Obi calls for strategy borrowing to drive Nigeria’s productivity growth
By KHUBAYB ADEFAKA
The Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Peter Obi has stressed that Nigeria’s growing debt is not the problem, but how the country uses borrowed funds is.
According to a post on his X handle on Tuesday, he said recent World Bank data show Nigeria is now the world’s third-largest debtor, with obligations of around $18.7 bn, behind Bangladesh at $23 bn.
“Borrowing is not inherently wrong. “Nations borrow to improve productivity and stimulate growth. Debt becomes a problem only when it finances consumption, inefficiency, or corruption rather than investment, as is the case in Nigeria,” he said.
Obi compared Nigeria’s trajectory with Bangladesh’s, saying that around 2015, Bangladesh had a GDP of roughly $195 billion and a per-capita income of about $1,235. By 2024–2025, the economy had grown to $460–500 billion, and per-capita income rose to $2,700, driven by investments in manufacturing, textiles, energy, and human capital.
“Nigeria, on the other hand, has seen its GDP fall from $490 billion in 2015 to below $250 billion today, with per-capita income dropping to $850–1,000. Factors include weak productivity growth, currency instability, structural inefficiencies, and corruption.
Obi concluded with optimism: “A new Nigeria, where loans, if taken, translate into productivity instead of consumption, is very much possible.”
Nigeria’s total public debt increased to N153.29tn as of September 30, 2025, reflecting a steady build-up in both domestic and external obligations within three months, according to data released by the Debt Management Office
