![Nigeria: The Debate Over Relinquishing Sovereignty by Victor Oladokun](https://i0.wp.com/africannewstoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Buhari-and-Xi-Jinping.jpg?fit=600%2C400&ssl=1)
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The Nigerian Minister of #Transportation, Rotimi Amechi, has been in the news recently. He says he has only just become aware of a clause in a $5 billion rail project to be built by #China, that requires the relinquishing of sovereignty in the event of a loan default.
With all due respect, this is a red herring. #Nigeria should not and must not relinquish an iota of its sovereignty. There are other ways of financing infrastructure #development, including direct foreign investment, private sector partnerships, bonds, the utilisation of a portion of the country’s sovereign wealth fund, and concessionary loans from institutions such as the #AfricanDevelopmentBank
This is not about China. Rather, it is about smart investing and the imperative of not discounting Nigeria’s development against future generations.
I hope someone is listening.