While the streets of Nigeria are filled with hunger-stricken faces, jobless youth, and families struggling to buy a cup of garri, the government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has once again taken to the global financial buffet—with a fresh request for a staggering $21.5 billion in loans, plus €2.19 billion, ¥15 billion, and a €65 million grant. The explanation? “Critical infrastructure and development projects.” The reality? A black hole of debt with little to nothing to show for it.
This new borrowing spree isn’t coming out of the blue. In 2023, the Senate had already approved $7.8 billion and €100 million for the same kinds of phantom projects. Just earlier this year, another $2.2 billion was added to the national debt tab. Altogether, Nigeria’s public debt has now crossed an eye-watering ₦136.6 trillion mark as of March 2025, according to the Debt Management Office. Yet, ordinary Nigerians keep asking a simple question: Where is the development?
Power supply is still a national joke. The average Nigerian still experiences 4 to 6 hours of electricity per day, if at all. Roads across the country remain death traps, littered with potholes and choked by traffic. The healthcare system continues to collapse under the weight of underfunding and brain drain, with Nigerian doctors fleeing in droves for greener pastures. In the education sector, over 14 million children remain out of school—one of the highest figures globally, according to UNICEF.
Meanwhile, food prices have shot through the roof. A bag of rice now sells for over ₦80,000 in many cities, while even basic staples like bread and garri are fast becoming luxury items. Inflation stands at over 33.2% as of April 2025, and more than 140 million Nigerians are living in multidimensional poverty, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
And yet, Tinubu’s administration continues to tout subsidy removal and forex unification as landmark reforms—while refusing to answer the real question: Where is the money going? The revenue supposedly saved from subsidy removal has not translated into tangible relief for the masses. Instead, it appears to have been swallowed into a bottomless pit of political patronage, bloated government contracts, and elite-driven projects that rarely impact the average Nigerian.
What’s worse is the apparent lack of accountability. No breakdown, no public audit, no clear impact assessments. The loan documents are buried in bureaucratic lingo, and the projects they supposedly fund are either non-existent or perpetually “in progress.” It’s the same old cycle—borrow, squander, recycle the narrative, and borrow again.
This isn’t governance. It’s a systemic robbery. A deliberate, sustained assault on the economic future of over 200 million people. If we continue on this path, what exactly will be left of Nigeria by 2027? A nation buried under debt, ruled by elites, and drained of dignity.
Nigerians must stop romanticizing economic suicide. We cannot continue to legitimize a government that thrives on impoverishing its citizens while enriching itself through dubious loans and opaque projects. These are not reforms. They are rehearsed rituals of plunder.
The time to act is now. If we don’t rise to reclaim this country from these morally bankrupt kleptomaniacs, we may not have a country left to salvage. This is no longer about party loyalty or tribal sentiment. This is about survival.
Enough is enough!