Sir: The fresh request being made to the National Assembly by Nigeria’s President for more loans from foreign bodies leaves a very sour taste in the mouths of all well-meaning citizens of the country, and the earlier everyone rises up to address the issue revolving around these unceasing borrowing begun massively by the last administration, the better for all Nigeria’s citizens.

If the current travails of the former governor of Nigeria’s Central Bank, Godwin Emefiele and the revelations arising thereof are anything to go by, there are good reasons to suspect that most of the borrowings of the last regime meant for national development simply went into private pockets. And because of Nigeria’s legendary governmental style of “Loot and Go”, most of those who served in the last regime must have succeeded in getting away with a large chunk of funds meant for the state, forcing the new regime into another spree of borrowings most of which would also end up in private pockets of those now waiting patiently to have their own pounds of flesh from the Nigerian state. The logic is simple. Predecessors dictate the pace to their successors and so if those before did it successfully, what will then stop those coming behind from having their own bite?

It is sad that for many decades, the style has always been that once any regime leaves stage, except in very rare cases like in that of Emefiele, most of those who siphon very large funds belonging to the state are given soft landing without anyone raising any eyebrows. The case of the former Accountant General of the federation with billions of unaccounted funds, the issue of large billions of unremitted funds from the NNPC Limited for which the former Attorney General, Malami was being invited by the National Assembly and the current Emefiele’s case are just mere tips of the iceberg of the massive looting perpetrated by Nigeria’s supposed leaders.

Earlier in the days of the last regime, there was the slogan of “naming and shaming” and most Nigerians were cajoled to think that most of the funds being recovered would serve Nigeria and Nigerians in very good stead and the last administration would turn the economy around for the benefits of everybody.

But alas, Nigerians woke up later to find out that they have only been scammed, and everyone is back at the square one of renewed borrowings. Just what manner of a country is Nigeria?

Jide Oyewusi is coordinator of Ethics Watch International, Lagos.