28
May
May
HURIWA SLAMS TINUBU’S $21.5BN LOAN BID AS ECONOMIC ENSLAVEMENT
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CapitalTimesNews / 2 weeks
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The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has vehemently condemned President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s request for legislative approval to secure over $21.5 billion in foreign loans and ₦758 billion in domestic bonds, describing the move as a direct and disastrous attempt to push Nigeria further into a toxic debt trap. In a statement signed by Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, National Coordinator of HURIWA, the group denounced the proposed external borrowing plan and pension bond issuance as the clearest sign yet that the current administration is mortgaging the future of over 200 million Nigerians in a reckless and irresponsible pursuit of unsustainable debt. “This is as bad as it can get. Nigeria is being plunged into another round of unconscionable, destructive, and criminal foreign borrowing spree by a government that has failed in transparency, accountability, and economic vision,” Onwubiko said. HURIWA lambasted the National Assembly, particularly the House of Representatives under Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, for failing to assert legislative independence or protect Nigerians from economic harm. “It is no longer news that the National Assembly has become a glorified department of the Presidency—utterly bereft of willpower to interrogate executive excesses,” Onwubiko added. The group questioned the rationale for seeking loans when Nigeria is bleeding under runaway inflation, widespread insecurity, and a currency crisis that has battered the naira against foreign currencies. “Borrowing is not development. What we have today is the worst form of economic colonialism disguised as financial assistance,” Onwubiko said. HURIWA called on Nigerians to rise in civil resistance and denounce the proposed borrowing plans, warning that silence in the face of this looming catastrophe would amount to national complicity in economic genocide. “This is the time for patriotic Nigerians—students, labour unions, market women, youth groups, the clergy, professional bodies, and civil society—to take a united stand,” Onwubiko urged. The group also urged international financial institutions to halt disbursement of further credit to Nigeria until there is proof of fiscal transparency, accountability, and responsible governance. “Enough is enough. Nigeria cannot continue this cycle of borrow, steal, and suffer. If the National Assembly fails to act, the people must,” Onwubiko concluded.