World Bank has Nigeria on the hook for half-billion dollars US

allAfrica is reporting that the World Bank has extended a line of credit to Nigeria to develop agriculture in the Northern part of the country. The aim is to increase food production, create jobs and stimulate economic growth in Africa’s largest economy.

“Unlocking Africa’s development potential requires interventions in key sectors such as energy and water,” said Jamal Saghir, Acting Vice President for the Africa Region, World Bank. “By taking a comprehensive approach, the TRIMING project will increase farm productivity, build climate resilience, reduce flooding risks and improve the lives and well-being of millions of Nigerian citizens in Africa’s largest economy.”

A video posted to Youtube features Jamal Saghir discussing investment opportunities in Africa at a conference in 2013.

What the article does not state is the terms of the credit line which is more like a loan. If I were a  citizen of Nigeria, I would be requesting transparency on these sort of deals. If the World Bank is anything like the banks doing business in America with non-white people, they should be very cautious of becoming victims of predatory lending.

I’m sure the loan officer took into consideration the future oil profits of Nigeria which begs the question, with the tremendous oil wealth Nigeria possesses, do they really need a loan from the World Bank?