Time For Nigeria To Live Without Aids

Ditch foreign aid or remain trapped”

Dr Ngozi Okonio Iweala, February 2025.

The call to African states in general and Nigeria in particular, to stop relying on foreign aids could not have come at a more appropriate time.

The return of Donald Trump as President of America can be likened to two natural disasters which occur to individual nations or whole regions.

A wide ranging forest fire devastates entire areas, destroys buildings, farms and other assets.

But, gradually out of the ruins, a new commu­nity springs up — which frequently is more resilient.

An epidemic, like the recent COVID-19, which claimed millions of lives, globally, had left us better prepared to withstand its effects next time.

For too long, the perceived benefits of foreign aids had blinded poorer nations in Africa, Asia, Middle East and elsewhere to the underlying unintended debilitating impacts of prolonged reliance on hand-outs – particularly from US.

“Give a man fish; and he will be fed for one day. Teach him to fish; and he will feed himself for ever.” Chinese philosophy.

Most poor nations in the world, Nigeria includ­ed, have for too long lived like the poor cousin who comes around regularly to be fed or receive funds with which to feed himself.

Few of the leaders have had the guts of the Chi­nese and Singaporeans who have rejected aids from the world. When Singapore’s late Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew, wrote in his famous book, FROM THIRD

To First World In One Generation, as fol­lows:

“The world does not owe us a living. We cannot live by the begging bowl.

A soft people will vote for people who promised a soft way out; when indeed, there is none” (p 53), he set his people on the rough and narrow road that led to their salvation.

His nation has no oil, mineral and natural re­sources. It even has fewer human resources than Lagos or Kano State. Yet, the nation does not feel threatened by Trump; it immune to the consequenc­es of USAID cancellation.

Nigeria Is A Beggar Nation By Choice

“To be poor and independent is very nearly an impossibility.” William Cobbett, 1762-1835, VBQ p 194

Singapore is not expecting a plane load of ille­gal migrants from the US. Nigeria is. Global GDP per capita reveals that Singapore ranks number’s, with $39,370, US ranks number 6, with $86,601 and Nigeria, ranks 176 with a mere 5877. That is why fear has gripped Nigeria officials. Two tragedies have befallen us at once.

Thousands of our citizens who are visa delin­quents in the US, who remit funds to Nigeria are certainly on their way home.

For them, their Nigerian dependants and foreign exchange inflow, the party is over.

Additionally, USAIDfundshavesuddenlydriedup. Itisthelatterwhichhasnowexposedourbeggarstatus.

For as long as USAID has been operating in Nige­ria, governments at all three tiers have out-sourced their responsibilities for provisions of several health programmes.

The most critical include the provision of vac­cines, birth control devices, anti-malaria drugs and most-operative maternal care.

Without this vital support, maternal and infant mortality would have been higher in most African countries – Nigeria included Paradoxically, the ben­efits of USAID assistance have been partly, if not totally nullified by its unintended consequences.

Globally, governments in the most advanced countries are confronted with declining populations with frightening repercussions.

Africa is the only continent where larger pop­ulations pose threats to national and sub-regional economic, political and social welfare.

Almost everywhere on the continent, nations are experiencing housing, food and job scarcities.

Africa, with Nigeria leading, has the largest num­ber of out-of-school children and also leads in the number of people facing food insecurity. Hospitals lack doctors, nurses and other technicians; univer­sities are starved of lecturers.

Under the circumstances, it would appear to some of us that the best approach is to appeal to Trump; the second best is to seek for other sources of funds.

In reality, those options still leave us as beggars instead of making us masters of our own fate as a nation.

As long as we want to take our begging bowl from rump’s gate to China, Japan, Saudi etc, we will con­tinue to live by the begging bowl.

Neither our President nor our nation would be respected. Beggars never are.

Tina To Self-Reliance

“Impossible is a word to be found only in the dic­tionary of fools.”

Napoleon Bonaparte, 1769-1821

Nigeria is a country whose people are poor by collective choice.

Corruption has been mentioned as the primary cause of our national backwardness.

But, no public servant can be corrupt alone. Neither the President, State Governor, Governor of Central Bank, Minister nor Accountant General of the Federation can embezzle large sums alone.

They need and invariably have accomplices – bankers, Bureau De Change operators, Senior Ad­vocates of Nigeria, Special Assistants, owners of private accounts to be used as conduit pipes, wives, professional forgers etc.

Most of the times, they are Fellow Nigerians who benefit from the crimes committed.

Under Obasanjo, a Senate Ad Hoe Committee, which, which included late Senator Zwingina and Mrs Daisy Danjuma, while investigating the mis­management of funds belonging to Petroleum De­velopment Trust Fund, PDTF, discovered improper payment of N250 million (N200 billion today) to a famous SAN.

Nothing less than 20 top level members of the FG and CBN, as well as the bank receiving the funds would have known about it.

Even the report of the Ad Hoc Committee which discovered the fraud was swept under the carpet by the leaders of the National Assembly, NASS.

At the time, N250 million could have procured all the vaccines needed in Nigeria without collecting a single vial from USAID.

What it costs to fuel the Presidential jet to France would pay for millions of vaccines. Obviously, we are not as helpless as our leaders pretend that we are.

Cobbett’s statement regarding the near impos­sibility of poor people to be independent flies in the face of the courage of Singaporeans.

Yew made his declaration on behalf of the people when the nation was first established and poor.

He did not wait until the country became rich. Even today, far fewer SUVs can be found on the roads of Singapore than in Onitsha alone in Nigeria.

Ostentatious living is discouraged. Nobody would be lunatic enough to spray money at parties or any other event.

The way forward is clear. Four steps are required.

First, we should manage what we have now as best and as long as we can.

Second, we should get ready to buy what we need from the cheapest and safest supplier.

Third, we should aim at cost recovery. Most users should be made to pay for the items they consume.

That is going to be the most difficult obstacle before us.

Expectedly, those who have become enslaved to free vaccines will argue that they are unaffordable.

But, a close look at how Nigerians live will reveal that we have often misplaced our priorities.

Fourth, allowance should be made for the abso­lutely destitute by providing a percentage free. We should ditch the beggar habit; ditch USAID.

Follow me on Facebook @ J Israel Biola.