World Bank Offers Nigeria $3bn

[Richard Akindele]

[Richard Akindele]

Here we go again trying to get Nigeria back into debt.

It was only a few short years ago that former president Olusegun Obasanjo managed to settle Nigeria's debt of about $35 billion to the Paris club and the IMF. That was debt dating back to the 80's. All successive governments could not service the loan, let alone pay it off. The original loan amount was small, but eventually ballooned to over $35 billion.

We barely escaped that stranglehold of rich countries on us, and now some blockheads in the Nigerian government are looking to plunge the country right back into debt.

Instead of getting into debt yet again, how about we examine thoroughly, into whose pockets our oil revenue is going, and put our oil resources to good use! Get rid of the corruption, and you'd have a pile of money with which to build the nation up.

If Nigeria takes a loan from the world bank, we know the money isn't going into any development projects. It'd be embezzled soon after, leaving the country in debt for decades to come.

The World bank has no problem disbursing money to a corrupt nation like Nigeria. But before long, it'd be the same World bank that'd place Nigeria on a fiscal blacklist for misappropriating the loan.

The World Bank envies a debt-free Nigeria. We must not let them get their way by dragging us back in debt, leaving us beholden to rich nations. Let us wake up to the games rich nations play.

Nigeria has enough money to develop its internal projects. We do not need any loans that have to be paid back. Nigeria lacks the discipline to handle loans judiciously, especially across different regimes.

I say let Nigeria live within its means. $3 billion should be chicken change for an oil exporting Nigeria. The World bank needs to back off and quite trying to lure us into debt. The hidden agenda being that once we take the money, they then inevitably gain the power to dictate policy to us. They get to tell us how to run our country.

If we value our freedom and independence, we would explore other avenues for raising the money we need, outside of getting into debt with rich nations who may not exactly have our best interest at heart.