DID YOU KNOW?
Under General Yakubu Gowon, Nigeria once had enough money to lend $240 million to the World Bank and $120 million to the IMF.
At the height of the 1970s oil boom, rising petroleum revenues boosted Nigeria’s foreign reserves and strengthened its position in the global economy.
In 1974 alone, Nigeria committed about $360 million to the two institutions. The World Bank records the agreement as a loan from Nigeria to the World Bank.
Nigeria’s influence at the time extended beyond finance. In the 1950s and 1960s, Saudi Arabia’s royal family reportedly travelled to Nigeria’s University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, for medical treatment, according to Adeleke Olorunnimbe Mamora, the former Minister of Science and Technology.
Today, Nigeria has more than $20 billion in original IDA credits and about $2.85 billion in IBRD loans. It currently has no outstanding IMF credit after repaying its remaining IMF financing in 2025.
From lending to global financial institutions and attracting foreign patients for medical treatment to becoming one of the World Bank’s largest borrowers and grappling with medical tourism, Nigeria’s fortunes have changed dramatically.