Debt Relief and Nigeria’s Diplomacy

At his inauguration on May 29 1999, as President of the Federal of  Nigeria after almost two decades of military rule and the attendant deterioration in the nation’s socio-economic and political conditions, Chief Olusegun Obasanio understood the great challenges he faced. Accordingly, he decided to pursue debt relief as a cardinal element in the nation’s international economic relations, realising that the heavy debt burden of the nation would hinder the prospects for rapid economic transformation.

This decision gave birth to a new brand of economic diplomacy aimed at achieving debt relief, a historic and unprecedented international diplomatic campaign never before seen in the nation’s engagement with critical forces on the global scene. For the first time, a Nigerian government actually adopted the pursuit of debt relief from its mainly G8 creditors, as a policy.

Although, the policy and attendant diplomatic shurttling across the world by the President and his economic team attracted criticisms from many Nigerians and non-Nigerians alike, the policy of economic diplomacy eventually paid-off, as the country recorded major debt relief successes. This book traces the trajectory of the nation’s descent into great indebtedness and the crises of managing the debt. It also provides deeper understanding of the twists and turns in the nation’s debt relief campaign.