Every Nigerian Owes China N15,000

For the N3 trillion Nigeria has obtained from China within the last 4 years, every Nigerian now owes China N15,000 in debt.

That’s just N3,000 short of minimum wage.

The debt comes from two huge tranches of aid from China: $3.1 billion in 2014 and $6 billion for infrastructure in the last 3 years, in line with political analyst Theophilus Abbah.

Simple mathematics. Divide the combined total, just over N3 trillion, by the 198 million population Nigeria always talks about: that’s a nice N15,000 in debt to China for each Nigerian.

And that doesn’t even encompass the loan agreement signed this week in Beijing in which China pledged $60 billion in credit facilities, a quarter of it interest free.

Analysts say getting governments indebted to China is the republic’s way of outsmarting the us and the UK in Africa trade

“They are active in Liberia, Ghana, Angola,” minister of state for petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu, told Bloomberg.

“They're throwing money where their mouth is and in very many respect is one area where they have beaten both the us, european and British in things like this.

“Africa requires lots of development funds; China is able to offer it. not just provide in terms of money but offer with adequate technology.”

The implication is Africa may be unable to resist chinese trade and international politics.

Recently, at the world health assembly, the united states proposed watering down recommendations against breastmilk substitutes and threatened all nations who opposed its stand with sanctions.

Only Russia stood up to america and saved the recommendation.

A usa lawmaker, Rep Chris Smith, chairman of the foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, said in a recent opinion article that China also uses foreign aid as a “bargaining chip” in corrupt African countries with plenty of natural resources for them to exploit.

“AidData, a research laboratory at the university of William and Mary, argued in written testimony submitted to my committee that China efficaciously buys the votes of African governments on the United nations; they concluded that if African countries voted with China on the UN an extra 10 per cent of the time, they could acquire an 86 per cent bump in assistance,” the lawmaker stated.

Nigeria has common the chinese Yuan as a reserve currency, which will begin to compete with the us dollar.

The usa lawmaker lamented that the chinese in-road into Africa may be dangerous.


“All of those trends—rising levels of debt, shoddy infrastructure projects, and funding that allows human rights abusers to consolidate their influence and power—point to critical risks for the future of the African continent.”