Peter Obi, a leading presidential candidate running on the Peoples Democratic Party's (PDP) platform, claims to have traveled to thirty-one nations throughout the world to research Nigeria's challenges.
He made the revelations during a consultative meeting with the party's leadership and delegates in Akwa Ibom on Monday evening in preparation for the upcoming PDP convention.
Obi, who expressed hope that Nigeria, despite its deepening economic crisis and poor security system, might be saved with strong leadership in place, urged delegates to vote for their candidates based on their children's futures rather than on sentiment.
"Remember that you will not be delegates forever when you go to the convention for those who will have the privilege."
Poor countries like Bangladesh were able to squirm their way out of the quicksand by borrowing and investing in capital-intensive projects, according to the presidential candidate, who pondered why Nigeria couldn't do the same and instead borrow and consume.
On the other hand, he expressed sadness over Nigeria's expanding debt profile, stating that borrowing is not wrong, but where the money is sent is, and that the Nigerian government borrows without investing in capital-intensive projects, claiming that only wealth creation can save the situation.
According to Obi, the country's debt profile has climbed from N3 trillion under former President Olusegun Obasanjo's administration to N58 trillion under the current administration, with Nigeria using 90 percent of its earned revenue to service debt alone.
"Nigeria is in a financial crisis; when you spend 98 percent of your income servicing debt rather than repaying it, you're in serious trouble." We earned one trillion, eight hundred and forty-seven billion in the first five months of last year, and we used one trillion, eight hundred and two billion to service the loan, not repayment, and we are not putting anything in the reserve. We're in the midst of a massive crisis, and we're borrowing more money; they'll tell you it's for capital projects.
"I've been asking individuals to show me the major projects," says the author. Power is more significant than any other capital vote. We've borrowed almost $100 billion over this time, and we're still at 4000 megawatts.
"This is the only country where electricity generation is mentioned; anywhere else on the globe, you simply turn the power on and off." Vietnam has increased its capacity from 38 to 76000MW, Egypt generates and distributes 55000MW, while Africa's behemoth, Nigeria, is failing to meet its demand of 4000MW.
"I've never encountered a country that does not borrow; the difference is that when they borrow, they invest it so that people may live well, whereas in our country, we borrow and spend, and we must stop or we will all be consumed."