Peter Obi warns that Nigeria’s rising World Bank debt is funding consumption instead of driving economic productivity.
The Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has expressed deep concern over Nigeria’s growing debt.
He is calling out the Federal Government for borrowing money without showing any real economic progress or productivity to justify the loans.
In a recent update shared on X, Obi pointed to data from the World Bank. The report ranks Nigeria as the third-largest debtor to the institution, with a debt of about $18.7 billion. While Bangladesh holds the top spot with $23 billion, Obi explained why their situation is different from ours.
The former Anambra State Governor clarified that borrowing is not a crime. According to him, many nations take loans to boost their economy.
However, he warned that debt becomes a huge problem when the money is spent on "consumption, inefficiency, and corruption" instead of real investments.
To drive his point home, Obi compared Nigeria's economy to Bangladesh’s over the last ten years. In 2015, Bangladesh had a GDP of $195 billion.
By 2024, they had more than doubled that figure, reaching nearly $500 billion. Their citizens also saw their average income jump from $1,235 to $2,700.
Nigeria’s story is the exact opposite. Obi noted that in 2015, Nigeria’s GDP was $490 billion, but today it has crashed to less than $250 billion. Even worse, the average income for Nigerians has dropped from $2,600 to under $1,000 in just a decade.
Obi blamed this decline on a lack of productivity, a weak currency, and widespread corruption. He noted that while Bangladesh used its loans to build factories, power plants, and schools, Nigeria’s borrowing has failed to improve the lives of its people.
Rounding off his message, Obi insisted that a "New Nigeria" is possible. He urged the government to ensure that any future loans are used strictly for production to help the country grow again.
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