Obasanjo Says Debt Is Worse Than Leprosy, Criticises Tinubu’s Borrowing Policy

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s position on government borrowing, describing national debt as more damaging than leprosy because its consequences could affect generations.

Obasanjo made the remarks on Friday at the third Ajibosin Annual Symposium, held at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library in Abeokuta, Ogun State. The event focused on leveraging artificial intelligence to address grassroots challenges and accelerate national development.

He was responding to Tinubu’s earlier statement that borrowing was not leprosy, arguing that loans could be obtained when necessary, provided the government worked hard to repay them.

Obasanjo, who secured about $30 billion in Paris Club debt relief for Nigeria during his presidency from 1999 to 2007, said excessive borrowing could impose a burden far beyond the present generation.

He described the President’s position as “absolute nonsense”, arguing that while leprosy affects an individual, debt could damage the prospects of entire generations.

The former President also questioned Nigeria’s economic performance, particularly the depreciation of the naira. He recalled that when he established his farm 47 years ago, the exchange rate stood at approximately one naira to 1.85 dollars.

He challenged the country’s leadership to explain the economic changes that had brought the exchange rate to about N1,500 to the dollar.

Obasanjo further criticised Nigeria’s reliance on the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), arguing that their economic recommendations did not necessarily reflect the country’s development priorities. He also questioned the wisdom of adopting foreign policy prescriptions without adequately considering local conditions.

On artificial intelligence, the former President warned that the technology could be exploited against African countries if they failed to understand and control its applications.

He said Nigeria needed to establish safeguards and determine how emerging technologies would serve its national interests rather than allow external powers to dictate the direction of its development.

The symposium’s guest speaker, historian and political commentator Umar Ardo, similarly warned that Africa could face another form of economic exploitation if it failed to control its data, technological infrastructure and intellectual property.

Ardo said artificial intelligence offered opportunities for economic transformation but warned that dependence on foreign-owned systems and infrastructure could reproduce existing patterns of economic inequality.