Professor Abraham Nwankwo, the immediate past Director General (DG) of the Debt Management Office (DMO) of Nigeria, and presently a Professor of Practice at the Department of Economics, MIVA Open University, Abuja, Nigeria, has released a new book, History and Problems of Nigeria's Public Debt, 1900-2017. Professor Nwankwo's new book, published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing, an independent academic publisher with strong commitment to original scholarship and academic excellence, traces the history of Nigeria's public debt in the past 118 years, uncovering lessons from past successes and failures. The book, according to the author, lays the foundation for continuous documentation of the story of Nigeria’s public debt, and is unique in starting from the country’s very beginnings around 1900, covering a period of 118 years, which includes both periods before and after the country’s institutionalization of public debt management in 2000. The investigation, analysis and narration of the challenges, mistakes, successes, and implications of Nigeria’s public debt policies, strategies, and practices, over a period of nearly twelve decades, produce findings for learning lessons to shape future policies, strategies, and practices, not only for Nigeria but also for all less developed economies. The key findings include the fact that political leadership is a decisive factor for public debt sustainability; and that a well-functioning debt management institution capable of mobilizing funds from the markets could be a curse when combined with irresponsible political leadership and a profligate fiscal authority. The book will be an incisive textbook and reference material for students, scholars and professionals of economic thought, economic history, public finance, public debt, public administration, political science, and sociology. It will also be a great asset to policy makers and the general public. Professor Nwankwo, who holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN), obtained his Bachelors and Masters degrees in the same discipline from the same University and emerged the first Ph.D. graduate in Economics from UNN 25 years after the institution was established. He spent some years lecturing at his alma mater, before venturing into the corporate world of banking and finance where he rose to top management positions. From the banking halls, he joined the DMO as an Assistant Director in 2001, and rose to become the Director General in 2007. Nwankwo has also been on the Board of the World Bank, serving as the Senior Advisor to the Executive Director (Africa II Constituency). He equally served as Chief Economic Adviser to a Governor of Imo State, and has authored over five books, which include his 2011 Economics classic — Stable Growth and Foreign Exchange. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, the publisher of the History and Problems of Nigeria's Public Debt, 1900-2017, is based in Newcastle upon Tyne, in the historic Lady Stephenson Library, in England, and has additional offices in Berlin and Barcelona. MIVA Open University, where Professor Nwankwo presently lectures, is the first fully online private open University in Nigeria.
