The Powerful Are Looking Away As Africa Drowns In Debt …Rafsanjani Speaks Out At IMF/World Bank Meetings
As world finance leaders debate solutions in Washington D.C., Nigerian activist Auwal Musa Rafsanjani is sounding the alarm, warning that Africa, is walking straight into a fiscal disaster.
Speaking a the 2025 IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings, Rafsanjani, who leads the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) and Transparency International Nigeria, said the continent’s debt situation is “unsustainable and reckless,” with Nigeria as a prime example.
“Most of the loans we take are not for development but for consumption,” he told The Policy with Leah, hosted by Leah Katung Babatunde. “There’s little or no accountability around them. Even lawmakers lack full access to disclosure.”
Rafsanjani argued that much of Africa’s debt hasn’t translated into real development. Instead, it has widened inequality and deepened poverty.
He joined the G24’s call for debt cancellation, describing current repayment conditions as a “trap” set against developing nations.
Beyond the debt issue, Rafsanjani faulted global financial systems for giving too much power to wealthy countries.
He called for reforms at the IMF and World Bank to ensure fairness, transparency, and inclusive decision-making.
Back home, his critique was even sharper as he slammed Nigeria’s overdependence on oil, poor infrastructure, and rising insecurity, all worsened by government austerity policies.
“It’s ironic,” he said, “that while developed countries still subsidise essential services, we’re stripping ours in the name of reform. It’s the poor who pay the price.”
Rafsanjani urged Nigerian leaders to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to track spending, block financial leakages, and improve accountability.
He warned governors against wasteful spending of fuel subsidy savings, insisting the funds must be used for citizens’ welfare, not “elephant projects.”
Rafsanjani condemned the extravagant lifestyles of public officials saying:
“You can’t ask for aid abroad while living lavishly at home,” he said. “Ministers elsewhere fly economy class; in Nigeria, one official moves with 20 cars. That kind of waste is unsustainable.”
According to him, Africa must take charge of its future through fiscal discipline, smart governance, and investment in human capital, or remain trapped in an endless loop of debt and underdevelopment.
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