COVID-19 pandemic and debt burden in Africa: The case of Nigeria.

The all-round devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic on global economies cannot be over-emphasized. In response to the COVID-19-induced state of economic despondency, many fragile mono-economies/oil-dependent countries resorted to excessive borrowings unilaterally and multilaterally, which consequently plunged them into heavy debts. Against this backdrop, this study investigates the COVID-19 pandemic and debt burden in Africa with special reference to Nigeria. In terms of methodology, the study adopted the case study research design within the explanatory frameworks of Fragile State theory and Debt Overhang theory. It relied heavily on the documentary method for data collection and the content analysis was used for data analysis. The findings revealed that the sudden drop in oil prices at the global market during the COVID-19 pandemic exposed oil-dependent countries to untold economic hardship, pushing them into excessive borrowings as a last resort in mitigating the health and economic crises of COVID-19. The study also observed that due to a lack of financial discipline and poor management of loans, these loans consequently, resulted in an exponential rise in the debt profile and debt burdens in Africa, especially Nigeria. Thus, we recommend that, as Nigeria was hard hit economically by the COVID-19 effect due to overdependence on oil, the government should diversify the economy to ensure the generation of internal revenue for development. Also, African and Nigerian policymakers should imbibe the culture of financial discipline for effective/efficient management of loans and debt servicing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]