4 Play: The main problem for me is that we have a corrupt Govt that cannot be trusted with money. Other than that, Nigeria has major infrastructure needs that require heavy borrowing for the Govt to finance it.

There's this major misconception that Nigeria is a rich country because of oil. I live in the UK, a country of 62m with a national budget of $1 trillion. A back of the envelope calculation of our oil proceeds, 2m barrels per day at $100 per barrel, will give you gross revenues of $73bn, a huge chunk of which will be retained by the oil companies. Given the infrastructural challenges, even the most honest and competent policy makers will require heavy borrowing as our oil revenues will not go far in meeting our development challenges.

Another pattern I have noticed is for Nigerians to bemoan our disproportionate recurrent expenditure whilst expressing glib condemnations about Aso Rock food budget and the National Assembly members's obscene allowances. Whilst these are examples of waste, it is an act of self-delusion to ignore the reality that most of our recurrent expenditure is made up of public sector wages and fuel subsidy. If Nigerians really want to curtail recurrent expenditure, they will have to accept the removal of fuel subsidy and reduction of the public sector wage bill.

The reality is that we have the country we deserve. A people prone to supporting bone headed economic policies and tribal causes have no right to a prosperous and peaceful country.

as regard the subsidy, is it not possible to sell crude oil @ cheaper price to local refineries for local consumption so dat @ d end d government does not need to pay subsidy. And the ppl will still buy petroleum product cheaper than international price.

loswhite: dont be deceived by the 3%. We borrow money frm china to build infrastructure . As part of the deal, Chinese companies will be d ones to build d infrastructure

Err... who would you rather build it? Americans? Germans? Do you know how much they charge for all these projects, like Rail? Airports?

meaning we are going to be importing both most of the materials from them and also creating jobs 4 sum of their ppl dat will come as expatriate to build the infrastructure.

So where would you rather get these things from? Italy? France? Fact is even if China says, ''you must buy from us'', it's still a good deal for us because we would have bought from them anyway. They provide the most value for the least amount in today's commercial/industrial environment.


By the way the USA owes China $1.26 trillion, so I'm not sure what the hoopla is about Nigeria borrowing $3 billion from the Asian giant.

This is crazy. If it were the Chinese or even Egyptian leaders that waned to borrow 3 billion from Nigeria, their people would have rallied, revolted, and shot the useless leaders and their friends (aka PASTORS).

But in Nigeria, nothing but Owambe and EPL.

Why cant these idiots take from the external reserves that they boast of having $47 Billion or so? Or is it that Queen Eliza won't allow that to happen because her country is using it to finance their own children's development.

waja: We made China what they are today. Our trillions are going there on daily basis in the name of buying fake electronics.

Nigeria made China what it is todaymy friend get your facts correctly.

Rossikk:

Err... who would you rather build it? Americans? Germans? Do you know how much they charge for all these projects, like Rail? Airports?



So where would you rather get these things from? Italy? France? Fact is even if China says, ''you must buy from us'', it's still a good deal for us because we would have bought from them anyway. They provide the most value for the least amount in today's commercial/industrial environment.


By the way the USA owes China $1.26 trillion, so I'm not sure what the hoopla is about Nigeria borrowing $3 billion from the Asian giant.

A lot of people who are commenting here aee naive when it comes to government debt. the truth is that even the Chinese govt borrowed to finance the three gorges dam. the question should rather be the projects the money should be tied to.
Someone calculated the monthly oil money here without substracting the cost of extraction, oil companies profits, NASS salaries for instance, state s and LG money etc.

Rossikk:

Err... who would you rather build it? Americans? Germans? Do you know how much they charge for all these projects, like Rail? Airports?



So where would you rather get these things from? Italy? France? Fact is even if China says, ''you must buy from us'', it's still a good deal for us because we would have bought from them anyway. They provide the most value for the least amount in today's commercial/industrial environment.


By the way the USA owes China $1.26 trillion, so I'm not sure what the hoopla is about Nigeria borrowing $3 billion from the Asian giant.

China has huge quality control issues with all its projects. Many of its new projects are collapsing months after being commissioned. If Chinese companies are unable to provide safe infrastructure projects in China, how do you expect them to provide safe and durable projects in Africa? African countries have a history of cutting corners for projects and Chinese companies also have a history of cutting corners. When you have a collaboration between African countries and Chinese companies, the result can only be disaster. Chinese companies are being chased out of several east African countries due to the shoddy work being executed by Chinese companies.

The hoopla is as a result of poor accountability and excessive corruption on the part of Nigeria. If Nigeria didn't have these accountability and corruption issues, Nigeria may have been able to borrow at the same rate as the US. For instance, a 10 year US treasury bond is approximately 1.7%; the last Nigerian issue was approximately 7%. Second, it is infantile to compare Nigeria's borrowing with the US considering the sizes of their respective economies. If the money markets are concerned about the US's ability to repay its loans, its borrowing costs would be much higher.

Nigeria shouldn't be borrowing if it can't solve its corruption problems and if can't squeeze more efficiency out of its oil revenues.

Rossikk:

Err... who would you rather build it? Americans? Germans? Do you know how much they charge for all these projects, like Rail? Airports?



So where would you rather get these things from? Italy? France? Fact is even if China says, ''you must buy from us'', it's still a good deal for us because we would have bought from them anyway. They provide the most value for the least amount in today's commercial/industrial environment.





By the way the USA owes China $1.26 trillion, so I'm not sure what the hoopla is about Nigeria borrowing $3 billion from the Asian giant.

Nigerians is not US and our realities are not the same on any level.

And we are borrowing to do common renovations because and basic infrastructures because our budgets are almost recurrent budgets consumed mainly by the government with no room for capital projects.


Let us cut the fat, cut the excessive food budgets, cut the estacodes, newspaper allowance, fashion allowance, dozens of worthless parastatals and duplications and so on and on and save the savings for capital projects like what they are borrowing against.

Dis contry is a floop our government is floop such money would end up not seeing were it was spent....y Gej,what are u tinkn hw due we intendd 2 pay back since I know such money would be spend among dem selfz

For any nation that the leaders are corrupt, the end result is always fatal, especially for the corrupt leaders. I knew even before I was born that Nigeria is great nation, endowed with so many natural resources that made us an envy of every other nations in the world. Truly, it has been said so many times that we are not lucky to have rightful leaders to lead us through in this country, but alas! What is the way forward?

- Do we just fold hand and continue watching as the future of the generation unborn is wasted away by this greedy leaders?

- Will this democracy ever work in Nigeria with this kind of our mentality? Where even a simple NGF election can be rigged with just two candidate & only about 36 voters?

- How can a loan that I believed that would have been collected from the Chinese and shared already, will now be announced as if we don't know their ways of doing things?

- Will it not be OK, if we should start bringing in foreign leaders (as in to hire them like foreign coach), such past leaders like Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, Chancellor Helmut Kohl & others like that to come and just head our administrative, while our president & all his cronies will continue with their daily clueless affairs?

- What exactly is the problem with this nation? Will the Pastors, Imams & all the Ifa priest not start looking for the solution to the greed in the society that is eating us up?

- How long will we continue to live in plentiful and yet we are all living like a beggars, including all our so call rich people too. We are all beggars, the nation must accept that, since what our leaders specialize in doing is going around collecting loans.

Nigerian wake up! Your glory is been sold, and exchange for a pot of porridge by your greedy leaders. Don't trust them anymore, think by yourself and whatever it will take for us to start moving on, let's that thinking about it now. We should all remember the story of Jacob & Esau.

Don't sell your birth right for a pot of porridge. A word is enough............

CHINA PLEASE DONT GIVE OOOOOO. THEY NEED MONEY FOR PRIVATE JETS AND PATIENCE JONATHAN WILL USE OUR MONEY TO DO FACIAL SURGERY. PLEASE OOOOOOO DONT GIVE. WHEN THERE IS NO MONEY AGAIN MAYBE THEY WILL START SELLING NIGERIAN CITIZENS AS SLAVES. LET THE MONEY FINISH LET US ALL SIT DOWN AND LOOK AT OURSELVES AND DRINK OUR WEE WEE. GREEDY HOMO SAPIENS.

Last year's loan:

https://www.nairaland.com/1046834/fg-takes-1.1bn-loan-china

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This year's loan:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-23269004

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"China doesn't keep us waiting for two years. China will decide today and will go ahead. The next day you sign, and work starts … so, the choice for Africa is: do I want to have a road next year, or do I want to stay for two years discussing about human rights and governance before we can even talk about the road?" - Joyce Banda

Mustay: Last year's loan:

https://www.nairaland.com/1046834/fg-takes-1.1bn-loan-china

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This year's loan:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-23269004

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"China doesn't keep us waiting for two years. China will decide today and will go ahead. The next day you sign, and work starts … so, the choice for Africa is: do I want to have a road next year, or do I want to stay for two years discussing about human rights and governance before we can even talk about the road?" - Joyce Banda

interestingly from last year...2012

NIGERIA has increased its external debt profile with an additional $1.1 billion borrowed for three projects.

These are the Abuja light rail project, which is to take $500 million; the galaxy backbone infrastructure project which will cost $100 million and four airport terminals which require $500 million.

The facilities attract concessional terms of 2.5 per cent interest over 20 years with a grace period of seven years.

While the necessary protocols for the release of the funds for the first two projects were completed yesterday in China between the Nigerian government and the Chinese Exim Bank, the agreement for the $500 million airport terminals is to be signed soon, according to Mr. Paul Nwabiukwu, the Senior Special Assistant to the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Finance Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala in a statement from Beijing, China yesterday after the agreement.
The terminals which would cost $500 million would be located in Abuja, Kano, Port Harcourt and Enugu.

still don't understand how much this Galaxy Backbone is generating

waiting they do dis blood sucker self? ehn and this evil wan steel buy jet of 400m naira hmm na only God dat will save us frm dis man