In a recent post on his official X handle, prominent social critic Mahdi Shehu launched a scathing attack on the World Bank, accusing the global financial institution of economic exploitation and inhumanity. His post, which has stirred significant conversation online, was in response to the World Bank’s September 2024 report on poverty in Nigeria.
Shehu began by highlighting the damning statistics from the report, stating that 129 million Nigerians are currently living in extreme poverty with little to no means of meeting their basic human needs. According to the same report, 29 million Nigerians have fallen into poverty in just one year under President Bola Tinubu’s economic “reforms,” which have been widely debated and criticized across various sectors.
In a biting critique of the World Bank’s stance, Shehu expressed outrage over the institution’s insistence that President Tinubu must continue with his current reform agenda, with no option of reversing course despite the clear negative impact it has had on millions of Nigerians. “Despite their self-inflicted admission of failure, the shameless, heartless, and wicked World Bank continues to push its damaging policies on Nigeria,” Shehu said.
What seemed to fuel Shehu’s anger further was the World Bank’s suggestion that Nigerians would have to wait 15 years before seeing any tangible benefits from the ongoing reforms. “This is nothing short of cruelty,” Shehu lamented, adding that no African nation has ever truly developed under the World Bank’s economic model.
He didn’t hold back in labeling the World Bank an “economic terrorist organization,” accusing it of exploiting and strangulating weaker nations to allow stronger countries to dictate global affairs. “The World Bank’s mandate is not to support, but to exploit, blackmail, and control,” Shehu charged.
His post concluded with a passionate prayer: “We just pray that God will destroy the World Bank. A sadistic and wicked organization that thrives on the suffering of the weak. For the sake of humanity, God, please destroy the World Bank. Amen.”
Shehu’s fiery remarks have ignited a broader conversation on social media about the role of international financial institutions in Africa and their impact on developing economies. As economic hardship worsens across Nigeria, voices like his are resonating with an increasingly frustrated populace.
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