The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria has said many Nigerians have a poor loan repayment culture, accusing some entrepreneurs of diverting loans meant for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises to personal uses such as buying cars and marrying additional wives.
The Director-General of SMEDAN, Mr Charles Odii, made the disclosure on Thursday at the People’s Roundtable Conference.
He was represented at the event by the Deputy Director in the Enterprise Development and Promotion Department of the agency, Charity Abah.
Odii said although SMEDAN does not directly provide loans to MSMEs, it serves as a bridge between entrepreneurs and financial institutions.
“And I know that one basic challenge and issue that we’ve had over the years with MSMEs is the fact that when SMEs, Nigerians, take loans, they don’t want to repay. That is a fact.
“We have been part of so many loan programmes that we’ve facilitated as a middleman. We are still running with it for the past five, six years. Some people will collect those loans and divert it. Some will go and buy cars, some will go and marry more wives, and so on and so forth,” he said.
He further explained that many of the loan schemes were designed to be revolving facilities meant to benefit multiple beneficiaries over time.
“And there are some loans that are meant to be revolving. We are supposed to get, bring it back so that other Nigerians can access it. But we discovered that a lot of our people, you know, it has to do with character.
“A lot of our people think that when they get that loan, they have got their own national share of the national cake. They disappear. Some will change addresses. So those are some of the issues.”
Also speaking at the conference, the Director-General of the Citizenship and Leadership Training Centre (CLTC), Hon. Rinsola Abiola, expressed concern over what she described as a widening gap between leaders and citizens in the country.
She said youth agitation should not be misconstrued as hostility, stressing that it is often a reflection of love for the country.
According to her, citizenship and patriotism go beyond expressing dissatisfaction, adding that citizens must also take responsibility and action.
“You have every right to, and I’m saying that again, but there are actions that we also need to take as young people, as citizens generally, irrespective of the age bracket we belong to, to assert the power that we actually do have as citizens.”
In his welcome address, the convener of The People’s Roundtable, Emmanuel Ayantayo, who was represented by Mr Oladeji Adesola, said the forum was designed to bring together leaders, professionals, educators and policymakers to address Nigeria’s knowledge gap through open dialogue, shared experiences and practical collaboration across sectors.
He added that the platform provides a common space where ideas intersect with policy, education aligns with industry, and citizens engage directly with decision-makers.
