•Buhari administration’s response in this regard would be a measure of its depth
There is no doubt that the decrepit state of infrastructure in the country would perhaps be the number one concern of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration this year. Being cognizant of this fact, the president made what has been considered a spectacular move to address the problem. He bunched the infrastructure tasks under one portfolio, in the new Ministry of Power, Works and Housing. He also appointed Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola, immediate past governor of Lagos State as the man to run this behemoth of a shop.
It is widely known that Fashola managed Lagos, Nigeria’s mega-city efficiently and in his eight years at the helm, he did a lot to upgrade the much-decayed infrastructure of one of Africa’s largest cities. Fashola also cut the picture of a focused, if not high-strung workaholic who can be trusted to deliver results on game-changing projects.
As if to buttress its desire and indeed resolve to significantly upgrade failed physical facilities across the country, the Federal Government increased the capital vote for the 2016 season by nearly 300 per cent to N1.8 trillion and allotted about 24 per cent of it mainly for infrastructure. This is a whopping N433.4 billion put under Mr. Fashola’s care for capital projects.
This, indeed, is a pointer to government’s intent to build the requisite foundation to restore the country to the path of growth. From the foregoing, significant work is expected in areas of road networks, rail, and power infrastructure.
The current parlous state of federal highways across the country has been one of the sore points of the immediate past administration of President Goodluck Jonathan. In the face of huge crude oil windfall, (with prices averaging $100 per barrel for over four years), major highways like the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, the East-West highway, the Enugu-Port-Harcourt Expressway, the Lagos-Benin Expressway, the 2nd Niger Bridge and the Abuja-Lokoja Road have remained either partially fixed or untouched and indeed, some of them are in terrible states of disrepair.
This is not to mention the fact that these are old highways requiring only repairs and upgrade in some cases. Hardly any new road projects have been embarked upon and completed in the recent past. Many were promised (like the 2nd Niger Bridge and the Coastal Highway but they were never actualised).
It is also noteworthy that many governors across the country had to intervene with some palliative measures on portions of federal highways traversing their states. For quite a number of them, refunds are yet to be made by the Federal Government. The new administration might have to review the nearly four-decade old Federal Highway Act in order to explore ways of collaborating with the state governments to deliver better road infrastructure to Nigerians.
Electricity is another bellwether sector that will catalyse the economy if carefully managed. One critical factor impeding progress in the already divested and privatised power environment is the availability and supply of gas to the country’s mainly gas-fired power plants. Government must encourage, if not drive, more investments in the gas component of the electricity matrix.
The transmission leg of power supply which is still under the control of the Federal Government requires a lot more clarity and cash. It is troubling that currently, power plants across the country generate more power than is being transmitted. Further, investors who acquired generating and distribution facilities must be made to invest more and eschew the itch to seek to make supra-normal profit in an environment that is fledgling and ill-developed. The regulatory regime has also been quite lackluster if not weak. Government must shore it up, especially in aspects that concern consumer exploitation.
Other critical infrastructure like railways, waterways, ports and aviation facilities must be addressed with urgency and required seriousness. If only for the simple reason that these are the key ingredients that drive an economy and aid the development of a nation, the government must pursue them with an uncommon fervour. With Messrs Fashola and Chibuike Amaechi (Transport and Aviation), tried and tested men, holding down these sectors, Nigerians expect appreciable results beginning from this financial year.
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