Mr Daniel Bwala, Senior Special Adviser to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Policy Communication, has commented on the recent social media protest by some Nigerians on the microblogging platform X, appealing to international financial lending institutions to stop lending money to the Federal Government of Nigeria, news.ng reports.
One of the lending institutions, the World Bank, disabled its comment section on Instagram after a barrage of requests on its page, preventing users of the platform from sending unsolicited messages or comments on its posts.
Meanwhile, Bwala, who appeared on Arise Television on Wednesday, said it is difficult to tell whether those appealing to the lending institutions were genuine citizens or members of the opposition, as the country is gradually entering the election period.
While acknowledging that, irrespective of the group they belong to, they are Nigerians who have the right to freedom of expression, he noted that it is the duty of the government to do what is expected of it within the ambit of the law.
He said, “This is the eve of election, and so it is difficult to tell whether the citizens who have flooded the page asking that Nigeria be denied the right to borrow, whether they are opposition, they are opponent, or they are genuine citizens.
“But whether they are opposition, opponents, or genuine citizens, they are citizens of Nigeria, and they have a right of expression, but government has a duty to execute the provisions of the constitution. In leadership, you listen to people, but when it comes to carrying out your responsibility, you do that in accordance with the law, due process of law, and your understanding of the responsibility that is placed in your hands. If, as a government, you are going to react to people who, on social media, say do not borrow Nigeria A, B, and C, what about if you have a counter distinction of another set of people saying go and borrow? How are you going to move as a leader? Leadership is not guided by certain things that do not have the backing of law.”
According to him, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), including financial experts, have clarified that the country is still within the safe zone for borrowing.
He disclosed that the country does not have enough resources to fund and execute infrastructural projects; hence, borrowing has become necessary.
He noted: “The World Bank, the IMF, and experts in the field have said that our borrowing so far is still on amber, it is not red, because we have been able to establish a revenue ratio, even though it is not that much, but it is not a danger, it is not red. The truth of the matter is this. We do not, as a country, have sufficient funds to deal with infrastructure to stimulate the economy, and with the daunting tax on us, and the responsibility to redirect the economy, we have to do what we have to do.”
He cited countries such as the United States of America that are in debt, adding that no country in the world has sufficient resources to cater to its citizens.
He clarified that the government is borrowing to invest in infrastructure and capital projects.
He added: “Borrowing is part of it. America is borrowing money, and that is the largest economy in the world. There is no country of the world that is not borrowing.
“We can argue about whether our borrowing should be conducted or done now or later, but one fact that I can tell you is that the World Bank and experts have said it is amber and not red. On our own part, we know we have to invest in infrastructure, we know we have to invest in capital, in our project, and that is why we are borrowing. And the President has rightly said that borrowing is not leprosy.”
Watch the clip
