DELE SOBOWALE FROM VANGUARD
The Nigeria Employers Consultative Association, NECA, DG did a great job in explaining why the $800 million loan by the World Bank to Nigeria to help fund the fuel subsidy palliative was at best of limited value; and might not solve the problem. I would go further to accuse the World Bank of actually colluding the Federal Government to defraud Nigerians by granting a loan which, ab initio, we know will most likely be misappropriated; given the verdict of Nigerian history.
However, before going forward to address the issue under reference, it needs to be stated that I am probably one of few Nigerians, being an economist, who is very supportive of the role the bank has played in our disgraceful economic history. The bank had got it right most of the time; about 90 per cent in my own opinion. But, it has created a monumental mess when it is wrong.
Every Nigerian economist, with whom I have discussed this issue, are of the opinion that the $800m loan granted, at the last hour to the FG, was too late, too little and will create more problems than it solves. Let me explain by starting off where Ojerinde stopped. Giving N36,000 to a family, assumed to include five individuals…
