Innocent Innegor, Clergy
The economic reforms mean the government should create more ways of generating revenues, either by cutting its expenditure or diversifying the economy from crude oil to industrialisation, agriculture, and many more. Nigeria as a country needs to cut the cost of running the government by scrapping the post of state ministers’ of state; scrapping of the senate.
The Nigerian government always cry about having no funds for the budget. This is what has necessitated the request for the loan. But they have funds to employ two ministers for a single ministry, doing the same work. The same government that lacks funds has funds for senators and the House of Representatives. The cost of paying 109 senators and more than 300 House of Representatives members clearly will take care of some projects in Nigeria.
The government has dumped its responsibilities but has welcomed the opportunity of taking a loan in the name of funding projects for public office holders to embezzle.
Peter Kamba, Teacher
This matter has nothing to do with if we should agree or not, but taking the loan is a no for me. As long as we don’t have a faithful, accountable, and transparent government. every loan taken is just to make themselves richer by embezzlement than making the life of the masses better. If the loan taken is to organise and make Nigeria better, I don’t have a problem with that. But loans should not be taken from their pockets. And I want to ask’; the previous loans that were taken, were they used to better a lot of the country? We can see that rather for the country to be getting better, the reverse is the case.
Stephen Olawale, Entrepreneur
We can’t keep borrowing when we are in so much debt already. The previous loans we collected, how well have they been utilised? Can we do a review of how they were spent? This government should look inwards and reduce the cost governance. There is inflation, the economy is crashing; these need to be addressed, not seeking additional loans. And you cannot repair or organise a country with loans. Have they thought about how the previous loans would be paid? That should be our major concern now, not getting another loan. The Senate should deny his request.
Samuel Luka
Presently, our debt has passed N3.3 trillion. First, we need to understand how we got to this level in less than five years. Secondly, address the cause first, because when you borrow again, the money would just vanish into the thin air, and it won’t solve the problem. What were they borrowing for in the first instance?
Thirdly, I’m not against borrowing, I’m sure as hell some countries have borrowed more than Nigeria, but they use the money judiciously. But a situation where you borrow to fund recurrent expenditures (salaries, etc) is what I’m against. It is time we began to channel a lot of resources more capital expenditures (building roads, improving healthcare, etc).
Abdullahi Salihu Cheche, Entrepreneur
President Muhammad Buhari-led’s administration had been taken foreign loans to fund projects after the 2016 recession caused largely by the fall in global oil prices. But the question in the mind of every Nigerian is; is this what is the revenue generated by the Nigerian Government is used for? Are the loans taken by the government used for the public? What happens to our recovery of funds? In my view, Nigeria as a nation doesn’t require a loan to execute our annual budgets. What it requires is economic reform. The economic reform in this case means the diversification of economic activities by the government to create more ways of generating revenue.
The over-emphasis on crude oil by the Nigerian Government, as makes it difficult for other agencies like Agriculture, Mining, manufacturing, innovation, tourism e.t.c. to contribute immensely to the revenue of the country. Secondly, Nigerian Governments need to cut down their expenditure at all levels. The high cost of running government by the Nigerian Government has done more harm to its citizens than the good, the main purpose of the Government is to give its citizens a befitting life but in Nigeria, the reverse is the case.
Yusuf Chwar, Lawyer
Well, I am not an economist to answer this. I am not in a position to answer this honestly, but I think if it is for infrastructure, then it is not bad. But if it is for the recurrent, then there is a problem. The country is not in good shape for collecting loans.
