7 January 2004
editorial
Lagos — TWO separate reports on Nigeria's external debt portfolio and the release of some looted funds in foreign vaults bring into sharp relief the unique dilemma the nation faces in its desire to fund the developmental needs of citizens.
The first report was the release of £3 million seized from the late Abacha's courier from a total of £1.5 billion being demanded by the Federal Government from various British financial institutions looted between 1993 - 2000.
The second report that provoked this developmental dilemma were indications from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) suggesting that Western creditors may be more favourably disposed to granting some debt-relief to Nigeria.
This followed a debt-sustainability analysis by IMF which indicated that Nigeria needs debt-relief for more meaningful national budgetary projections.
Taken at the same time, the report that the United Kingdom has released some of the looted funds to Nigeria, and that the IMF will review the nation's financial obligations to the Paris Club (which holds 80% of Nigeria's $30.1 billion debt), should be good news. And a sign that the Obasanjo administration efforts in those directions may have started yielding results.
More particularly, going by her historical ties with Nigeria, the release of only £3 million of loot put at £1.5 billion by Britain, after over four years of efforts, points to conflicting signals about their commitment to helping our government recover much of the looted funds.
Considering that, as with most post-colonial indebted nations, Nigeria's foreign indebtedness arose mostly from corrupt leaderships that diverted foreign loans into private pockets, it would have been expected that nations like the UK which place good-governance and transparency as pre-condition for debt-relief, would be upfront champions of loot-recovery.
Sadly, this has not been the case, as billions of Nigeria's looted funds are still trapped in British vaults due to legal technicalities-arising from the fact that the monies are in private, commercial banks.
By holding on to the loot under whatever guise, Nigeria's creditors are indirectly encouraging other leaders to loot with the comforting belief that even if they are found out, the monies would be impossible to repatriate - due to costly legal tangles as recent experiences have shown.
The tragedy of the whole fruitless exercise at loot-recovery and crushing debt over-hang is that it is difficult for debtor governments to plan, reform, and develop.
Agreed that it may even be in the interest of creditor-nations to hold on to Nigeria's looted funds, for fear that it might be stolen back, as the Swiss government recently charged, but the apparent intention of the present Nigerian government to be more transparent, than hitherto, calls for more understanding from foreign creditor-nations.
Besides, it is in the long-term interest of the Western financial institutions that Nigeria does not burst at the seams due to very trying economic burden.
By continued withholding of Nigeria's verifiable looted funds and at the same time expecting her to meet her foreign financial obligations, creditor nations are indirectly fueling the nation's underdevelopment, economic crisis and potential social unrest.
It may be a sign of future cooperation with Nigeria that the U.K. which is one of her largest creditors has undertaken to lobby other Paris Club members for debt-relief.
But the more critical issue lies in how much political weight the U.K. throws behind Nigeria's efforts at recovering the estimated $1.5 billion directly linked to the late Abacha's associates and the larger $4.5 billion believed to be in U.K. banks by Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
We submit that much as it may not be in the interest of Western creditor-nations to consciously despoil Nigeria in collaboration with corrupt public officials, their efforts at easing the nation's debt burdens and expediting loot-recovery will go a long way in stemming the rising incidence of crimes.
There might indeed be a close relationship between official mismanagement of funds, mass-poverty and organised international crime.
Britain by law and morality owes it to Nigeria to return her stolen funds. That way the signal becomes obvious that no future looters would find a home for their stolen wealth in British banks.
All things considered, it still behoves on Nigeria's leadership to put to judicious use, the already recovered loot and not give the creditor-nations the justification they need to withhold looted monies.
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