Economist: It Doesn’t Matter If Nigeria Looks to China or Europe For Infrastructure Loans, It Still Won’t Solve the Underlying Problem

Nigerian economist Gospel Obele appearing on PlusTV to discuss the country's infrastructure debt financing dilemma.

Last week’s acknowledgment by Nigeria’s Transportation Minister Rotimi Amaechi that China will no longer finance the country’s large-scale railway projects has prompted a lively debate over how Abuja should fund its future infrastructure development.

Amaechi said he is now going to look to European creditors, possibly multi-billion-dollar loans from Standard Chartered Bank in the UK, to fill the financing gap. But even if he’s successful in securing new lines of credit, economist Gospel Obele said it’s not going to solve the country’s larger problem.

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by Eric Olander

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