By Olarinre Salako
Published in The Nigerian Tribune, March 2, 2026
Nigeria is borrowing at a scale that should command sober national attention — especially from the younger generation.
Borrowing is not inherently reckless. Every serious economy uses debt to stabilize transitions, finance infrastructure, and unlock growth. The question is whether Nigeria is governing these borrowings with discipline and transparency to protect the generation that will ultimately repay them.
The Borrowing Record
According to the Debt Management Office, Nigeria’s total public debt as of September 30, 2025 stood at approximately ₦153.29 trillion (about $103.94 billion at the official reporting rate), representing a quarterly increase of roughly ₦900 billion from June 2025. About 53 percent is domestic, while roughly 47 percent is external.
Since President Bola Tinubu assumed office in May 2023, Nigeria has expanded borrowing across multilateral institutions, the international capital market, sovereign Sukuk issuances, oil-backed liquidity facilities, and regular domestic bond and Treasury Bill auctions. Fresh commitments from the World Bank since mid-2023 are widely reported at about $8–9 billion. The African Development Bank has approved $500 million in late 2025 and a further $200 million in early 2026.
Nigeria returned to the Eurobond market in November 2025, issuing about $2.35 billion across 10- and 20-year tranches. A February 23, 2026 bond auction raised roughly ₦524 billion at stop rates between 15.50 and 15.74 percent.
These figures frame the governance questions. Are there institutional systems robust enough to translate these borrowings into visible productive capacity capable of expanding output and strengthening public finances? And how explicitly are future generations being considered in decisions that will bind them for decades?