/p>\n
“This watershed deal was the result of months of tireless work by both
\nNigerian officials and the creditors.<\/p>\n
The research platform known as CGD stated that it is proud that its
\nwork contributed to this historic outcome.<\/p>\n
It says: “A September 2004 CGD working paper, Double-Standards, Debt
\nTreatment, and World Bank Country Classification: The Case of Nigeria,
\nargued for Nigeria’s reclassification as an ‘IDA-only’ country within
\nthe Bank\u2014a prerequisite for debt relief. This overdue change in
\nstatus, announced in June 2005, enabled Paris Club negotiations to
\nbegin in earnest. CGD’s work also influenced the structure of the
\nfinal agreement, which included the first-ever discounted buyback
\nwithin the Paris Club, an innovation first proposed in an April 2005
\nCGD note, Resolving Nigeria\u2019s Debt Through a Discounted Buyback.”<\/p>\n
Also, it says that the Center’s contribution to the deal has been
\nrecognized by participants in the negotiations, by others close to the
\nprocess, and by major media:<\/p>\n
“Your catalytic work and analysis made a difference\u2026especially the
\nwork of CGD in facilitating the reclassification of Nigeria as an
\nIDA-only country as well as putting forward an innovative solution to
\nthe debt problem.” \u2014Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Minister of Finance(as she
\nthen was).<\/p>\n
“CGD has played a critically important role\u2026 I have it first hand
\nfrom negotiators in the Paris Club that it was the CGD concept of a
\nbuyback that was the tipping point that led creditors to agree debt
\nrelief for Nigeria\u2026This is a great achievement for all concerned,
\nand is in no small part due to the work of CGD.” \u2014Ann Pettifor,
\nco-founder Jubilee 2000 and Director of Advocacy International<\/p>\n
CGD was described by the New York Times as “a nonpartisan research
\ninstitution in Washington that proposed elements of the [Nigerian
\ndebt] deal” (Oct 21, 2005) and by the Economist as “the Washington
\nthink-tank that first proposed the buy-back” (October 20, 2005).<\/p>\n
Nigeria’s debt relief deal is historic. Although the short-term
\nfinancial windfall will be modest, the real potential impact is for
\nthe future. The long-term challenge for Nigeria will be to consolidate
\nthe gains from the debt deal by pushing forward with economic reform
\nand ensuring that the benefits from debt relief are shared with the
\npopulation. This is by no means assured, but the debt deal is an
\nimportant step in the right direction. These lofty aspirations have
\nall evaporated due to poor economic management of the Muhammadu
\nBuhari-led administration which sleeps, dreams and wakes up thinking
\nof the next loan to apply for. Nigeria under this government has sleep
\nwalked back into the unfortunate class of heavily indebted nations and
\nin five years, the government has accumulated what took successive
\ngovernments in the past over two decades to build up.<\/p>\n
The below story is why every Nigerian should worry.<\/p>\n
The media is awash with the frightening moves By the government of
\nMuhammadu Buhari to once more borrow heavily from China.<\/p>\n
The Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government has offered a lame and
\nirrational explanation why it decided to approach the China-Exim Bank
\nfor a $17bn loan request.<\/p>\n
It said other lending institutions like the World Bank and the African
\nDevelopment Bank were not showing much interest when Nigeria
\napproached them during recession.<\/p>\n
The Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, stated this in the Senate while
\ndefending the decision of the regime of the President, Major General
\nMuhammadu Buhari (retd.), to borrow $29.96bn loan to fund critical
\ninfrastructure across the country.<\/p>\n
She explained that the 8th National Assembly had approved about $6bn
\nfor the Federal Government out of the $29.96bn loan, leaving a balance
\nof $22.8bn.<\/p>\n
The Finance minister Ms. Ahmed told the Senate Committee on Local and
\nForeign loans that the Federal Government and some state governments
\nwere jointly requesting the loans from various lending institutions.<\/p>\n
She said 70 per cent of the loan, which is about $17bn, would come
\nfrom the China-Exim Bank while others would be sourced from other
\nlending institutions such as the Islamic Development Bank.<\/p>\n
The minister maintained that the country had no issue with its current
\ndebt profile but noted that its dwindling revenue could not fund the
\nvarious projects that were expected to have meaningful impact on the
\nlives of Nigerians.<\/p>\n
She said, \u201cThe funds ($22.8bn) will be channeled to the funding of
\ninfrastructure, which will enhance the productivity of our economy.<\/p>\n
\u201cOther projects are in healthcare and education. It also includes
\nprojects for the rehabilitation of the North- East geopolitical zone,
\nwhich has been ravaged by insurgency.<\/p>\n
\u201cOthers are the Mambila Hydro Power project ($4.9bn), Lagos-Kano
\nmodernization rail project ($4.1bn), the Development Finance project
\nloan being provided by a consortium of World Bank and African
\nDevelopment Bank agencies ($1.28bn).<\/p>\n
\u201cAbove all, the loan will help us to improve our electricity supply,
\nreduce poverty, create jobs, ensure access to finance, agricultural
\nproductivity, guarantee food security, achieves high school enrolment,
\nprovide clean potable water, rehabilitate major roads and develop the
\nmining industry.\u201d<\/p>\n
On why the country is seeking 70 per cent of the foreign loan from
\nChina, the minister said, \u201cit is meant to make funds available to
\nour own development institutions so that they can give out loans
\nbecause access to finance has been difficult for the SMEs.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the debt profile of the country, the minister said, \u201cThe 2016 \u2013
\n2018 external borrowing plans are both for the Federal Government and
\nthe states. So, some states would be responsible for the payment of
\nsome of the loans.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the sustainability of the nation\u2019s debt portfolio, the minister
\nsaid Nigeria\u2019s current portfolio ceiling as set by the Fiscal
\nResponsibility Act was 25 per cent of total debt to GDP. He said,
\n\u201cThe ratio for December 2018 was 19.09 per cent but it reduced to
\n18.9 per cent by the middle of 2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe debt service to revenue ratio is however high and it provides
\nus strong justification for us to drive our revenue.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor 2017, the ratio was 57 per cent and 51 per cent in 2018.\u201d<\/p>\n
The minister said the nation\u2019s debt level was low compared to other
\ncountries like the USA, the United Kingdom and Canada. The Chief of
\nStaff to the Kaduna State Governor, Mohammed Abdullahi, defended the
\nstate\u2019s $305m loan request before the panel.<\/p>\n
A representative of the Katsina State Government, Yakubu Danja, said
\nthe state planned to source $100m out of $110m from the Islamic
\nDevelopment Bank.<\/p>\n
He said the state would enjoy between 20 to 50 per cent grants and
\nthat projects to be executed would cover the entire local government
\nareas of the state. He also said that the loan was interest-free.<\/p>\n
Kogi State Government\u2019s Commissioner for Finance, Budget and
\nPlanning, Mr. Ashiru Idris, said the $100m that the state was
\nrequesting would be used to develop infrastructure to encourage
\ninvestors and diversify the economy. These are all propaganda that
\nlack justification. Unfortunately, Nigeria now has a lamedock Senate
\nand a Senate headed by a stooge of President Muhammadu Buhari so the
\nSenators will okay the request because the Senate President Ahmed
\nLawan had already stayed that his Senate will pass every request from
\nPresident Muhammadu Buhari because they are good. The Chairman of the
\ncommittee seeking clarification on the loan package is a stooge of the
\nKaduna state governor whilst the Finance minister is the Sister of the
\nKaduna state governor. Nothing good can come from the Ahmed Lawan led
\nSenate.<\/p>\n
Just before we round up on the frightening development regarding the
\ncontinuous pursuit for loans by president Buhari, let us read a little
\nof what Oseloka H. Obaze, a seasoned diplomat, international civil
\nservant, strategic policy advisor, wrote in 2016 about Buhari\u2019s
\neconomic policy outlook.<\/p>\n
Writing in his book \u201cPrime witness charge and policy challenges in
\nBuhari\u2019s Nigeria\u201d, he says: \u201cTen months into its first year in
\noffice, the Buhari presidency remains economically challenged. Its
\nespoused economic policies have not manifested. As the economy wobbled
\ntowards a glaring and deleterious downturn, criticisms raged,
\ncompelling variants of ad-hoc policy approaches. Because most of the
\npolicy options were disconnected, they presented as policy dissonance,
\nif not confusion.\u201d<\/p>\n
As Fela the legendary Musician would say, CONFUSION BREAK BONE AND WE
\nHAVE DOUBLE WAHALA for dead body and the owner of the dead body.<\/p>\n
Nigerians, must we allow ourselves to become slaves of China? The die
\nis cast!<\/p>\n
*Emmanuel Onwubiko is the Head of the Human Rights Writers Association
\nof Nigeria and blogs@www.huriwanigeria.com; www.emmanuelonwubikocom;
\nwww.thenigerianinsidernews.com [1]; www.huriwa@blospot.com<\/p>\n
Links:
\n——
\n[1] http:\/\/www.thenigerianinsidernews.com\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BY EMMANUEL ONWUBIKO Nigeria is a hoax. NIGERIA is a paradox. NIGERIA is a wonder of the world. These three phrases sum up the sentiments that run through the minds…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":71636,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-71635","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles-opinions"],"yoast_head":"\n