Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s position on government borrowing, warning that excessive debt could impose a devastating burden on future generations.

Obasanjo described debt as more damaging than leprosy, dismissing Tinubu’s assertion that borrowing was not inherently harmful if the government had the capacity to repay it.

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.”

His comments come days after Tinubu sought the National Assembly’s approval for fresh external loans totalling $20.52bn and €1.045bn under the Federal Government’s 2026–2027 Supplementary External Borrowing Plan.

PUNCH Online reported on Tuesday that the President’s request was conveyed in a letter read by Senate President Godswill Akpabio during plenary.

The proposed loans are intended to finance projects across critical sectors, including infrastructure, agriculture, healthcare, education, water supply, security, employment generation and financial management reforms.

Tinubu said the additional external financing was necessary to address the country’s infrastructure deficit and bridge funding gaps affecting development projects. The request was referred to the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts for consideration.

The latest borrowing proposal followed Tinubu’s earlier defence of his administration’s borrowing policy in April, when he insisted that loans should not be viewed negatively.

“If we have to borrow, we borrow. Borrowing is not leprosy, we just have to work hard to be able to pay for it,” the President had said during a meeting with Plateau State leaders, led by Governor Caleb Mutfwang and the All Progressives Congress National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, at the State House.

However, Obasanjo disagreed with the President’s comparison, warning that the consequences of mounting public debt could extend beyond the present generation.

“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,” he said.

The former President also expressed concern over the depreciation of the naira, recalling that the currency exchanged at N1 to $1.85 when he established his farm 47 years ago.

Questioning the country’s economic performance over the period, Obasanjo said, “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 also raised questions about the knowledge and capacity of Nigeria’s political leaders to address the country’s challenges and improve the welfare 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 asked.

Obasanjo further questioned Nigeria’s reliance on the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, arguing that the institutions were established without Nigeria’s participation and that their economic prescriptions might not adequately reflect the country’s peculiar circumstances.

“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.

He cautioned against depending on external economic policies without adequately considering Nigeria’s needs and realities.