Effects of Elitism and External Debt Crises on Nigerian Citizenry


  •  Segun Afuape    

Abstract

This paper examines the nexus between the elites and external debt imbroglio on Nigerians. It argues that the flakes of the debt crises are the killings and bombings in different parts of the North with the psychological fear in the south that this billowy suicide flame will soon waft in. The method adopted in this work is the content analysis of external debt profiles since 1961 up to June, 2012. Data extracted are consequently used to test a hypothesis using the t-test at both 0.05 and 0.01 levels of significance. However, the two types of elites show that they are agents of political decay, a description Samuel Huntington gave to the military in the sixties. The results indicate that there is no significant difference between the military and their democratic elites. Problems emanating from these high external debts are high unemployment rates, decaying infrastructure, delayed or outright stoppage of promotion, among others. Consequently, frustration propels the followership, sponsored by some disgruntled elites, to express their disgust in different ways such as suicide bombing and forming of religious, cult and ethnic militia. All this has led to the insecurity of lives in the polity. The antidote is for the political elites to find lasting solution to the debt crises and to desist henceforth from taking foreign loans .This is the veritable desideratum to propel the country towards meaningful and sustainable development.



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