Debt is deadlier than leprosy – Obasanjo fires back at Tinubu

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has called debt worse than leprosy, hitting back at President Bola Tinubu’s defence of government borrowing, Vanguard reports.

Speaking on Friday at the Ajibosin Platform in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Obasanjo said: “And for anybody to say debt is no leprosy, is absolute nonsense. Debt is worse than leprosy because leprosy destroys only one person. Debt destroys generations.”

In April, Tinubu had said: “If we have to borrow, we borrow. Borrowing is not leprosy; we just have to work hard to be able to pay for it.”

Obasanjo also complained about the naira’s fall. He said it was stronger than the dollar when he started his farm 47 years ago. “What have we done?” he asked.

He also warned that Africa could face a new form of colonialism if foreign interests control artificial intelligence. He said “anything that is not under your control can be abused against you.”