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EndSARS, EndPoliceBrutality, EndBadGovernance – Hot Talks in the Giant of Africa
“The young have grown” is a perfect replacement for the age old quote and the slogan of Yobe State in Nigeria – “The young shall grow”. Nigeria’s youth have decided to seize the initiative and change the narrative. One can say that their time is NOW. Nigerian youth, home and abroad, took to the streets to air their grievances against police brutality. The protest itself is emblematic of a deep-seated problem of poor governance and corruption. Unending police brutality was the proverbial straw that broke the Camel’s back. The peaceful protests, in a blink of an eye, turned bloody at the Lekki toll gate – its epicenter. This soon led to looting and wanton destruction of both public and private properties by hoodlums. The implication of all these is a delay in the expected economic recovery and a possible decline in foreign investment inflows. Analysts estimate an economic loss of about N1.5trn.
Resorting to External Debt Will Come Back to Bite You – A Note to African Countries
African countries have resorted to external borrowing from multilateral organizations (IMF & World Bank) and bilateral creditors (China) to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their economies. External debt stock in SSA could climb by 13% to $672.7bn in 2021. However, the rise in external debt accumulation by African countries is a ticking time bomb and countries highly dependent on commodity exports could be the worst hit should it explode. A warning sign is the current debt crisis in Zambia as the government seeks a six-month suspension on interest payments from the holders of its $3bn in Eurobonds. In a situation, where these creditors suspend debt servicing in 2020, it would only delay the inevitable. Policy makers, particularly in SSA countries are advised to take quick caution and intensify efforts to generate revenue.
This edition of the FDC Afriscope reveals the recovery picture of African countries in 2021. There are also interesting economic stories on various countries.
Do enjoy your read!
