Debt Worse Than Leprosy, Obasanjo Fires Back At Tinubu

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has criticised President Bola Tinubu over his recent defence of government borrowing, describing the assertion that borrowing is not leprosy as “absolute nonsense”.

Obasanjo argued that the consequences of excessive borrowing could extend across generations, warning that mounting public debt poses a serious threat to Nigeria’s economic future.

The former president made the remarks while speaking at the Ajibosin Platform, a public forum held in Abeokuta, Ogun State, on a topic titled, “Leveraging Artificial Intelligence to Solve Grassroots Problems and Accelerate National Development”.

He questioned Nigeria’s economic performance over the past 47 years, particularly the continuous depreciation of the naira against the United States dollar.

Obasanjo’s comments were a response to Tinubu’s April statement in which the President defended his administration’s borrowing policy, insisting that taking loans was not inherently wrong if the government could work towards repayment.

Tinubu had said, “If we have to borrow, we borrow. Borrowing is not leprosy; we just have to work hard to be able to pay for it.”

However, Obasanjo disagreed with the President’s position, arguing that the burden of debt could have far-reaching consequences beyond the present generation.

He said, “And for anybody to say debt is no leprosy is absolute nonsense. Debt is worse than leprosy because leprosy destroys only one person. Debt destroys generations.”

The former president also recalled Nigeria’s exchange rate when he established his farm 47 years ago, expressing concern over the significant decline in the value of the naira.

He said, “When I started my farm, 47 years ago, naira to the dollar was one naira to $1.85. Forty-seven years ago. What has Nigeria done in 47 years that we now have 1,500 naira to the dollar? What have we done?”

Obasanjo further questioned the capacity of the country’s political leadership to make decisions capable of improving the economic fortunes and living conditions of Nigerians.

“What do our leaders know? And what do they not know? And from what they know, what can they do for us?” he asked.

He also criticised Nigeria’s reliance on foreign financial institutions, particularly the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), arguing that their economic policies and recommendations might not adequately reflect the country’s peculiar realities.

According to him, Nigeria should be more deliberate in developing home-grown economic policies rather than relying heavily on prescriptions from international institutions.

Obasanjo further faulted what he described as the discouragement of agricultural subsidies by international financial institutions, noting that developed countries continued to provide support for their farmers.

He said, “The World Bank and IMF were not designed for us. They were not built by us. They were built before we became independent. And that’s the people who would determine what we do.”