CSOs alert Buhari’s reckless borrowing is a burden for generations
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Rising national debt is a “trap” that worsens economic crisis and costs Nigeria foreign assets, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have warned on the heels of plans by Muhammadu Buhari to borrow more before his tenures ends on 29 May.
Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) and Christian Aid, in partnership with Transparency International (TI), said Nigeria is in a debt crisis, with fiscal deficit well above the statutory threshold of 3 per cent.
They also cited increasingly unsustainable debt levels as well as ballooning debt servicing costs exacerbated by growing interest rates, among others.
CISLAC Executive Director Auwal Musa Rafsanjani lamented in Abuja the National Assembly (NASS) has failed to checkmate the excesses of the executive and is, therefore, largely to blame for the debt burden.
He decried the “rubber stamp” attitude of legislators who approve the loans the executive has been taking in the past seven years without fully grasping the implications for the economy and generations yet to come.
Nigeria is now in a debt trap, he stressed, as the government keeps on borrowing from private lenders to tighten the debt shackle and increase the human cost.
“Barely two decades after the buyback deal by the then President Olusegun Obasanjo from the Paris Club debt relief agreement, Nigeria is already in another debt crisis with an inevitable human cost, Rafsanjani said, according to The Guardian.
“With limited access to further financing on concessional terms and with a growing presence and influence of private creditors in its debt profile, Nigeria’s national debt is growing and increasingly putting the country in a precarious position.
“Part of the crisis we have is that when the new or incoming legislators come, they hardly get any orientation, and that is what CISLAC and Christian Aid will be working on.
“We will organise orientation on our debt situation, our economic situation, to all the relevant committees.”
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Most loans taken without following the law
Christian Aide Senior Programme Coordinator Uzor Uzoma lamented most loans are taken by the government without recourse to the law, and lawmakers do not read through properly to ensure constitutional provisions are adhered to.
She urged Nigerians to get their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and elect worthy leaders in the general election this year.
“We make policies and then we go against the same policies that we make, and our government signs these documents without looking at the contents,” Uzoma said.
“We relate the debt against the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and that is not proper because the truth is that things are not done this way.
“As it is now, I am hearing that President Buhari is still asking for another loan, even as he is about to leave office.”
