Obasanjo wants 'democratic dividend' from Nigerian creditors

LONDON (Reuters) -- Western creditors should consider debt relief a "democratic dividend" for Nigeria as it tries to cement multi-party democracy, President Olusegun Obasanjo said in an interview in Friday's Financial Times.

Speaking during a visit to Britain, Obasanjo said his host's support was vital to sustain democracy after the death of Sani Abacha ended a three-year dictatorship in 1998 and paved the way for democratic elections in 1999.

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"If the democracy we have is of interest to Britain, then we must be able to sustain that democracy -- it will not be sustained unless, in the shortest time possible, we are able to give what I call a democratic dividend to our people," he said.

Nigeria's creditors had a strategic interest in offering his country debt relief and promised to continue his mission to persuade creditors to write off debt.

Nigeria owes $21 billion to the Paris Club of official country creditors and another $4.2 billion to other multilateral creditors.

"I will not stop talking about debt remission," he said. "It is not because we want charity, but because we believe that it is in our creditors strategic interest to have debt remission."

Obasanjo met with British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Wednesday to try and persuade him to lead the campaign for debt relief in Nigeria. While impatient, the Nigerian leader said he accepted that any movement would take time.

"I need something now," he told the FT. "But I am realistic enough to know that in a democracy they too have to work with their electorate."

In an interview with Reuters late on Thursday, Obasanjo's chief economic adviser Philip Asiodu said Nigeria was looking for the Paris Club of official country creditors to write off some 80 percent of its debt.

He said much of the debt had built up through arrears and interest payments.

Despite a near-quadrupling of oil prices since the start of 1999, the Nigerian government says it is still spending three times the amount on debt service as it does on education.

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