February 12, (THEWILL) – Elder statesman and legal luminary, Afe Babalola (SAN), has urged President Bola Tinubu to probe how the country borrowed several trillions of Naira and what the money was used for.
The educationist and founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti (ABUAD), also advised President Tinubu to seek counsel from former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, on how his administration went about seeking debt relief for the country, as well as how it managed to get huge debt cancellation.
The legal icon stated this at the weekend during the 6th Induction ceremony of the institution’s Medical Doctors 2023 Graduating set, held at ABUAD campus.
Speaking at the event, Babalola said, “We are one of the heaviest debtors in the world. Let us investigate how we incurred several trillion of Naira as debts. What did we use the money for? I can assure you that the money is in the pockets of some people.
“Let us call on Obasanjo again to advise President Bola Tinubu on how he went about seeking debt forgiveness. He went round to tell the creditors to reduce the indebtedness and they did.
Speaking on the migration of young people abroad, Babalola said the youths should be encouraged to stay back and build the country, adding that certain things must be done to discourage the youths from leaving in droves.
“The Japa syndrome is a new development in the country. This syndrome has to stop and the only way to stop it is to increase the salaries and wages of workers, which in my own case I did by increasing the salary of my workers by 35 percent.
“Nigeria should be advised to produce. Something urgent has to be done with the kidnappings and the killing of innocent people. Farmers have left the farms because of kidnappings. Something must also be done to the indebtedness of the country.
“There are lots of issues, the value of the Naira is getting worse. No employment. The prices of goods and services are getting very high by the day. These are issues that must be addressed before we can stop Japa. So that young men and women could stay back in the country and help to develop it”, he added.
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