When my friend from High School and ‘comrade-in-arms’ who I prefer to refer to as Sir Sly drew my attention to the recent statement from Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Works about the controversial Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, I knew that like many Nigerians, he is pissed.
Pissed about the direction of the country. And at those behind the wheel.
The ministry’s statement contains no new information. Simply hollow.
Was it meant to deceive and to create a veritable distraction - that the project is still proceeding on schedule? We may never know.
For the purposes of full disclosure, I must state that from its inception, I have always been skeptical about the nature and idea of this white elephant project which is estimated to cost Nigerian taxpayers approximately $12 billion USD.
To some of us, the whole thing smells like another well-appointed opportunity for the ruling party to feather its election war chest in readiness for the 2027 Presidential election.
We know that they will need the money to buy votes and to pay off anyone who stands on the way to victory.
Already, most of Nigeria’s serving governors have been seduced or coerced into joining the ruling party - the All Progressives Congress (APC).
However, the ruling party has denied all allegations of turning the country into a one-party dictatorship. Its leaders, including President Bola Ahmed Tinubu swear that the governors are jumping ship ostensibly because their various parties are sinking.
Really?
You can tell that to the marines.
Nigerians are smarter than you give them credit.
In charge of the Lagos-Calabar Highway is one of APC’s hatchet men, Works minister, David Umahi who I understand is nursing a presidential ambition.
He is aspiring to be the first elected executive president of Igbo extraction after Bola Tinubu’s second term. That’s a story for another day.
Equally worrisome is the identity of major contractors handling the 435-mile Highway project.
Enter the infamous Chagoury brothers - Gilbert and Ronald.
The Chagourys are buddies of the president. That’s an open secret.
The Tinubu’s and the Chagourys literally own Lagos.
It is believed that Hitech Construction Company Limited owned by the Chagourys, a Lebanese Nigerian family was awarded this contract without a bid.
More troubling is that Tinubu’s son, Seyi is a member of the board of another Chagoury-owned company, CKD Integrated Industries.
The Highway project is said to be designed to connect multiple coastal cities.
Really?
However, observers have questioned the commonsense benefits of this project when existing road networks around the country lie in abysmal neglect and unconscionable disrepair.
It’s a universally known fact that Nigerian roads are death traps. And many have died on those roads.
A number of people have been wondering why the authorities have not opted for a masterplan that could fix the existing roads of which most are said to be federal concerns rather than engaging in the grandiose Lagos-Calabar Highway project.
The answer is blowing in the wind.