Senator Shehu Sani said Nigerians would have been ”recolonised by creditor banks” if they had granted President Muhammadu Buhari’s request for $30 billion loans, thereby shooting up the country’s external debt to $52 billion.
Sani who represented Kaduna central senatorial district in the 8th senate has waded into controversy sparked by Buhari’s re-submission of a $30 billion loan request to Lawani Ahmed-led Senate after it was struck out by the Bukola Saraki-led Senate.
President Buhari who re-submitted the loan request on Thursday said it was critical to the delivery of the government’s policies and programmes.
In a statement released on Friday, Sani defended the 8th Senate’s decision in rejecting the $29.96 billion loan request from President Buhari.
“We turned down the FG loan request for $30 Billion to save Nigeria from sinking into the dark gully of a perpetual debt trap,” he said.
“We don’t want our country to be recolonized by creditor banks.
“With the current escalation of borrowing, we will be walking into debt slavery and move from landlords to tenants in our country,” he said.
“They will always tell you that even America is borrowing and I don’t know how rational is it to keep on borrowing because another country is borrowing.
“If we keep listening to Bankers and contractors we will keep borrowing and burying ourselves and leave behind for our children a legacy of the debt burden.
“Loans are not charities. Most of those encouraging more borrowing are parasitic consultants, commission agents, rents seeking fronts and contractors. We must be cautious.”
