NNEWI, NIGERIA (ANS) -- I got upset when I read an article on loan entitled- “Budget deficit- Nigeria considers another loan from World Bank.” The article was on Daily Sun Newspaper of Wednesday, May 13 2009, p.49. It appears most of our leaders learn very little or nothing from the past to guide their thought and decision making in this country. How can any right thinking administration in Nigeria be “considering another loan from the World Bank to finance the shortfall in budget revenue” as stated in the paper.

How have we forgotten so soon our terrible experience with Western lenders, IMF, World Bank and their allies? Is it the kind of experience we want to have again after ending a long and agonizing struggle with those financial powers?. Thank God for the worldwide Jubilee Movement and its passionate appeal to the shylock creditors on behalf of third world debtors including other activists on the subject. External debt was such a national scourge on Nigeria that President Olusegun Obasanjo said in 2004 that he would volunteer to step down if our debt will be written off…if the downfall of someone is what it takes.”

Nigeria’s external debt burden of $36 billion dollars came to an end only in 2006 after seven years of worldwide advocacy for debt relief from Paris Club. It is said that Paris Club only talks to countries about debt relief after they would have satisfactorily implemented an IMF strategy. It was for the persuasion on the international finance community to support the home grown National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS) by Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, former Finance Minister in Obasanjo’s administration and a former Vice President of World Bank and Mansur Muhtar, Director General of the Debt Management Office, a former World Bank employee, that the journey for our total emancipation from the devastation of external debt began.

According to Daily Independent Online (22/4/06), Nigeria on October 31, 2005 “paid $6 billion arrears of debt it owed Paris Club of creditors and that marked the commencement of the eventual liquidation of the remaining $12.4 billion left of the $36 billion debt after the forgiveness of $18 billion debt, under the Naples Terms.”

Sources acquainted with the subject of Nigeria’s external debt state that in actual fact Nigeria borrowed less than $10 billion dollars, but due to interest charges and penalty for not paying on schedule, including “penalty for the penalty,” it paid $35 billion over 20 years and still owed $30 billion as at 2004 and later $36 billion before receiving the debt forgiveness of $18 billion which helped in its exit from the hell of debt, as it gradually cleared the remaining balance.

An international conference in Jos held on November 26- 30, 1990 discussed extensively the issue of Nigeria’s external debt with recommendations on how to tackle the issue. The conference was hosted by the Institute of Church and Society, the Nigerian branch of World Council of Churches (WCC). Dr John Boer was the Consultant of the Institute and the chief facilitator of the conference. Participants came from various parts of Nigeria, including representatives from East Africa and Europe. Dignitaries who presented papers in the conference include Col. Yohanna Madaki, Prof. Eghosa Osagie, Rev. Luther Cishak, Dr. I. L.Bashir, Prof. Aaron T. Gana, Prof. E. Osagie, Dr. O. Ojowu, Dr. Frances Ojaida, Dr. Matthias Akor, Dr. M.T. Talib, Dr. Jamiu Oluwatoko, Dr. John Boer, Rev. Jephthah k. Gathaka and Rev. Fr. Matthew Kuka. Others present were the Catholic Bishop of Kano, and the Anglican Bishop of Kaduna. The General Secretary of the World Council of Churches was in the occasion. Dr. Emmanuel Kumzhi, Northern Area Coordinator of the Institute of Church and Society including the writer and numerous participants were present. Dr. M.T. Talib, Center for Development Studies, University of Jos, represented the “Voice of Islam” with Dr. Jamiu A. Oluwatoko, National Museum. Both men presented a paper entitled: Islam and the Debt Question in Nigeria.

The subject of Nigeria’s external loan/debt became such an issue that the conference spent a whole week on the matter. After discussion on each paper presented, including critical reflections on the debt issue, participants made very important recommendations to guide the government of the day and those in future on the subject of external debt. At the end of the weeklong conference communiqué was issued, and later a book was published which contains the report of the conference. Any administration in Nigeria which considers external loan as a means of solving financial problem will benefit much from the resolutions of the Jos Conference which represents the wishes of Nigerians on the subject.

Copies of the external debt book were shared out to top government officials and leaders both in Nigeria and abroad including former President Olusegun Obasanjo and ex-President Bill Clinton of USA. The content of the book goes beyond Nigeria’s external debt burden to include the crushing debt issue of other Third World countries under the financial trap of IMF, World Bank and their allies. The Jos Conference and its publications helped to set the stage for the Jubilee Worldwide Movement and its passionate appeal to Western creditor nations for total cancellation of the external debt of Third World countries. The corruption factor in Nigeria became the greatest barrier to debt relief as Western creditors noted seriously that except for corruption by our leaders who stole huge sums of public funds and banked them abroad, Nigeria would not have need for debt relief. They insisted that Nigerians should hold such leaders accountable and recover such funds.

The three top-resolutions of the Jos Conference (out of ten) are as follows: 1) Debt servicing is causing untold hardships on the people. The percentage of debt servicing should be reduced. 2) Mismanagement of public funds in Nigeria has compounded the problem and needs to be addressed. 3) The Government should not borrow further. If she does want to, she should first consult the people and the money borrowed must be used productively.

The above resolutions are useful in addressing the present talk by World Bank country Director, Onnoh Ruhl, that “Nigeria is considering another loan from the World Bank to finance the shortfall in budget revenue.” The first resolution above noted that debt servicing in our past experience caused untold hardship to the people. Unfortunately, the masses only heard about the debt and suffered the consequences but their opinion was never considered when such decisions for loan were made. From past experience, we need not suffer such hardships that result from loan and external debt again. Our present sufferings are enough, we must not add to it from loan that will be mismanaged by corrupt leaders like in the past.

The second resolution states that mismanagement of public funds in Nigeria compounded the problem of external debt. Until now, corruption in Nigeria has not abated but rather increased. Since we are not better now than then, it simply means that we are only considering another loan from World Bank that will be mismanaged and we will land in another financial bondage with World Bank, their interest charges, “penalty for not paying and penalty for penalty, for penalty for penalty.” The third resolution of Jos Conference says: The Government should not borrow further. If she does want to, she should first consult the people and the money borrowed must be used productively. The first sentence in this third resolution should serve as the people’s answer to the present Government. Do not borrow further! Stop considering another loan! For any reasons, please don’t!

It is obvious from the activities of the present administration that the loan will not be used productively. We are yet to see anything this Government is doing productively. Is it the huge financial investment on power that has any productive outcome or that of education and so on? Are we not importing fuel when we have refineries? How functional and productive are these refineries for us to be using scarce foreign exchange to import fuel? What efforts have the present administration made to put them to function including other things that need to function and be productive considering the huge sums of money invested in them.

Going by the first three resolutions of the 1990 Jos Conference on External Debt, Nigeria’s consideration for World Bank loan should be discontinued since the present government has no legitimate basis in going for the loan. Let’s not add to the sufferings of the Nigerian masses because when the funds are mismanaged and used for the selfish advantage of a few people, it is the masses that suffer the consequences, and the debtor’s name is Nigeria, not the people who mismanaged the loan. We have the benefit of hindsight not to do it. We know better than to be considering another loan from World Bank. I wonder!

Email contact: herberteze@juno.com