BUHARI RESTRICTS WORLD BANK LOANS TO THE NORTH

It is easy to pick up a serious quarrel with President Muhammadu Buhari over his overt nepotism in restricting the application of World Bank sourced development loans to his own Northern Nigeria. What is strange however is that the President of that finance institution Mr Jim Yong Kim, a US citizen, does not see anything odd about these guidelines issued by Buhari.

Has Kim not been getting any briefings from his Country Representative in Abuja?
Is he completely unaware of the spate of political agitation for equity and justice without which there would be no prospect of peace necessary for the execution of the projects supported by the World Bank?
Has he not read ANY report by Amnesty International about the goings on in Nigeria?
Is his bias an extension of that of the US State Department?
This makes absolutely no sense.

Having said the above, let the truth be told. Northern Nigeria which encompasses Boko-Haramland could do with even double the present flow of development funds. There is a catch however. There is a glaring lack of technical and executive capacity vital for project implementation. A large percentage of the educated elite in that zone belong to the thieving class who will never dirty their hands doing an honest day's work, preferring to pilfer as much as they can from World Bank funds. In addition, with the lack of peace in the land, the number of technocrats from the south ready to risk life and limb up north is fast depleting.

I wish the World Bank President and the north well. I wish the bank could provide even more funds to Buhari and his brothers if only that will quell the restiveness. However the people of Northern Nigeria should not expect Ndigbo/Biafrans or any other nationalities in Southern Nigeria to repay their own loans. As part of the loud demand for political and economic #Restructuring, every nationality should pay its way even in a still united Nigeria. To do otherwise is recipe for further chaos.