How Nigeria’s $18.7bn foreign debt depletes $47bn foreign reserves

The federal government of Nigeria control by the All Progressives Congress (APC) is contending with foreign debt crisis of about $18.7 billion, creating new burdens on the country despite the much celebrated rising foreign reserve of about $47 billion. The country is spending over N2.3 trillion debt services in the 2018 budget. There is no record that Nigeria earns that much from the foreign reserves.

Thus, Nigeria is losing more from the burden of servicing foreign debts than it is gaining from the foreign reserves. This is more so when the funds from either of the country’s fanatical instrument contribute to building the production capacity of the economy. The debt crisis is gradually raising dust among elder statesmen in the country.

Apparently, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, on Thursday, lamented that Nigeria’s foreign loan regime rose from $3.6 billion to over $18 billion; arguing that the maladministration of the APC government under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari is responsible for the increasing debt portfolio.

Former President Obasanjo at his Presidential Library in Abeokuta decried that many Nigerians have become poorer and further impoverished since APC came to power. The rate of unemployment was said to be rising, while security is threatening Nigeria’s integration.

“The APC, as a political party, is still gloating and reveling in its unrepentant mis-governance of Nigeria and taking Nigerians for fools.

“There is neither remorse nor appreciation of what they are doing wrong. It is all arrant arrogance and insult upon injury for Nigerians.

“Whatever the leadership may personally claim, most Nigerians know that they are poorer today than when the APC came in and Nigeria is more impoverished with our foreign loan jumping from $3.6bn to over $18bn to be paid by the present and future generations of Nigerians.

“The country is more divided than ever before because the leadership is playing the ethnic and religious game which is very unfortunate.

“And the country is more insecure and unsafe for everybody. It is a political party with two classes of membership,” the former President declared.