Nigerians Slam Fashola For Faulting Obasanjo Over Using $12bn Debt Cancellation To Pay Creditors
Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola has come under heavy criticism for faulting former President, Olusegun Obasanjo for using Paris Club’s $12 billion debt cancellation to pay the nation’s creditors rather than using the fund to build roads and rails.
Fashola had in a interview on Channels TV on Friday blamed Obasanjo for being partly responsible for Nigeria’s weak infrastructural base.
He said that instead of paying off Nigeria’s external debts, the ex-leader should have invested in capital projects across the country.
According to Fashola, previous governments that had access to a lot of money, under-invested in the country’s infrastructure, saying if he had the $12 billion, like the Obasanjo’s administration did in 2005, he would have built rails and more roads.
In 2005/2006, Paris Club wrote off $18 billion (60 per cent of the $30 billion) Nigeria owed the cartel, after months of negotiations, a development touted as one of the biggest achievements of the Obasanjo administration.
The Paris Club is an informal group of creditor nations whose objective is to find workable solutions to payment problems faced by debtor nations.
Fashola said that rather than deploy the funds prudently, Obasanjo’s government decided to pay the country’s creditors to the detriment of the country.
He insisted that today, Nigeria has gone back to borrowing because the governments in the past ignored investment in infrastructure.
However, many Nigerians on social media have attacked Fashola for questioning Obasanjo’s ingenuity in using the money to pay creditors, in order to save the nation from incurring more debts.
See some reactions from Twitter users below;
Who bewitched thee oh Nigeria? 2015 election was the turning point, we should be wise going forward
— bAro Rolly {🇨🇳🇳🇬God writes, I only Act (@barozrolly) October 3, 2020
Now they are even blaming OBJ-Atiku for making Nigeria debt free, since debt is their only stock in trade. Please can Fashola give a road or rail they working are working on that was not initiated by OBJ-Atiku and continued by GEJ ?!
— Olushola Olufolabi (@olushola_shola) October 3, 2020
Obasanjo’s debt relief made it possible for his government to be reckless with taking loans today
But the blame game must run its full course
— 🇳🇬 (@solomonapenja) October 3, 2020
Debt repayments are always higher than the principal. They are NOT cheap & often subjects a country to external influence IMF world Bank etc. Debt repayment was the best thing OBJ did cos it freed up funds for other things that spurred the growth rates to hit 7% later.
— AchiMo (@LordTyrion4) October 3, 2020
Once you join the APC, your brain becomes useless, you outsource it to propaganda.
— chijioke, Ph.D., Nuclear Engineering(Affidavit). (@Ekwulu) October 3, 2020
We need to really, really study Buhari.
He has a way of making brilliant people think and act like imbecilic buffoons.— Isaac Anyama (@isaac_anyama) October 3, 2020
Badagry express way has been under construction for 13 years!! As a governor your couldn’t finish it , as minister of works you abandoned it !!
— I HATE WAHALA☮️ (@asari_freedom) October 3, 2020
I can’t for the life of me believe this. Military put us in debt, we cried. OBJ took us out of debt and this one wants to hoodwink us into wailing for THAT! come on!
Fashola should concentrate on explaining why power is now rocket science and why roads are elusive. These guys eh!— AchiMo (@LordTyrion4) October 3, 2020
No problems. You have now borrowed Back more than OBJ got cancelled so go ahead and link all the cities. After all loans are not meant to be paid back are they?
— jamesagada (@jamesagada) October 3, 2020
This man is on steroids. With what APC has turned Lagos into as the highest debtor state with infrastructure and bad roads issues. Most roads are built by private initiative but the govt road is toll by individuals, cost of light rail is 10x. He claimed he could fix electricity
— Ipledgetobeloyal (@toniehard) October 3, 2020
Can’t you guys just focus on making Nigeria better instead of blaming past administrations? Governance is more than that.If you keep looking back,how can you move ahead? As for me,I prefer to be debt free and move ahead than have creditors calling me every day or hiding 4rm them.
— tosin (@t_yelu) October 3, 2020
