The Debt Management Office (DMO) has since confirmed that Nigeria took loans worth well over $31.98 billion from World Bank Group, International Monetary Fund (IMF), African Development Bank (AfDB) Group and others.
In a 2017 interview, an elder statesman and Minister of Finance in the Second Republic, Alhaji Abubakar Alhaji disclosed that that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) requested and got a loan from Nigeria in 1974.
This disclosure, which is a surprise to many Nigerians, was made during a visit by Senator Shehu Sani to the elder statement in Sokoto.
Alhaji Alhaji stated that he was the one that signed-off on the loan when he was the permanent secretary at the Federal Ministry of Finance in 1974.
“In 1974 when I was a permanent secretary at the Federal Ministry of Finance, the IMF approached us for a loan. I signed the agreement on behalf of Nigeria. Unfortunately, today expenses of government have driven us into recession,’’ he said.
Immediately after the civil war in 1970, the high price of oil and surge in demand for Nigerian oil created a situation of excess funds in the country. The country’s excess reserve was so much that Gen. Yakubu Gowon, then Head of State, said the problem of the country is not money but how to actually spend it.
However, there is a reversal of fortune in the present-day Nigeria as the former minister said: “I weep for Nigeria for what it has become today. The country has vast resources that if well harnessed, could lead the country to greater heights.”
Mismanagement of resources and corruption in government were identified as major hindrances to development in the country. Over-reliance on oil made the country to be vulnerable to externals shocks, thus triggering economic problems when there is a sneeze in the global commodity market.
“Aside from oil and agriculture, Nigeria had industries that were earning foreign exchange for it. Agriculture and the industries were allowed to recede and when global fuel prices crashed, we are nowhere today.”
Alhaji Alhaji is one of the few super permanent secretaries Nigeria has produced. ‘Super permanent secretary’ is any career civil servant that was able to achieve promotion to be a minister after getting to the peak of his career.
