Do you approve of President Olusegun Obasanjo's handling of Nigeria's economy?
How Our Reforms Can Succeed, By Obasanjo
11.18.2004
President Olusegun Obasanjo has said that the on-going reforms in Nigeria would only succeed if the issue of the country's huge debt profile was favourably addressed by its creditors. "The courageous efforts at reforms in Nigeria will only be marginally successful unless we address the issue of debt and debt servicing," the president said at a state banquet given in his honour by the Finnish government. "This applies to all African states," Obasanjo, who is also the African Union (AU) chairman said, in response to an earlier address given by President Tarja Halonen of Finland. "The debt stock, now made up of largely penalties and interests as well as other stiffling charges represents in a large measure, an unfair strangulation of our economic reforms efforts," he said. He wondered why even when the country tried to pay off some of its smaller debts, "such offers are refused because the creditors prefer to reschedule over long periods, thus increasing the burden of repayment and the amount to be repaid. "I urge Finland (whose debt he described as rat debt as against the larger elephantine debts) to takeanother urgent look at its policy on debt, especially with Nigeria." Obasanjo urged the country to come up with "creative and compassionate policies" that will show leadership and example to other nations, trade and finance groups. "You must make your voice heard in the Paris Club," the president said. This is in apparent response to an earlier undertaking by Finland to refer the debt issue to the Paris Club in order to take a more holistic approach to the problem. Turning to other issues, Obasanjo said that security concern "is a non-negotiable interest of any nation." "Such interest would best be served when a nation feels that it is part of a reliable, viable and strong security arrangement." "Such security arrangement," he suggested, "must cover not just the military aspect, but also economic, social, cultural and political arrangement, irrespective of distance." He said that Nigeria's role within ECOWAS and Africa as a whole "is to use its resources to ensure peace in the region." "Our contributions to peace in Sierra-Leone and efforts in Liberia are worthy of note. Currently, we are involved with the protracted crisis in the Darfur region of the Sudan," he added. Obasanjo appealed to the international community to assist with logistics and relief materials to bring peace to the beleaguered areas. In a toast she gave earlier, Halonen commended Obasanjo's courageous efforts to reform Nigeria and "make the public sector more accountable and transparent." She noted that the efforts were already yielding results, stressing however, that "efficient government action is needed to provide for social justice and more equal distribution of national wealth. "This in turn, will provide for better social stability in the society." She said that Finland was keenly interested in the reformation of Nigeria, which she noted, must include the role of women in nation building. The Finish president noted that there were still concerns on the implementation of Sharia law in some parts of the country. She pledged her government's full support to Nigeria's efforts at finding political solutions to African problems, and promised that Finland would support AU's peace fund through a direct contribution to its kitty.
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