‘Debt Is Worse Than Leprosy’: Obasanjo Slams Tinubu’s Borrowing Policy

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has criticised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over his administration’s borrowing policy, describing the president’s position that borrowing is not leprosy as “absolute nonsense”.

Obasanjo warned that excessive borrowing could mortgage the future of generations of Nigerians, arguing that the consequences of accumulated national debt extend far beyond the present generation.

The former president made the remarks on Friday, October 30, 2026, while speaking at the Ajibosin Platform, a public forum held in Abeokuta, Ogun State, with the theme, “Leveraging Artificial Intelligence to Solve Grassroots Problems and Accelerate National Development.”

His comments were a direct response to Tinubu’s defence of government borrowing in April, when the president maintained that taking loans was not necessarily wrong if the government could generate sufficient revenue to repay them.

“If we have to borrow, we borrow. Borrowing is not leprosy; we just have to work hard to be able to pay for it,” Tinubu had said during a meeting with Plateau State leaders at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

Rejecting the president’s comparison, Obasanjo said debt was more destructive than leprosy because its effects could burden entire generations.

“And for anybody to say debt is no leprosy is absolute nonsense. Debt is worse than leprosy. Because leprosy destroys only one person. Debt destroys generations,” the former president declared.

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Obasanjo also questioned Nigeria’s economic performance over the past 47 years, particularly the dramatic depreciation of the naira against the United States dollar.

Recalling when he established his farm nearly five decades ago, the former president said the naira exchanged at approximately N1 to $1.85, contrasting the historical rate with what he described as the current exchange rate of about N1,500 to the dollar.

“When I started my farm, 47 years ago, naira to the dollar was one naira to $1.85. Forty-seven years ago. What has Nigeria done in 47 years that we now have 1,500 naira to the dollar? What have we done?” he asked.

He also questioned the capacity of Nigeria’s political leadership to formulate policies that would improve the living conditions of ordinary citizens.

“What do our leaders know? And what do they not know? And from what they know, what can they do for us?” Obasanjo queried.

The former president further criticised Nigeria’s dependence on foreign financial institutions, particularly the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), arguing that their economic prescriptions were not necessarily designed to address the country’s peculiar challenges.

According to him, Nigeria should not unquestioningly adopt economic policies recommended by international institutions without considering local realities.

“World Bank and IMF were not designed for us. They were not built by us. They were built before we became independent. And that’s the people who would determine what we do,” he said.

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Obasanjo also recalled Nigeria’s past agricultural policies, arguing that the country had been discouraged from supporting its farmers through subsidies even as developed economies continued to provide substantial assistance to their agricultural sectors.

He cautioned Nigerian policymakers against relying excessively on recommendations from foreign-trained economists without examining whether such policies would work under the country’s economic conditions.

The former president’s criticism comes amid renewed debate over Nigeria’s rising public debt and the Tinubu administration’s latest borrowing plans.

On October 27, Tinubu asked the National Assembly to approve a supplementary external borrowing plan totalling approximately $20.52 billion and €1.045 billion for the 2026–2027 period.

The request, conveyed in a letter read by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, is intended to finance projects and programmes across several sectors, including infrastructure, power, transportation, healthcare, education, agriculture, security and job creation.

The proposed borrowing has renewed concerns about the country’s ability to manage its debt obligations and generate sufficient revenue to finance public expenditure.

According to figures from the Debt Management Office (DMO), Nigeria’s public debt stood at N166.79 trillion as of June 2026, compared with N87.38 trillion in June 2023. Exchange-rate movements also contributed to the increase in the naira value of the country’s debt.

Tinubu’s administration has consistently defended borrowing as necessary to bridge infrastructure gaps, finance development projects and support its ambition of building a $1 trillion economy by 2030.

The president has argued that the more important consideration is how borrowed funds are invested, the economic value they generate and the government’s capacity to repay its obligations.

However, Obasanjo’s latest intervention has added to the growing public debate over the country’s borrowing strategy, debt sustainability and the long-term economic consequences for future generations.