A Century of Nationhood and Nigeria’s Unending Debt: Implications for Human Security
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Date
2015
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Fountain Journal of Management and Social Sciences
Abstract
This paper examined the implications of Nigeria’s unending debt accumulation for human security. It presumed that Nigeria’s debt service obligations have become a veritable source of undermining socio-economic security of many Nigerians, as huge chunks of resources for providing social amenities and promoting citizens’ development aspirations are diverted to debt repayment. The paper specifically examines Nigeria’s debt profile within her one hundred years of political existence, identifies the sources and structures of Nigeria’s debt stock and discusses the implications of her debt overhang for human security. Findings of the paper, which relied on secondary data were that Nigeria has accumulated huge debt over the years from loans taken to supplement the financial shortfalls from her weak internally generated revenue capacity. The huge loans, which are mainly derived from both domestic and foreign sources, have become debt burden on Nigeria, leading to diversion of greater percentage of the country’s development resources for debt service obligations and underfunding of social institutions that are responsible for improving the basic productive capacity of the citizens. In conclusion, the study finds that Nigeria’s fast rising debt stock has direct and indirect negative implications for human security as the diversion of huge developmental financial resource for compulsory loan service obligations reduces the country’s capacity to provide mega employment, sound health and credible education to most Nigerians, thereby, exposing them to structural violence of poverty and human insecurity. The paper recommended that Nigeria should reduce her debt burden and improve human security by diversifying her economy, from primary to secondary export earnings in order to generate more income and reduce the country’s reliance on internal and external borrowing for projects implementation.
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Keywords
Nigeria, Century, Nationhood, Debt, Human security