PRESS RELEASE: DONT TRUST IMF

21st February, 2011 PRESS RELEASE: DON'T TRUST IMF    The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Thursday requested the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to devalue the naira in order to fight the current rising inflation in the country.   We of the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) advice the CBN to ignore this advice. Our view is based upon the contradictory and hypocritical stance of IMF and its sister multinational financial body, the World Bank. Why do they always ask Third World countries to devalue while Europe and America are asked to strengthen the euro and the dollar.   What advice has the cat for the mouse when all the cat seeks is to enrich its pot? If IMF or the World Bank says 'Good Morning', CBN needs to take a good look outside to be certain that it is, indeed, morning time.   No country in the Third World has ever flourished economically based on following IMF advice. On the contrary, it is those who ignore their advice who rise to the path of economic glory. Malaysia is a good case in point. IMF made its usual noise concerning its economy but that country ignored IMF. Today Malaysia's economy is the envy of Asia.   As agents of neo-imperialism, IMF seeks to keep Third World countries perpetually poor and permanently dependent on the West in virtually everything, particularly infrastructure. We must not forget how IMF rejected Obasanjo's ambitious budget of year 2000. It asked the then president to divert the country's resources to the servicing and actual payment of its huge foreign debts. For this reason, IMF was of the opinion that huge expenses on roads, electricity and health should wait until foreign debts are fully paid.   This exposes the hidden agenda of both IMF and World Bank. They are there to serve the interest of the West. The payment of the foreign debt referred to was never meant to end. Nigeria borrowed $5 billion in 1985 or thereabout. By 1999 we had paid $19 billion. Yet IMF insisted that we were still owing $32 billion! We all remember what it took Nigeria to get debt forgiveness afterwards. The latest advice given by the IMF is therefore a booby trap. It is designed to drag Nigeria into the labyrinth of indebtedness once again.   MURIC therefore cautions the CBN to be wary of these international financial houses. IMF, World Bank and Paris Club are bad news for the nation's economy. They are better ignored.   Is-haq Akintola (Ph.D), Director, Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), 234-818-211-9714 E-mail: muslimrightsconcern@yahoo.co.uk              muslimrights@gmail.com Website: www.muric.net Yahoo Group: groups.yahoo.com/group/muslimrights Blog:       muslimrightsmuric.blogspot.com Twitter:   twitter.com/muslimconcern           Be just Justice is the soul of peace No one can deny one and have the other Neither can violence or naked force bring lasting peace