Nigerian broadcast journalist, Rufai Oseni, has slammed President Bola Tinubu over his recent comment that debt is not a leprosy.

Oseni, during the ARISE Television’s ‘Morning show’, criticised Tinubu’s government over rising debt levels, warning that poor utilisation of borrowed funds could worsen the country’s economic condition.

Oseni argued that debt is leprosy, especially when it is not properly managed, stressing that Nigeria’s debt profile is increasingly burdensome.

The Television host emphasised that the high cost of debt servicing, estimated at between ₦15 trillion and ₦16 trillion within a ₦60 trillion budget, was taking a significant toll on the country’s finances without corresponding improvements in citizens’ welfare.

Oseni further stated that the country’s debt has taken Nigeria to a ‘ leper ‘ colony.

He said, “I’ll tell you debt is a leprosy. Yes, debt is a leprosy. You know why it’s leprosy your cost of serving the debt or servicing the debts, when you spend about 15 to 16 trillion in a budget that goes about 60 trillion.

“Now look at the percentage of what you use in debt service. It becomes leprosy, especially when you cannot see what you’re doing with the debt.

“This argument that, oh, we are doing it for roads. Everything road does not similarly transfer to development and growth.

“You’re beginning to see an uptick in the numbers of people suffering, capital mobilization is poor.

“So this argument of doing roads and everything, it doesn’t give an uptick in economic… They’ve borrowed another $516m. They’ve racked up the debt to about N160 trillion. What have we to show for it? People are poor. Their lives are worse off.

“They’ve done, for example, kilometers of coastal road. We are still asking them what’s the bidding process for that? Why did they have a preferred company? They’ve gone to the port. They have borrowed another money for the ports.

“Let’s be realistic, debt can become leprosy if not properly used, and the idea at which Nigeria is using it is not better. What is the state of the federal medical centers today? What state of the schools in the country today?

“They claim they’ve done student loan, yes, but it’s still a loan because the student has to pay it back.

“Debt is leprosy, if it’s not properly used and we are losing it in a leprosy way. In fact, our debt has taken Nigeria to a lepers colony.”