Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has rejected President Bola Tinubu’s claim that borrowing is “not leprosy,” saying Nigeria’s growing debt burden is worse because it affects future generations.
Speaking on Friday at the 3rd Ajibosin Annual Symposium in Abeokuta, Obasanjo described Tinubu’s remark as “absolute nonsense,” arguing that while leprosy harms an individual, excessive debt can impoverish generations.
The former president, who secured Nigeria’s $30 billion Paris Club debt relief during his administration, questioned the country’s rising debt profile and the ability of its leaders to manage the economy.
Obasanjo also criticized the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, saying their policies were not designed to advance Nigeria’s development.
On technology, he warned Nigeria against embracing artificial intelligence without adequate safeguards, saying innovations controlled by foreign powers could become tools of exploitation if the country failed to develop local capacity and maintain control over its data and technology.
The symposium, themed Leveraging Artificial Intelligence to Solve Grassroots Problems and Accelerate National Development, also featured a lecture by historian Dr Umar Ardo, who warned that Africa could face a new wave of economic exploitation if it failed to own its AI infrastructure and data.
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