Arise Television’s Morning Show anchor, Rufai Oseni, has
criticised the administration of President Bola Tinubu over rising debt levels,
warning that poor utilisation of borrowed funds could worsen the country’s
economic condition.
The remark followed Tinubu’s recent comment that debt is not
a “leprosy”.
Speaking on Arise Television’s Morning Show on Thursday,
Oseni described Nigeria’s debt profile as increasingly burdensome, likening it
to “leprosy” if not properly managed.
He argued that the high cost of debt servicing—estimated at
between N15 trillion and N16 trillion within a N60 trillion budget, was taking
a significant toll on the country’s finances without corresponding improvements
in citizens’ welfare.
Oseni also criticised what he described as an uneven
political environment, alleging that the government was stifling opposition
voices.
He maintained that a fair and competitive political space
would allow voters to make independent choices.
Oseni said: ”ll tell you debt is a leprosy. Yes, debt is a
leprosy. You know why it’s leprosy your cost of serving the debt or servicing
the debts, when you spend about 15 to 16 trillion in a budget that goes about
60 trillion.
“Now look at the percentage of what you use in debt service.
It becomes leprosy, especially when you cannot see what you’re doing with the
debt.
“This argument that, oh, we are doing it for roads.
Everything road does not similarly transfer to development and growth.
“You’re beginning to see an uptick in the numbers of people
suffering, capital mobilization is poor.
“So this argument of doing roads and everything, it doesn’t
give an uptick in economic… They’ve borrowed another $516m. They’ve racked up
the debt to about N160 trillion. What have we to show for it? People are poor.
Their lives are worse off.
“They’ve done, for example, kilometers of coastal road. We
are still asking them what’s the bidding process for that? Why did they have a
preferred company? They’ve gone to the port. They have borrowed another money
for the ports.
“Let’s be realistic, debt can become leprosy if not properly
used, and the idea at which Nigeria is using it is not better. What is the
state of the federal medical centers today? What state of the schools in the
country today?
“They claim they’ve done student loan, yes, but it’s still a
loan because the student has to pay it back.
“Debt is leprosy, if it’s not properly used and we are
losing it in a leprosy way. In fact, our debt has taken Nigeria to a lepers
colony.”
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