3rd October, 2020
By Kazeem Ugbodaga
Nigerians have descended heavily on Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola for blaming former President, Olusegun Obasanjo for using Paris Club’s $12 billion debt cancellation to pay the nation’s creditors rather than using the fund to build roads and rails.
Fashola had in a interview on Channels TV blamed Obasanjo, as partly responsible for Nigeria’s weak infrastructural base, saying that instead of paying off Nigeria’s external debts, the ex-Nigerian leader should have invested in capital projects across the country.
According to Fashola, previous governments that had access to a lot of money, under-invested in the country’s infrastructure, saying if he had the $12 billion, like the Olusegun Obasanjo government in 2005, he would have built rails and more roads.
In 2005/2006, the Paris Club wrote off $18 billion or 60 per cent of the $30 billion Nigeria owed the cartel, after months of negotiations, a development touted as one of the biggest achievements of the Obasanjo administration.
Fashola said that rather than deploy the funds prudently, the Obasanjo government decided to pay the country’s creditors to the detriment of the country, insisting that today, Nigeria has gone back to borrowing because the governments in the past ignored investment in infrastructure.
Nigerians on twitter attacked Fashola for questioning Obasanjo’s ingenuity in using the money to pay creditors.
Fashola is currently trending on twitter for the wrong reason.
A twitter user, Autos Boss, said Fashola should hide his face in shame and never speak again.
A user, Mukolu Lukas said the day Fashola decided to follow president buhari, that was when his brain was twisted, saying that instead of now thinking forward, he is now thinking backward.
Emeka Anene said Fashola should have completed the Lagos Metro line, and that instead he folded his arm blaming Obasanjo.
Read reactions below
What's wrong with Fashola? The Fashola I know doesn't reason like this. Something is wrong.
Agunta Daddy Fash ti n ba Aja rin o.
— Salau Bankole (@Bankyhoney) October 3, 2020
Spot on. See what they 've turned Fashola sef into? Shame. https://t.co/7fbGoawqMU
— GRAND (@grandhustle0) October 3, 2020
Fashola can't be this daft!
From a suppose intellectual, this is nonsense.
Someone did his best and got $12bn cancelled with the belief that the money that would have been used to keep servicing this lofty debt can channeled into other ventures like provision of infrastructures. https://t.co/wfWtFSWa5s— O'femi (@theOluwafemi) October 3, 2020
The same Fashola that promised to fix Nigeria's power issues within 6 months?
Nothing surprises me anymore from these folks. https://t.co/CVfWh2xi6x— 🔴 The First Son 👑 (@Mr_Amadii) October 3, 2020
Fashola said Nigerians are disappointed because they are looking for results in the wrong place(fed. govt). Let me also reamind him that the fed. govt. controls more than 50% of the resources in this country. It's fair to look up to them. To whom much is given, much is expected
— Michael Erhabor (@Michael_Erhabor) October 3, 2020
Another disappointment from Fashola;If OBJ had used the money to build roads and other infrastructures,would Pmb have gotten loans so easily to embark on projects they are doing today and would things not have been much more difficult for us today?
— lester Eseoghene Eghagha (@leghagha144) October 3, 2020