People can't look past the egregious* waste of money to see that it isnt a waste at all, even if Nigeria should have repaid the debt or Japan should have forgiven it.
None of that matters! The result matters! Eradicating polio matters!
To all the commenters too busy being aghast at giving money to a government to read the article:
>Nigeria’s debt to Japan is the result of Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) provided by the Japanese government in 2014 for increased polio eradication. efforts.
>The country has made great strides in its efforts to eliminate the disease thanks to this funding.
>Nigeria did not record a wild case of polio from July 2014 to August 2016, when two cases were reported.
Presumably, the Gates Foundation wants to encourage state partnerships from nations like Japan in the service of eradicating solved diseases, regardless of a recipient nation's ability or willingness to settle incurred debts.
>What distinguishes cartels from roving bandits that pivot to stationary?
You're asking the wrong question, I think. The 64 trillion dollar question, IMO:
"what allows market incumbents to remain stationary"
The 'blame', as ever, lies in human frailty. Avarice and greed. Alternatively, you could look at avarice and greed as malformed extensions of self-preservation instinct.
Bad actors are omnipresent and relying on market forces to expel them from markets is like trying to pray cancer away.