Buhari’s tough options on $30 billion loan rejection

Pity. That’s what I feel for President Muhammadu Buhari at the moment. It’s a bad time to become Nigeria’s President. Buhari, if he will tell himself the honest truth, must now be realising that governance, under a democratic dispensation, is a far more tasking, daunting and complicated job compared to military dictatorship!

Even for members of his party in the APC, they also must have now realised that gaining power and using it to change the country in a significant and transformational way which majority of citizens can attest to, is a far more difficult assignment than engaging in high-level propaganda simply to be voted into power. Sincerely, e no easy. Truly, uneasy lies the head that wears the crown!

Of course, a clear evidence of this reality is the overwhelming rejection of the President’s request to borrow $29.9 billion from external sources to address Nigeria’s infrastructure deficit in health, education, water resources and other sectors, by the senate without any modicum of debate or consideration by the upper legislative chamber through loud shouts of ‘nay’ on Tuesday.

There is no doubt that Buhari, were he to still be a military general and head of state which he was in the 80s, would obviously have had no need of a senate approval before going ahead to borrow the loan. But times have changed!

Meanwhile, one would have expected that the senate would have taken time to debate the request and determine its merits or demerits before making the final decision on whether to grant or reject the request. But unfortunately, that didn’t happen.

However, even before the senate threw away Buhari’s request, there are good reasons why I believe the $30 billion loan the federal government seeks is alarming and should worry all Nigerians.

While it is an undisputable fact that getting the loan would help in no small way in lifting Nigeria out of the current economic recession, the reality is that it would also plunge our country into huge debts that would unquestionably trap future generations of Nigerians. And that, without doubt, is very dangerous.

Meanwhile, there are Nigerians who think that rather than being given thumbs up, the lawmakers should rather be condemned because their rejection of the loan request was not for patriotic or altruistic reasons but because their personal interests were not covered in what the money would eventually be used for. These Nigerians insist that the senators withheld their approval simply because the President didn’t factor in their constituency projects in the expenditure plans he had in mind. Going by the antecedents of the National Assembly, these arguments cannot be ruled out.

However, the concern, judging by the evidences and indicators which previous national borrowings have shown, is that the government’s judgement, fidelity and sincerity in spending the loan for what it is meant for to the last kobo without any form of corruption, and especially how it is going to be serviced and repaid, cannot be trusted. That is why Nigerians who fear that the $30 billion loan would become a long expressway to economic slavery which would be difficult for future generations to get out from cannot be blamed.

Meanwhile, some Nigerians can be very funny even in the face of serious matters and challenges. A fellow I know had suggested, jocularly, that the President should consider calling for help from those who engage in money rituals if such works. He believes they should be able to help him produce loads of cash and there wouldn’t be any need for his government to be thinking of taking a loan. Mischievous as that sounds, there is no doubt that the President’s options are limited as things stand.

With depleted foreign reserves, largely inadequate oil revenue, the difficulty in raising taxes, a vehement rejection of the sales of national assets by Nigerians, and this latest outright rejection of his request to borrow $30 billion by the senate, Buhari sure needs all the expert advice he can get to chart a way forward to economic recovery for the country. Unfortunately, the sad part is that members of his economic team don’t quite seem convincing that they are up to the task. And neither do they also inspire much confidence among Nigerians. To further worsen matters, time is running out on the administration.

Doing nothing in the current circumstance is an option but it’s a dangerous one which Nigeria cannot afford otherwise the economic recession will be longer and the country could even collapse.

However, Buhari can still write his name in gold if he is able to turn around the country’s fortunes for good. To do this, he needs to raise money for massive infrastructural development across the country. Huge funds. Of course, this is a tough option and difficult task but he just must find a way around it however he wants to do it.

Additionally, he needs to be more forthcoming with Nigerians on how recovered loots are being spent since many citizens expect this ought to provide the government an alternative to borrowing.

This is why it’s critical for Buhari’s cabinet members to further brainstorm and come up with other ways of mobilising funds for development. It’s part of why the country pays their salaries.

Now, even if the President presents his request letter to the National Assembly a second time like he is most likely to do with the tough options he’s confronted with, I believe the $30billion loan the administration wants to take, a whopping N12 trillion, is too big to be approved just like that simply because Nigerians yearn for visible development and world-class infrastructure. It must be well debated and scrutinised even as there must be clear monitoring and evaluation components before it is approved. And that is even if it will be approved at the end of the day!

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