Nigeria's Debt Forgiveness - A Tribute To Obasanjo's Doggedness

It is not every time that I get news that is indeed encouraging about my dear Nigeria. However, when I heard that the Paris Club, the body that holds at least 80% of Nigeria’s foreign debt, had forgiven $18 Billion of the $34 Billion or so that the country owed, I was indeed proud of my President.

As much as I do not always agree with the president’s approach to many an issue, this great achievement is one that he and the finance minister, Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala must be congratukated for achieving. The only challenge we have now as a nation is to sit down and find ways of maximising the benefits our nation will derive from this debt-forgiveness. And might I also say that Obasanjo has, by this achievement, been vindicated as he received many a taunt from so many quarters (this writer inclusive!) about his so many junkets to international capitals. Finally, all those trips have paid off!

But speaking more seriously, I really hope and pray that the government that will take over from Obasanjo shall not squander the opportunities that he has been able to get for the country. I hope we will not have a replay of what happened after he handed over power in 1979, at a time when Nigeria had a booming airline and shipping line coupled with fantastic infrastructure; only to come back in 1999 to find that it all gone!! May God help Nigeria!

With giant strides achieved via the telecommunications revolution, this recent debt forgiveness and also the changes presently taking place in the public sector and the oil and gas industry, I can happily say that Obasanjo has done more to move Nigeria forward than any leader this country has had in the last twenty years. I am indeed proud of him (though I would really appreciate it if he didn’t "hem" and "ahm"so much when speaking in public!!)