A new thinking, attitude, aptitude and approach is to adopt a capacitative model for infrastructure delivery. This model capacitates all role players to manage complex issues during the different phases of an infrastructure project. The federal and state governments must develop personnel who have the relevant skills and they must be warehoused in a central capacity…
The opportunity of traveling interstate in public transportation, crisscrossing five states, opened my eyes to the huge infrastructural deficit the country has in terms of roads. Roads alone are a huge problem, apart from other gaps in development, facing a country with a ballooning population. The roads are beyond worse. In an instance, we waded through a fast moving stream. We climbed uphill twice, in a topography whose gradient is marked with rivulets. From my experience, it is clear that elite dissonance on Nigeria’s problems is fueled by apathy and a patent lack of enlightened self-interest. It is easy not to feel the pain of bad roads, if you can fly. Through our journey, the driver meandered through compounds where people are living to avoid ponds and places where vehicles are stuck in the mud.
There is no way for Nigeria to get out of these infrastructural gaps with so many competing needs, without a new thinking, attitude, aptitude and approach. When we had money, it was pilfered. Sadly, we do not have money anymore. The government alone cannot fork out the huge capital outlay required to bring Nigeria out of the gorge of underdevelopment. Seeing what I saw in these five states alone, the traditional project finance models of borrowing medium to long term funds from banks and development finance institutions (DFIs) will not do it. A McKinsey report details Nigeria’s infrastructure deficit and projects the need for an investment of about $32 billion year-on-year, through a 10-year period, for the country to bridge its huge infrastructure gaps. Where will Nigeria get N32 billion annually?
The state of Nigeria’s roads signposts the failure of our implementation of the federal system of government. We copied the federal system from the United States, yet we are reluctant because of ethno-politics to implement it fully. The lack of political will to do the right thing will undo this country, if nothing changes. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 that bolstered the interstate system and made it an integral part of the American way of life. The American federal government did not do the construction. What it did was to make interstate construction funds available to state highway transportation agencies, which built the interstate roads. The states own and operate the interstate highways. To succeed, we cannot continue with this idea of federal roads and state roads, and forbid governors from working on federal roads. Let those who can work on them do so. Create guidelines and frameworks for this and let those so preoccupied till the roads to recoup their investments.
The answer lies in a new thinking, attitude, aptitude and approach for the leaders and the led. The welfarist approach to infrastructure development cannot help. Community resistance to tolling does no one any good, and it is the same for the overinflation of contracts, kickbacks and diversion of resources.
Nigeria cannot continue to rely on development finance institutions (DFIs) for its development. The DFIs have a lot to contend with on the African continent. The question is: With endemic corruption, mediocrity, an unskilled labour force, competing needs and dwindling resources, how can Nigeria create its industrial revolution? How can Nigeria fund the interstate road networks, railroads, electricity transmission lines, electricity distribution infrastructure, dams, sewage systems and other critical infrastructure, to spur job creation, a robust economy and improved standards of living for Nigerians?
The answer lies in a new thinking, attitude, aptitude and approach for the leaders and the led. The welfarist approach to infrastructure development cannot help. Community resistance to tolling does no one any good, and it is the same for the overinflation of contracts, kickbacks and diversion of resources. Nigerians resist payment for access to public infrastructure because they don’t trust the government and they know that the proceeds will most likely go into private pockets.
The let’s-just-do-it-and-it-will-be-okay approach to construction and provision of public infrastructure is not working and will not work. What works is sound project management with localisation experience, by identifying all that could go wrong at every phase of a project, along with built-in risk mitigation to scale through the issues, if and when they occur in the project life cycle. The most important risk mitigation factors so far neglected are: Obtaining consensus upfront from all players before the project begins, open and transparent acceptance of business and credit factors, the political and regulatory decisions needed and other factors that could affect the project. These are difficult conversations to have but they are absolutely necessary, even if time consuming. Inability to secure partnerships and the failure of many projects can be linked to the lack of initial consensus around these issues.
The capacitative model will instill confidence and help unlock the required funding for economically viable public infrastructure projects. Without a good financial model and a strong regulatory platform, financial institutions will not commit funds to public private partnerships (PPP) to fund infrastructure.
A new thinking, attitude, aptitude and approach is to adopt a capacitative model for infrastructure delivery. This model capacitates all role players to manage complex issues during the different phases of an infrastructure project. The federal and state governments must develop personnel who have the relevant skills and they must be warehoused in a central capacity to manage projects throughout the entire value chain.
The capacitative model will instill confidence and help unlock the required funding for economically viable public infrastructure projects. Without a good financial model and a strong regulatory platform, financial institutions will not commit funds to public private partnerships (PPP) to fund infrastructure. To create jobs and leapfrog growth and development, project lifecycles must be shortened, partners must be assured of their benefits without interference from successive governments, projects must be rid off conflict of interests, and minimum resistance from end users.
Rather than borrow N6.6 trillion from pension funds to serve marginalised, vulnerable Nigerians, in a largely opaque venture, money should be borrowed from pension funds for infrastructure financing. With tolling, these monies can be paid back quickly, with multiplier effects in the economy. With such funds, critical economic infrastructure such as roads, bridges, rail and energy infrastructure can be developed. It will reduce the cost of doing business and create more jobs.
Bámidélé Adémólá-Olátéjú a farmer, youth advocate and political analyst writes this weekly column, “Bamidele Upfront” for PREMIUM TIMES. Follow me on Twitter @olufunmilayo
