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Reports: China may defer loans owed by Nigeria and others
The Chinese have always done their lending on the idea that individual projects contribute to structural transformation and economic development.
Africa has been the delight of most foreign investors and they have been taken advantage of several opportunities especially foreign portfolio investments. But when it comes to debt one country ranks top in Africa.
China is at the fore of Africa’s debt drive, making the Asian nation Africa’s largest bilateral creditor, as it has given the continent loan worth $152 billion in 18 years (between 2000 and 2018.)
With such huge loan, a lot of critics are concerned over how feasible it would be for African nations to refund the credit with the advent of Coronavirus, which has eaten deep into the fabrics of the nations.
READ MORE: COVID-19: Could Africa’s Awakening be the Silver Lining?
Head, China Africa Research Initiative, Johns Hopkins University, Deborah Brautigam, explained that in a Bloomberg article that it is likely for China to agree to delay but not forgive its $152 billion of loans, an approach at odds with prior forbearance plans from groups including the Paris Club. Her reason:
“The Chinese have always done their lending on the idea that individual projects contribute to structural transformation and economic development. Those projects might be good projects and viable projects to get countries to a new stage where they might be in a position to repay the loans.”
The $152 billion loans: The loans include facilities made between 2000 and 2018. While many have been repaid on schedule, she explained that it shows how much China’s lending has grown in Africa amid a push for political and economic clout through an overseas infrastructure investment plan, which was started by President Xi Jinping in 2013.
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China will also provide $2 billion over two years to support the fight against the pandemic, especially in developing countries, Xi said in a speech to the World Health Assembly.
“The good news is that China is typically willing to negotiate payment extensions. Usually, it’s not that difficult to lengthen the payment period or lengthen the maturity of loans. China has backed the G-20 plan, although it hasn’t participated in previous global debt relief initiatives. All told, according to IIF data, China’s outstanding debt claims reached $5.5 trillion last year,” she added.
Nigeria owes China about $3.1 billion more than 10% of the $27.6 billion external debt stock. Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, disclosed in February that the Federal Government decided to go for a $17 billion loans from China as the World Bank and the African Development Bank’s (AfDB) failed to show much interest in Nigeria during the recession.
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The minister explained that the global lender, AfDB, and other lending institutions failed to show much interest in the nation during the recession period, which lasted for a year, as this made it requested the loan from the China-Exim Bank.
She disclosed to the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Loans that 70% of the loan, which is about $17 billion, would come from the China-Exim Bank as Nigeria is in need of $22.8 billion to balance the $29.96 billion loan request. Meanwhile, the remaining loan would be sourced from other lending institutions such as the Islamic Development Bank.
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Meet Tami, the Nigerian teen with admission offers from 5 Ivy colleges, 9 others
Tami’s goal is to work on innovations in AI and augmented reality and he hopes to work on research and projects in these fields in college.
Before now Oluwatamilore Kabiawu, popularly known as ‘Tami’ was only known as a 4.6 GPA student. But a few weeks back, news about him hit the web when he got admission offers from 14 colleges, including 5 Ivy Colleges.
While his colleagues are worried about getting accepted into their choice Colleges, Kabiawu’s greatest challenge now is which to choose among a myriad of colleges. Some of the colleges are Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Cornell, Columbia and MIT.
Tami’s secret
The secret of the Fair Lawn High School senior has been described in several ways by different people. To Joseph Lake, his guidance counsellor, Tami’s unrelenting spirit has taken him this far.
He said, “Tami is truly a gifted young man. What Tami is experiencing is the result of his self-esteem and feelings of love and belongingness being nurtured to its full potential.”
His mum, Dami, commented, “I’ve always taught them [Tami and twin brother Tommy] to believe in themselves and be very polite, to always stand their ground.”
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A close relative hinted that Tami (Class Of 2021), is leaning heavily toward Harvard University, “the best of both worlds — technology and liberal arts,” where he aims to major in computer science and do research into artificial intelligence and augmented reality.
To Kabiawu, his success stems from hard work and persistence.
“What makes me most happy is making these little goals and sticking with them, and gradually over time achieving the big goal,” he said.
READ: Steps to take to bag international scholarships
The Cow head story
The accomplished track and field athlete, who is also the President of the Future Business Leaders of America and National Honor Society, is not limited to academics. His ability to think out of the box, and break norms is also his strength.
He said, “I wrote my college essay on decapitated cow heads, which I know sounds a little crazy. I was 9 when I visited my family in Nigeria for a wedding.
The cows were slaughtered near the reception so that the meat would not need to be refrigerated. As I walked by I just saw these decapitated cow heads and was really, like, shocked by it and really appalled.
Rather than dismissing the unfamiliar, I recognized the importance of embracing differences. I likened the experience to growing up in Fair Lawn.
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I didn’t necessarily fit a particular stereotype of how people thought Black students should act. “Over time, I’ve gained confidence in myself, and people are drawn to that, and I was allowed to be more authentic.”
This experience means a lot to the athlete, as the Cow heads changed his perception about fighters like him.
“Now, I see “cow heads” as a metaphor for people who are unabashedly themselves and unafraid to show who they are,” he said.
What you should know
Tami’s goal is to work on innovations in AI and augmented reality and he hopes to work on research and projects in these fields in college.
Tami was born in London, moved to Atlanta for a short while, then moved to Troy, New York where he attended elementary school while his mother pursued a PhD at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI).
The family relocated to Fair Lawn when Tami started sixth grade at Memorial Middle School. His twin brother, Tommy, will be playing football at RPI next year.
Kabiawu is set to graduate on June 22 at Fair Lawn High School’s Sasso Field.
Tami Kabiawu’s dad lives and works in Nigeria, and the son said his interest in technology stems from being able to connect with him via FaceTime and WhatsApp.
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