"Nigeria: Past and Future" - Former President Olusegun Obasanjo's New Book
Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has slammed the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project initiated by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, describing it as wasteful and corrupt.
In his newly released book, Nigeria: Past and Future, Obasanjo argued that the N15.6 trillion project reflects a pattern of misplaced priorities in governance, noting that Nigerian leaders come to power mainly to steal and enrich themselves. He also criticized the construction of a N21 billion official residence for the Vice President, calling it an unnecessary expenditure during an economically challenging period.
He stated: ”Everything is said to be transactional, and the slogan is ‘It is my turn to chop.’
“Typical examples of waste, corruption, and misplaced priorities are the murky Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road, on which the President had turned a deaf ear to protests, and the new Vice-President’s official residence built at a cost of N21bn in the time of economic hardship to showcase the administration hitting the ground running and to show the importance of the office of the Vice-President. What small minds!”
Meanwhile, Tinubu presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga is yet to comment on the latest criticism against his principal by Obasanjo.
Recall that the Lagos-Calabar Highway and the new VP’s residential constructions had sparked intense controversies among the Nigerian public.
The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the 2023 election, Atiku Abubakar, also raised concerns about the project, calling for its suspension.
However, Tinubu’s government had defended the projects.
The Minister of Work, Dave Umahi, had also, on several occasions, defended the project.
He recently announced that 30 kilometres out of 70 km of the Lagos-Calabar Highway phase 1, Section 1, will be completed in May 2025.
The Lagos-Calabar Highway project kicked off in March last year.
