Ex-President Muhammadu Buhari was a reckless spender of Nigeria’s commonwealth, plunging the country and its people into grinding poverty with a prostrate economy to grapple with, says Olusegun Obasanjo.

Mr Obasanjo ruled the country between 1999 and 2007, while Mr Buhari took over the reins of power in 2015 and handed over power to incumbent President Bola Tinubu.

Mr Obasanjo berated Mr Buhari for his reckless borrowings and spending, leaving Nigeria in an ocean of debt. 

“Buhari was spending money recklessly. I know Buhari didn’t understand economics. I put that in my book. But that he could also be so reckless, I didn’t know,” Mr Obasanjo said when asked to share his experience on how Nigeria could solve its debt crisis in an interview with The Cable published on Tuesday. 

Mr Obasanjo also asserted that Mr Tinubu’s junketing around the world would not “solve any problem.”

His criticisms came a few days after Mr Tinubu, at the Nigerian Bar Association conference, condemned debt accumulation by his predecessor, calling it a “path to destruction.”

Nigeria’s debt profile in eight years under Mr Buhari hit N46 trillion, though claiming they were loans obtained for infrastructural development. 

Mr Obasanjo further said Mr Tinubu travelling to meet world leaders would not solve any problem, dismissing Mr Tinubu’s decision to trim down the number of government officials attending the United Nations General Assembly to save cost as nothing new.

“Tinubu says he has trimmed the number of people attending the United Nations General Assembly. Is that news? He will meet with Justin Trudeau, and he will meet with Emmanuel Macron. That will not solve any problem,” Mr Obasanjo said. 

On Monday, former Central Bank of Nigeria’s governor Sanusi Lamido expressed similar misgivings about Mr Buhari’s insatiable thirst for debt.

The former Kano emir berated Mr Buhari for condoning corruption, alleging that an individual who had never worked bought a private jet.

“In the last eight years, only sycophancy succeeded. The sycophants bought dollars at N400 and sold N540. An inexperienced boy who had never worked anywhere owns a private jet,” Mr Sanusi said.

“The last eight years, Nigeria led a false life. The government borrowed from within and without. About N30 trillion was borrowed from the central bank. All the revenue the country generated in the last few years couldn’t service debt. Debt service exceeded 100 per cent. The government borrowed to service debts. No country can grow this way,” Mr Sanusi explained.

With borrowings of Mr Buhari’s regime in eight years, Nigeria’s debt profile hit N46 trillion, according to the Debt Management Office.

Last week, at the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) conference, Mr Tinubu condemned debt accumulation by his predecessor as a path to destruction.

“Can we continue to service external debts with 90 per cent of our revenue? It is a path to destruction,” Mr Tinubu declared.

In June, Mr Tinubu ordered the CBN to float the naira, allowing banks to determine exchange rates to the dollar and other foreign currencies, ending years of dual exchange rates in the country.