Anything for the boys?
Nigeria just cleared a major debt, but wants something fancier
Good morning and happy Friday, Big Brains. Order something nice today and put it on Tinubu’s tab, okay?
- Margaret
Word count: ~ 1,000
Reading time ~ 5 mins
Let’s get into today’s edition:
Nigeria has just cleared a major debt, but wants something else
The UK wants to make its immigration process stricter for Nigerians
The Big Deal
Nigeria just cleared a major debt, but wants something fancier
If you feel lighter this morning, that’s most likely because the debt on your head as a Nigerian has reduced. Nigeria has been the “Anything for boys?” kind of country for the longest time, but we’re finally acting like we know what financial literacy is.
After years of borrowing and making bad decisions, Nigeria has officially cleared the debt it owed the International Monetary Fund (IMF). According to the IMF’s latest report titled “Total IMF Credit Outstanding – Movement from May 01, 2025 to May 06, 2025,” Nigeria is now off the list of 91 countries with outstanding IMF loans. That list, by the way, includes developing and struggling economies owing a total of $117.8 billion as of May 6, 2025. But not us, though, we’ve left the onigbese group chat.
This win goes all the way back to July 2023, when we owed about $1.61 billion. By January 2024, we’d cut it down to $1.37 billion. By July 2024, our debt had dropped to $933 million. As at January 2025, we were at $472 million. And now, we’re officially IMF debt-free.
According to one of President Tinubu’s senior aides, O’tega Ogra, Nigeria is still asking the “Anything for the boys?” question, but in a more strategic and sustainable way. In his words, “The difference now is that any future engagement (with the IMF) will be proactive, not reactive, and based on partnership, not dependence.”
Why is this a big deal?
We’ve talked endlessly about how Nigeria’s debt servicing has forced the country to spend more than it earns, so much so that we probably sound like broken records. So when we tell you this is the biggest deal, take our word for it…or at least hear us out.
Clearing this debt boosts our credibility in global financial circles. It tells investors and lenders that maybe, just maybe, this government knows what it’s doing. It also means we’ve been taken off one creditor’s list and could potentially achieve similar milestones elsewhere.
And the best part is what Ogra mentioned earlier. This achievement helps us move closer to being seen as a country that’s dependent enough for credible partnerships instead of remaining stuck in the cycle of “borrow-spend- beg- repeat.” When Donald Trump withdrew the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funding, we saw just how dependent on other people we are as a country. It wouldn’t have been half as bad if the see finish is from our end alone, but that’s how other countries see us too, and it’s not a good look. If we keep achieving milestones like this, they could go a long way to help our reputation.
But this is us leaning towards the best case scenario. We hope this won’t turn out to be a one-hit-wonder kind of situation.
UK wants to make its immigration process stricter for Nigerians
Japa class of ‘25, don’t shoot the messenger, but we come bearing not-so-great news again. A few days ago, it was Australia we asked you to consider taking off your japa list. This week, it’s the United Kingdom (UK).
Britain’s new Labour government is planning to clamp down on visa applications from people it believes are most likely to overstay or file asylum claims. Yours truly, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are on the list of countries marked as possible culprits, meaning that applications from these three places might soon be restricted.
The UK government says it’s trying to control “abuse” of the work and study visa system, particularly by people who switch up and claim asylum once they make it into the country. Unfortunately, some Nigerians are guilty of doing that. The new plan is expected to be confirmed next week and will likely focus on tracking visa applicants more closely and spotting “suspicious” ones early.
Just like Australia’s ruling party, the UK’s Labour Party is most likely using this immigration crackdown to gather more support after losing votes at last week’s local election.
Long story short: The UK is most likely going to join the long list of countries that are hard for Nigerians to get into.
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Back to sender!
Word on the street is that the United States of America (USA) is trying to put Nigeria on its Country of Particular Concern (CPC) list, and Nigeria is rejecting that label with its full chest.