Prince Adewole Adebayo, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) presidential candidate in the 2023 general election, has criticized President Bola Tinubu’s approach to managing Nigeria’s economy, particularly regarding the country’s reliance on foreign borrowing.
Adebayo expressed his concerns during a recent interview, stated that excessive borrowing from international sources reflects poor economic management and weak national priorities.
“It pains me to hear the finance minister say it’s a good day when Nigeria goes borrowing in London,” Adebayo said.
“Borrowing is not a win. It’s a crisis. No past finance minister would ever describe the act of going abroad to borrow as a ‘good day.’ It’s a sign of systemic failure,” he added.
Adebayo distinguished between borrowing from within a country’s economy and seeking external loans.
“Countries like America borrow, but they borrow from their own currency. When you’re borrowing Eurobonds or foreign currencies, it signals a deep economic crisis,” he noted.
He added, “If your neighbour donates blood to you because you’re anaemic, you should be grateful, but that’s not the best day of your life. You’re not supposed to be anaemic in the first place.”
The SDP chieftain urged the Tinubu administration to adopt a more coordinated economic strategy, prioritizing internal capital generation.
“The economy must be run in a way that allows us to generate wealth internally. The current approach lacks coordination, even though the finance minister is supposed to be the economy’s coordinator,” he said.
Adebayo called for more comprehensive planning, suggesting that with better coordination and collaboration with citizens, Nigeria could reduce its dependence on foreign loans and achieve economic stability.