Bolaji Oyepoju@BolajiOyepoju
WHEN SANUSI WAS CBN GOVERNOR, JONATHAN WAS BORROWING DESPITE OIL BOOM
I don't like hypocrisy.
And when I see it, I will say it .
Remember under the Goodluck Jonathan administration there was oil boom?
Oil was selling for $80- $120 .
Money was in excess.
So why were they borrowing?
They earned over $300 billion (which can't be accounted for) through oil , they were not supposed to borrow.
So why did they borrow?
Here’s a clear, fact-based breakdown:
Nigeria’s Borrowing Under Jonathan (2010–2015)
Total Public Debt
2010 (start): ₦12.6 trillion ($65 billion)
2015 (end): ₦12.1 trillion ($63–65 billion)
Key Shift: Domestic vs External Debt
Domestic Debt (major increase)
2010: ~₦4.5 trillion
2015: ~₦8.4 trillion
Government relied heavily on local borrowing (Treasury bills, bonds)
External Debt (declined initially, then slightly rose)
2010: ~$4.5 billion
2013: ~$2.1 billion (lowest point)
2015: ~$7–9 billion
Here's what you should know.
These were why they borrowed.
- Low savings despite high oil prices.
- The famous allegation that $20 billion oil revenue was unaccounted for (later disputed and politically controversial)
- Heavy fuel subsidy payments.
That's very important.
They were borrowing to pay subsidy even when there was oil boom.
Oil was selling $100 - $120 per barrel.
- Large government wage bill.
- Declining savings in:
Excess Crude Account (from $20bn to $3bn)
- Little infrastructure impact compared to borrowing levels.
- Failure to save during oil boom years.
Here's my focus.
What I want you to focus on is the fact that they borrowed to fund subsidy even with huge money from oil boom.
Did Tinubu experience oil boom?
The $300 billion made under Jonathan was supposed to be saved and reinvested, they wasted it.
Nigeria became dry.
You should also know that ..
The spendings in oil subsidy was eating into money they needed to work plus the financial RASCALITY of that administration.
So the removal of fuel subsidy doesn't automatically mean we have cash from money we're no longer paying.
That cash doesn't exist physically. It never existed under Jonathan.
Previous administrations all borrowed to fund it .
Now under Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu , what changed Is that even when we borrow, we're no longer using it to pay subsidy.
We're now giving it to states and local governments to develop Nigeria.
But they're not doing it .
This is where the problem is.
So people asking, what is Tinubu doing with subsidy Money.
Here's your answer.
1. There's no physical cash anywhere saved from subsidy.
2. Administrations before Tinubu had to borrow to fund it.
3. Nigeria borrows mainly because it is not industrialized...
productivity is low...
we're broke...
We even produce less oil bellow our capacity to the world.
So we earn less far Below our national needs .
4. So under Tinubu, nothing has changed except that the money borrowed is now given for the building of railways, roads and given to states and local governments to develop.
So Emir Mohammed Sanusi was just playing politics.
What he said doesn't match facts on the table.
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Ugoji Maximillian Teacher of systems. Translator of power. Builder of Elite mindset. Speaker, Author and Entrepreneur.