FORMER Nigerian President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo has reacted to the move by the Federal Government to take fresh loans amid outcries by Nigerians over incessant borrowing by the current administration.
Obasanjo, while speaking on Channels Television in South Africa, described as criminal, the alleged move to accumulate debt for the next generation to pay.
Obasanjo expressed worries that if the existing debt remains unserviced or unpaid by President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, it might become a huge problem for successive governments.
Recalled that the president, a few days ago, requested the approval of the National Assembly to borrow the fresh sums of $4,054,476,863 and €710 million.
Reacting, the former president who believes that borrowing is not a problem, however, stated that the challenge would be the utilization of the borrowed fund and the plan or capacity to pay back.
He said,
But if you are borrowing and accumulating debts for the next generation and the next generation after them, it is criminal. What are you borrowing for?
“If we are borrowing for recurrent expenditure, it is the height of folly. If we are borrowing for development that can pay for itself, that is understandable. Then the payment, how long will it take to pay itself?”
