By Maximillian Chisom Ugoji
When people point at Dubai today, they see skyscrapers, luxury, and global influence.
What they don’t see is the decades of strategic borrowing, risk-taking, and painful decisions that built it.
Let’s talk
In the 1950s and 60s, Dubai was a poor desert trading post, heavily dependent on fishing and pearling.
When oil was discovered in 1966, reserves were actually very limited compared to neighbours like Abu Dhabi.
That’s when Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum made a bold decision:
Borrow heavily to build infrastructure BEFORE wealth arrived.
He took loans to finance:
– Port Rashid (1972)
– Jebel Ali Port (1979) — now one of the largest ports in the world.
– Dubai World Trade Centre (1979)
At the time, many critics called it reckless.
Why build massive infrastructure with money you don’t yet have?
But Rashid understood something powerful:
“Build it, and the economy will come.”
Fast forward to the 2000s under Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum:
Dubai doubled down on debt-funded expansion:
– Emirates Airline expansion
– Palm Islands
– Burj Khalifa
By 2009, Dubai faced a debt crisis of about $80 billion.
Yes — $80 BILLION.
They had to be bailed out by Abu Dhabi.
Yet today?
Dubai is:
A global logistics hub
A tourism powerhouse
A financial centre
It is one of the most visited cities in the world.
NOW LET’S BRING IT HOME
When President Bola Ahmed Tinubu borrows to fund infrastructure, many Nigerians shout:
“Why are we borrowing?!”
But here’s the truth:
Borrowing is not the problem.
Misuse is.
Every serious economy in the world has used debt to grow:
United States — over $30 trillion debt .
China — massive infrastructure debt model.
Japan — over 200% debt-to-GDP.
Debt becomes dangerous only when:
It is stolen
It is wasted on consumption
It doesn’t create productivity
But when used for:
Roads
Railways
Power
Ports
Industrial zones
It becomes a tool for national transformation.
THE REAL ISSUE NIGERIANS SHOULD FOCUS ON?
Not just “borrowing” — but:
What exactly are we borrowing for?
Are projects completed?
Are they generating economic value?
Are states using increased allocations wisely?
Because here’s another fact:
Since subsidy removal, states are receiving significantly higher FAAC allocations — yet many are not translating that into visible development.
It took:
Vision
Debt
Risk
Discipline
Nigeria can not develop on:
Fear
Sentiment
Political shouting
Everything no be politics o.
We must demand accountability, not reject strategy.
Because the truth is simple:
No nation builds world-class infrastructure without borrowing.
NONE.
Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is borrowing to build infrastructure, and I support him
Ugoji is a Teacher of systems. Translator of power. Builder of Elite mindset. Speaker, Author and Entrepreneur.
