The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway being constructed by the Bola Tinubu administration has hugged the headlines and dominated public discourse in recent times. The critics of the 700km road with 10 lanes and a train track at the centre, have alleged lack of due process in the award of the contract, the needlessness of the project at this point in time when many Nigerians are grappling with rising cost of living and other existential crises.
Some of the virulent critics of the road, which will boost economic activities in the country and bring direct foreign investment, have even queried the sustainability of the project and doubted its completion within the eight years timeframe. Some pointed out that the road would not be completed even in three decades. Some critics describe the project as worthless or unprofitable investment.
Among the prominent critics of the new road project are the former vice president and presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 general election, Atiku Abubakar, and former governor of Anambra State and presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the election, Peter Obi. Based on their sterling performance in last year’s election, both Atiku and Obi can be said to be the main face of the opposition in Nigerian politics today.
While Atiku cited lack of due process and conflict of interest in the award of the contract to alleged friend of Tinubu, Peter Obi maintained that the coastal road was not a priority right now and queried the loss of businesses on the right of way of the road. Like everything Nigerian, lots of meanings are being read into the road with diverse interpretations. This has ostensibly led to needless war, spat, drama and altercation on a road that will bring progress, business and development in the country.
Therefore, the recent altercation between Peter Obi and the Minister of Works and former governor of Ebonyi State, Engr. Dave Umahi is most unfortunate and regrettable. The brotherly war over the building of a new federal road that will be used by all Nigerians and foreigners alike is needless and uncalled for. No matter the alleged imperfections of the processes of the new road, and the explanations offered by the government in response to mounting criticisms on the project, there is no doubt that roads bring about socio-economic development in a country. The Lagos-Calabar highway will do the same.
When the colonial rulers were here, they first built roads, bridges and rails to connect all of us. They opened new towns and centres of commerce and administrations and linked them with roads, and rails in some instances. Others they linked by air or by water. Roads that bring development should not be a source of friction among brothers and even sisters. If there are differences over the project, they can be ironed out without undue muscle-flexing. Matters over lack of due process, conflict of interest and giving due attention to other roads and issues of immediate importance can be addressed without verbal attacks.
Every road, including the new Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, is an artery of development. That is why every good government invests so much money in road infrastructure. Nobody ever forgets a governor that builds roads, whether it is concrete or asphalt ones. However, because of the nature of our soil, the emphasis now is on concrete roads which will last for 30 or more years. Most of our asphalt roads cave in within one or two years. Some even start caving in even within the first year after completion. As a developing country, we really need a lot of investments in road infrastructure. It is not in contention that so many Nigerian towns and villages do not have a tarred road.
Despite the mounting criticisms, the government has insisted that the new highway was a product of due process. The government has said that the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project complied 100% with the provisions of the Procurement Act and was awarded based on the Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Financing (EPC+F) procurement process. It further stated that the project is an unsolicited bid done on EPC+F.
Further explanation shows that under this model of procurement, the investor provides all the designs, part of the financing and construction, while the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) pays the counterpart funds of about 30%. In other words, the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is based on the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model. Of the N15.6 trillion the highway will cost, the federal government will contribute N4.68 trillion.
Most Nigerians are conversant with the PPP model of road construction. The Second Niger Bridge which more than three administrations built passed through that model. It took the tenacity of former President Muhammadu Buhari for the Second Niger Bridge to see the light of the day. That fact alone demonstrates that government is a continuum. If one administration begins a project and could not complete it, another will take the baton from the former and finish the good race.
Therefore, it is saddening that this worthwhile project that will link Lagos and other states to Calabar, the home of tourism, is being unduly politicised. Apart from Lagos and Cross River states, the road will pass through Ogun, Ondo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers and Akwa Ibom states. Both Dave Umahi and Peter Obi are accomplished Nigerians. Both ruled their states for eight good years and made some appreciable impacts on their people. But Dave was a deputy governor before he fought a great battle to succeed his boss, Martin Elechi. The rest, they say in local parlance, is now history.
While Obi redefined politics and governance in Anambra State after the years of locusts, Umahi transformed a rural Ebonyi State to a metropolitan city with massive road infrastructure and other developmental projects which cut across all sectors, especially education and health. Umahi appointed people from the other South East states as commissioners and special advisers into his cabinet. Let other South East governors emulate this shining example from Umahi. I think the political atmosphere is big enough for them to ply their trade and thrive without unduly crossing each other’s lane. Even if they cross each other’s lane, they will exchange banter and move on.
Both of them reached their present heights on account of their exemplary stewardship to their people. They should not diminish their enviable status with needless altercation over a coastal highway that everybody will use one day. This road that has elicited many criticisms, some fair and others unfair will be a game changer when completed. It will transform lives and empower so many people and probably lift them out of poverty. It is going to be one of the legacy projects of this administration.
Since ever becoming the Minister of Works, Umahi has insisted on finishing some of the roads started by Buhari administration such as the East-West road, the Lagos-Ibadan expressway and some others. He has vowed that for our roads to last, contractors must use concrete instead of asphalt. The work on the Oshodi-Apapa expressway in Lagos has eloquently demonstrated that concrete road is the future of road infrastructure in Nigeria. Umahi has been busy chasing contractors and querying the quality of roads being built and the engineering specifications with drawings and other documentations. He has insisted that they build high quality roads that will last for 30 years and more. He knows his work and he is doing it very well. The war over the new road is unnecessary and avoidable. We should not throw out the baby with the bathwater. Let’s give the new coastal highway a chance.