Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has strongly criticized the N15.6 trillion Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project, describing it as both wasteful and corrupt. He also condemned the government’s decision to spend N21 billion on a new official residence for Vice President Kashim Shettima, calling it an unnecessary expense at a time when Nigerians are facing economic hardship.
Obasanjo shared his views in his new book, Nigeria: Past and Future, where he analyzed the leadership styles of past and present political leaders. The book was launched last week to mark his 88th birthday.
The Minister of Works, David Umahi, recently revealed that the 700-kilometer highway project would cost N4.93 billion per kilometer. He stated that the contract was awarded through a counterpart-funding arrangement rather than a Public-Private Partnership. However, concerns have been raised about the transparency of the process. So far, the government has released N1.06 trillion for the first phase of the project, which will start at Eko Atlantic and extend to the Lekki Deep Sea Port.
Critics, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, have questioned why the contract was awarded to Hitech Construction Company without competitive bidding. The company is owned by Gilbert Chagoury, a businessman believed to have close ties to President Bola Tinubu.
Obasanjo expressed concern over the direction of Tinubu’s government, saying, “Everything is said to be transactional and the slogan is ‘It is my turn to chop.’” He argued that many political leaders in Nigeria, from local government chairmen to governors and presidents, are more focused on personal gain than on improving the lives of citizens.
He pointed out that some politicians take out massive loans before assuming office, expecting to repay them with public funds. “How do you explain the situation of a chief executive, a governor, whose business was owing the banks billions of naira and millions of dollars before becoming a governor and within two years of becoming governor, without his company doing any business, he paid all that his businesses owed the banks?” he asked.
The former President also criticized leaders who mismanage public resources and use their power to silence critics. “State resources are captured and appropriated to themselves with a pittance to staff and associates to close the mouths of those that could blow the whistle or raise alarm against them while in office and when they are out of office,” he noted.
Obasanjo argued that some leaders go to great lengths to deceive the public about government contracts, agreements, and borrowing. He said that projects like the Lagos-Calabar highway and the expensive vice-presidential residence are clear examples of misplaced priorities.
He also suggested that Nigeria should reconsider its system of government. He questioned whether Western-style liberal democracy is suitable for Africa, proposing a model he called “Afrodemocracy,” which would be designed to fit the continent’s unique political and cultural realities.
“If the West, from where liberal democracy started, should complain about it not working well for them, we should be wise enough at this stage to interrogate, carry out introspection, internal analysis and realize that Western liberal democracy is not working for us and is not delivering apart from the shortcomings of the operators,” he stated.
