‘Backyard economists’ who can’t run small businesses criticising Nigeria’s borrowings —Fashola

Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, has described critics of the Federal Government’s borrowing rate as “backyard economists” who cannot even run a small business.

Fashola made this remark on Tuesday while delivering his keynote address at the Lagos Business School on how government policy affects business and society in national development.

He said those finding faults with the borrowing rate under President Muhammadu Buhari were largely unsuccessful individuals.

The minister, who justified the borrowings, said, “Today, the government is constructing roads in every state of Nigeria and while revenues are a challenge to prompt completion.

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“Some ‘experts’ who have not successfully shown they can run a small business moan the loudest about Nigeria’s borrowing to fund infrastructure investment.

“A Nigerian, has borrowed billions of dollars to build a refinery, petrochemical plant, fertiliser plant and gas processing plant, yet some backyard economists complain that a country whose population is in the hundreds of millions is borrowing too much to fix rail, roads, ports (air and sea) and power.”

“They come to the public space to talk about the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and infrastructure of the United States and OECD (Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development) countries. But they are ominously silent on America’s public debt that exceeds $21 trillion,” he said.

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