Opinion: A Yahoo-Yahoo Debt Servicing Strategy by Dr Jekwu Ozoemena

Nigeria’s total debt which was N17.5 Trillion as at May 2015, has ballooned to N24.39 Trillion as at December 2018, a 40% increase. Debt Service to Government revenue ratio is projected to hit 82% by 2022 (68% in 2017, 66% in 2018), from 24% in 2014.

In 2018 alone, Nigeria’s total debt grew by 12.25% (from N21.75 Trillion to N24.39 Trillion), yet we are still borrowing, with the FGN seeking a N3.4 Trillion Naira Promissory Note Issuance program to settle the backlog of state obligations.

The way I see it now, Government is no longer capable of servicing this debt from revenue (increasing VAT wouldn’t cut it), neither can it repay.

But there is a glimmer of hope.

Several actually.

To repay, it is either the FGN sells down on our stakes in the Oil JVs, we all hold on to faith in “believing God”, or Government aggregates the pants of all its citizens both male and female (Thongs and Boxers, Dross and Shimmy, Obante and Pata, Nwafor-Seven-Colours and Spiderman ‘paent’) and use it for money ritual aka Yahoo-Yahoo.

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