Debt Profile: Hope for a Better Nigeria -By Oluwasanmi Femi

It is no longer news that Nigeria debit profile has skyrocketed to 25 trillion Naira in the recent time, except the president Buhari’s $29.96 billion external borrowing agenda sent to the National Assembly on the 28th November, 2019, which the president claims to encapsulate catalysts for the nation’s development and antidotes to the multidimensional poverty in the country.

According to President Mohammed Buhari, the reason for the plan is to address issues that the current earnings from the cruel oil can not addressed. Such issues as explained by the president are dilapidated infrastructure, frigile health care system, unemployment, a drastic dip in the standard of education across the country among others.

Looking at this explanation, the external borrowing plan seems to give hope for a better Nigeria by focusing on the critical areas which have make Nigeria a laughing score in the comity of States. But at the same time, it also raises questions on how the money borrowed between 2015 and 2018 were spent.

Before the present Administration, the nation’s debt profile was 12 trillion Naira. But in 2016, the administration decided to embark on a borrowing trip which put the nation’s total debit profile at 25 trillion Naira today.

From 2016 to the first quarter of 2019 for instance, the Nation has borrowed 12 trillion Naira all in the name of accelerating the nation’s development. However, despite all these borrowings the country still continues to run at a pace very low to speed expected from the change mantra.

Though, the reason for the disparity in the money spent and the projects on ground still remains a rocket science, but at the same time it can not be excluded from the epdemic corruption in the land.

Corruption is a cankerworm that has eaten deep into the fabric of Nigerian development. It is one of the reasons the country has continues to shop for loans instead of showcasing her produces at the International market. The effect of this corruption and the quest to nail the nib in the bulb prompted Nigerians to vote for a change in 2015.

However, based on the recent acceleration in the nation’s debt profile and multidimensional poverty in the country, it seems as if corruption still remains unabated in the country. Infact, it call to question the war against corruption and the money recovered from the locusts and caterpillars feeding on the nation’s wealth.

The gimmicks of this syndrome which has make the country look like ‘a state of the more you look the less you see’ is what has continue to generate serious questions on the external borrowing plan sent to the National Assembly by the president. Particularly, putting into consideration the stand-by parasites and economic scavengers looking for any opportunity to milk the nation’s wealth out of proportion.

As a matter of fact, there is nothing bad in borrowing so far it is going to be used to spur development and reduced the level of suffering of the people. But, it becomes a matter of concern when there is a great disequilibrium between the nation’s debt profile and her development. In Nigeria, the more the debit profile increases the more people clamour for better living, good roads, electricity and others things which most of the time claimed to be the rationale for acquiring more loans.

Just of recent, a statistics released by the world poverty clock shows that the numbers of people living in an extreme poverty has jumped to 97 millions. Also, the data released by the National Bureau Statistics in the 3rd quarter of 2018, shows that the numbers of unemployed youths has drastically increased to 23 percent.

The same thing is applicable to the education sector. Most leading universities in 2014 are now at the back today due to poor funding. Also, in the area of power there seems to be a missing link between the money spent and the power supply.

The same narrative is in the Heath sector despite the numerous policies formulated to revive the sector. Though, there is a saying that ‘Rome was not built in a day’. But there is also a saying that you can not build something on nothing. And the worst suitation a Nation can ever be, is ‘a state of motion without movement.’ A state where deception is use to complement white elephant project.

Therefore, it is obvious that the nation needs an extra effort to move away from present mess of unemployment, poverty, epileptic power supply, dilapidated infrastructure, and other issues that have make Nigeria a laughing score in the comity of Nations to a land of fulfilment where the need and aspirations of Nigerians are meet without complain which the president claims to be in the proposed borrowing plan.

However, it is imperative for the president to move a step forward by setting up a strong monitoring team in semblance of EFCC to seriously monitor the implementation of the projects encapsulated in the plan when approved by the National Assembly in order to prevent it from being hijack by the opportunists.