Sometime last week, the Vice-President-elect, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, said that the new government would inherit a total national debt stock of $60bn from the outgoing Jonathan government.

This statement rightly enraged a lot of Nigerians, including my humble self and we sought some explanation on how this humongous amount was accumulated.

But in a swift reaction, the Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, faulted the claims and stated that the $60bn was the total debt stock accumulated from independence.

According to the Harvard trained economist, the debt was not accumulated by the Jonathan government alone. She then made a statement that has continued to baffle me ever since.

She said that the Jonathan government has accumulated “only” about $26bn. You mean, $26 billion debt in five years?

Ok…I have some simple questions for the eminent economist.

First, under the Olusegun Obasanjo government where Okonjo-Iweala served as the finance minister, we were told that she successfully led Nigeria to clear all her debts. So, this new figure of $60bn, does it include the ones written off too?

Second, if Jonathan borrowed about $26bn in five years, what specific projects were those loans used to finance?

$26 billion is a lot of money, you know.

Aliko Dangote’s world class refinery project has a total cost of $9bn, yet we borrowed $26bn and there is no visible project anywhere to justify this amount?

I hear the Second Niger Bridge will cost about N240bn…has this been paid for completely?

How come President Goodluck Jonathan borrowed that kind of money and none of our refineries is working, even at half capacity?

Does this amount also include the $1bn Jonathan planned to borrow to fight Boko Haram?

At the current official exchange rate, $26bn is about N5.174tn.

What was this money used for? What of the revenues we earned from oil?

The crash in oil prices started a few months ago.

I don’t understand this kind of voodoo economics.

Someone should help me out. Maybe, I am wrong. I hope I am. My head is aching…



http://www.punchng.com/opinion/letters/okonjo-iweala-and-nigerias-debt/

Good question...

rottennaija:
Good question...

Nigeria is about to hit the rocks. Instead of working to put things rite they are busy justifying their weakness