Aare Afe Babalola, the founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), has pleaded with President Bola Tinubu to approach foreign creditors about debt relief.
Babalola made this statement on Sunday at the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) in Ado-Ekiti during the 6th Induction Ceremony of the College of Medical and Health Sciences, ABUAD, 2023 graduating class.
According to the Elder stateman:
“Nigeria is one of the heaviest debtors in the world, I have written articles about it, let us investigate how we came to several trillions of dollars, what do we spend it on? I can assure you, these money are pocketed by those who said they collected it.
“Let us call on Obasanjo again to advise the present government. When we were in serious trouble in the 90s, after he took over, he went round all the creditors and begged them, one, to peg the interest, two, to even reduce the indebtedness and today, we are better for it.
“Unless we do that, this indebtedness will cripple this country and it will lead to anything. I have seen people especially, in the North who are agitating because of the fact that the naira is getting worse, food prices are high, no employment, and those who get it are not paid. Something has to be done about it.”
cc: Vanguard Ng