Abuja — President Clinton has spelled out the major economic challenges facing Nigeria and warned that debt relief will only come once the country has demonstrated that it will not continue to fritter away oil revenues and will invest the savings from deft relief wisely.
Speaking to Nigerian and American business leaders at a forum last night, Clinton said there was an urgent need to rebuild decrepit infrastructure, invest in education and in health facilities and that the challenges must be faced by leaders in both government and the private sector.
Nigeria returned to democratic rule in May of last year, after 16 years of unbroken military rule, which left the nation in ruins. The country is currently rated one of the poorest nations of the world, despite huge revenues earned from crude oil exports.
Nigeria wants foreign investment to re-vitalise industry, agriculture, and to rebuild infrastructure. Besides that, the country is seeking relief from a debt burden, which the leaders say is eating deep into resources required to meet needs at home.
But to get debt relief, Clinton told his audience, from both the American and Nigerian business communities, they must first get their act together, to attract foreign investment.
'Broaden the economy'
Clinton noted that in the past most of the oil revenue had been frittered away. The challenge now, he said, was to put oil wealth into productive use. "You've got not only to make sure that the money coming from oil benefits the people, you've got to invest some of that money in a way that broadens the Nigerian economy," he told business leaders.
Earnings from oil exports currently account for about 95 percent of government's revenue. Clinton said Nigerian leaders must work hard to change the structure of the economy.
"You've got to rebuild the agricultural sector; you've got to broaden the manufacturing sector," he said.
The way forward for the Nigerian economy, according to the American leader, is to strengthen the productive base to take advantage of opportunities offered by the information revolution as well as the recently passed Africa Growth and Opportunities Act.
America would support Nigeria's drive to have its debt burden reduced, he said, "as long as you are going to spend the savings on the real economic needs of the ordinary people of Nigeria."
The Nigerian authorities have embarked on a string of economic reforms since the country returned to civilian rule 15 months ago, after military dictatorship that lasted for 16 years.
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Nigeria's external debt currently stands at $32 billion, while servicing of the debts costs the country about $1.5 billion annually.
President Olusegun Obasanjo has said that the debt burden now constitutes a threat to the survival of democracy, not only in Nigeria, but also across Africa.
The amount of money used to service and repay these debts, the Nigerian leader has argued, could be used to meet part of Nigeria's pressing needs: in education, agriculture or rural development. Obasanjo says debt relief or reduction should be one of the "dividends" of democracy that should accrue to the country.
President Clinton said at the press conference Saturday that he re-affirmed his commitment that "the United States would do what it can" to get for Nigeria " a generous Parish Club reschedule this year." About three-quarters of Nigeria's debt is owed to the Parish Club, a group of private creditors whose loans carry market interest rates.
In addition, Clinton said the United States would support a "positive consideration by the international financial community of debt reduction for Nigeria in a multilateral context."
Debt relief aside, the benefits from the visit have started to accrue. On Sunday, Clinton announced $20 million assistance to Nigeria to fight diseases, including AIDS and malaria. Both countries also signed a number of agreements, including one by the US EXIM Bank, on a loan guarantee by local banks.
