For years, Nigerian politicians and media reports have issued breathless warnings about the dangers of becoming too indebted to China, fearing the dreaded “debt trap” and the risk of surrendering the country’s strategic assets.
While the economic risks associated with taking on too much debt are indeed relevant in Nigeria today where the government now owes creditors more than $100 billion, China, though, is not the problem. Chinese loans, in fact, account for just around 4% of total public debt.
