…as UI dons, VC, ex-Vice Chancellor honour renowned economist
A former Chief Economic Adviser to the President and Professor of Economics at the University of Ibadan (UI), Kassey Garba, has called for urgent reform in Nigeria’s public finance system and political structure to avoid long-term socio-economic consequences, particularly the dangers of a growing debt trap.
Garba made this call during her valedictory lecture titled, “Exploring Development in Africa – My Journey Across Academia, the Field, and the Public Sector” which marked her voluntary retirement from UI after over four decades of dedicated service. The event took place at the Large Lecture Theatre of the Faculty of Law, University of Ibadan.
Prof. Garba served during the tenure of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
In a reflective address, Prof. Garba decried the fragmentation and poor coordination within Nigeria’s public sector, warning that this weakness is being exploited by both unpatriotic Nigerians and foreign interests to further fragment the nation and deepen corruption.
“The so-called ‘development partners’ have been successful in building a Nigerian support base for uncontrolled external borrowing that inevitably leads to a long-term debt trap,” she warned.
She recounted how the Office of the Chief Economic Adviser to the President (OCEAP), under her leadership, resisted pressure from bilateral and multilateral agencies pushing for unsustainable loans, and instead provided evidence-based memos warning the government about the country’s debt trajectory. The professor lamented that despite the warnings, the “borrowing lobby” remained too powerful, while institutions like the Fiscal Responsibility Commission lacked the legal and political muscle to enforce the Fiscal Responsibility Act. She stressed the need for civil society and academia to step up in monitoring project loans from inception.
On budgeting and governance, the renowned economist decried the over-bloating of budgets by the National Assembly, stating that it reflects a lack of understanding of the macroeconomic dangers of unchecked deficit spending. She shared insights from her time in government, where her team presented budgets strictly tied to measurable outcomes and rejected wasteful spending, especially needless travel.
“Public servants often used travel allowances to supplement meagre wages,” she noted.
“The nation must choose: either pay living wages and demand high performance, or continue underpaying and expect mediocre outcomes’’, the former UI Dean of Social Sciences said.
Garba, a former Head of Department of UI Economics, also addressed the skewed power dynamics in Nigeria, where foreign entities influence political decisions more than the citizens themselves. She warned that African leaders who challenge these foreign-dominated systems often pay dearly, citing the assassinations of General Murtala Mohammed and Thomas Sankara.
“The global political economy favours ‘idiots’ and ‘tribalists’ over patriotic citizens,” she declared.
The valedictory lecture, chaired by Prof. Ademola Oyejide, a Distinguished Service Fellow at the Department of Economics, featured the unveiling of a Festschrift in her honour.
Tributes poured in from eminent scholars, including Prof. Afolabi Soyode, Prof. Ademola Aremu, Prof. Remi Awopegba, Prof. Akin Iwayemi, Prof. Ibi Ajayi, and Prof. Adeola Adenikinju, who all described Prof. Garba as a trailblazer, goal-getter and a woman of honour.
A former Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof. Idowu Olayinka, lauded her unwavering commitment to national development, while the current Vice Chancellor, Prof. Kayode Adebowale, represented by Deputy Vice Chancellor (Administration), Prof. Peter Olapegba, lauded her service to UI and the nation at large.
Other dignitaries present at the event included the Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Management Sciences, Prof. Abiodun Folawewo; Prof. Omo Aregbeyen, Dr Victoria Foye, Dr Alarudeen Aminu, , Dr Adeola Ayodele, several top academics and former colleagues.
Prof. Kassey Garba’s departure marks the end of an era in Nigeria’s academic and policy space, but her legacy of integrity, excellence, and fearless advocacy for sustainable development lives on.
Her economist husband , Prof. Ajani Garba, thanked those who graced the occasion.
