Obasanjo say debt worse pass leprosy, fault Tinubu borrowing stance

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo don push back hard against President Bola Tinubu defence of government borrowing, say loans dey do more damage pass the disease wey the President use as comparison.

Obasanjo talk on Friday for Abeokuta, Ogun State, for one public forum wey dem call Ajibosin Platform, wey get theme on using artificial intelligence to solve grassroots problems and speed up national development.

Tinubu bin talk in April, while e meet Plateau State leaders for State House, say him administration go continue to borrow where necessary. "If we have to borrow, we borrow. Borrowing is not leprosy; we just have to work hard to be able to pay for it," na wetin the President talk at the time, according to accounts of the meeting.

Obasanjo reject that framing outright. He argue say loan burden fit pass down through families and generations, while leprosy dey harm only the person wey get am.

"Debt is worse than leprosy because leprosy destroys only one person. Debt destroys generations," he talk.

The exchange touch one sore point for many Nigerians. A growing share of government revenue dey go to servicing debt, and the President comment come amid public worry about how much the country owe.

Naira, World Bank and IMF

Obasanjo also turn to the naira long slide. He recall say when e set up him farm 47 years ago, one naira buy about $1.85. He ask wetin Nigeria do to reach a point where roughly ₦1,500 now buy one dollar.

He question whether the country leaders understand its problems well enough to fix them, asking wetin dem know and wetin dem fit do with that knowledge.

He also criticize Nigeria reliance on the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, say both bodies dem set up before independence and without Nigerian input, yet their advice dey shape national policy.

On artificial intelligence, Obasanjo talk say he no be technical expert but e know say any tool outside a country control fit turn against am. He warn say Africa fit repeat the pattern of slavery, colonialism and economic dependency if foreigners own and run the technology.

He also raise the roughly 24 million Nigerian children wey dem estimate say no dey school, call them a looming national disaster, and urge say make dem use AI to widen access to education and help farmers choose crops and raise output.

Historian Dr Umar Ardo, the guest speaker, make similar case. He talk say AI fit organise knowledge and spot patterns but e no fit replace human judgement or build institutions, and e no fit give sovereignty to a society wey no control its own priorities and resources.

Ardo warn say data fit become the next resource wey dem go take from Africa, asking who control the knowledge when farmers planting records or patients medical files dey feed foreign-built systems. He call for local computing capacity, reliable power, African-owned datasets and coordination through the African Union Data Policy Framework.

Mrs Onikepo Akande, wey chair the event, talk say AI don dey reshape how people think and work and urge Nigerians to use am wisely in health, farming and education.

What happens next

Nothing in Friday forum change policy on its own. The debate over borrowing and debt servicing likely to continue as the government weigh spending against repayment, while calls for stronger data protection and home-grown AI capacity go dey tested by how much dem actually invest.