A Business Planning and Risk Management expert, Mr. Julius Ola-Peters has said that Nigeria is over ambitious to think she can get $30b loan from international market with her poor economy as collateral security.
In a recent interview, Ola-Peters commended President Muhammadu Buhari for his courage to source for the needed resources to improve the nation’s economy.
He however stressed that the actual purpose of the money was unknown, whether it would be for infrastructure, education, industry, salary and wages or to pay for what the nation has borrowed in the past.
“This is where the problem lies and I feel they have already map out plan. It is over ambitious to think she can go to the international market to borrow $30b at once, for me, such has never happened and I don’t see it happening. If I heard $2b, one might say with our collateral security and our integrity as a nation, we may actually be able to negotiate. But to talk of borrowing $30b at a time, then our negotiation power and collateral security must actually be very strong and I doubt, if our economy is strong enough to serve as collateral security to get such loan from the international market. Nigeria needs to do a lot of home work for this loan to be granted”.
Speaking on economic recession, Ola-Peters said that Nigeria’s economy may be in recession. It is not the first time for any economy to be in recession. Historically economy go into recession over a period of years 5 to 10 years periodically and to come out of recession there are so many policies that has to be put in place.
“What Nigeria needs right now is a big push that has to do with employment. Where people that are unemployed are assigned to do specific jobs or assignments, this would be the best way to boost the economy, there could be employment for construction, where the payment of workers’ salaries boost demands in the society, so that the farmers can sell their farm commodity, which would boost agriculture and more income to farmers to aid the circulation flow of cash”, he said
He advised the government to take this initiative seriously as most industries need consumers demands for their goods, which are people who earn salaries. “When there is cash flow in the economy there will be high demand, which will take Nigeria out of recession”.
