Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s borrowing policy, describing as “absolute nonsense” the President’s assertion that borrowing is not leprosy.

Obasanjo argued that the consequences of excessive borrowing could extend beyond the present generation, warning that debt was more destructive than leprosy because it could burden generations yet unborn.

The former President spoke on Friday at the Ajibosin Platform, a public forum held in Abeokuta, Ogun State, with the theme, “Leveraging Artificial Intelligence to Solve Grassroots Problems and Accelerate National Development”.

Reacting to Tinubu’s earlier defence of his administration’s borrowing policy, 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.”

Tinubu had defended his administration’s borrowing policy in April, declaring that the Federal Government would continue to obtain loans whenever necessary, provided the country worked hard to repay them.

The President’s borrowing stance has come under renewed scrutiny following his request to the National Assembly for approval of a supplementary external borrowing plan of $20.52 billion and €1.04 billion to finance projects and programmes across various sectors.

The proposed loans are expected to support investments in power, transportation, healthcare, education, agriculture, water supply, security, job creation and financial management reforms.

Tinubu had also defended the borrowing strategy, arguing that sustained investment in infrastructure was necessary to achieve Nigeria’s ambition of becoming a $1 trillion economy by 2030.

However, Obasanjo questioned the country’s economic performance over the past 47 years, particularly the dramatic depreciation of the naira against the United States dollar.

Recalling when he established his farm nearly five decades ago, the former President said the naira exchanged at N1 to $1.85 at the time, expressing concern that the exchange rate had deteriorated to about N1,500 to the dollar.

“When I started my farm, 47 years ago, naira to the dollar was one naira to $1.85. Forty-seven years ago. What has Nigeria done in 47 years that we now have 1,500 naira to the dollar? What have we done?” he asked.

He also questioned the capacity of Nigeria’s political leadership to make decisions capable of improving the living conditions of citizens.

“What do our leaders know? And what do they not know? And from what they know, what can they do for us?” he queried.

Obasanjo further criticised Nigeria’s dependence on foreign financial institutions, particularly the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), arguing that their economic prescriptions might not adequately reflect the country's peculiar realities.

He recalled that Nigeria had previously been discouraged from subsidising agriculture despite the extensive support provided to farmers in developed countries.

“World Bank and IMF were not designed for us. They were not built by us. They were built before we became independent. And that’s the people who would determine what we do,” he said.

The former President cautioned against blindly adopting economic recommendations from foreign-trained experts without considering Nigeria’s unique circumstances and development priorities.