A Lagos –based social commentator and public affairs analyst, Owaikhena Osikhekha, has faulted former President Olusegun Obasanjo over his claim that the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway was a wasteful project.
Rather, the analyst said the project symbolised a crucial step in Nigeria’s efforts to enhance connectivity, facilitate economic growth and improve the people’s quality of life.
In an e-statement sent to Blueprint in Abuja Tuesday, he said: “In one of his books, has accused former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of monumental corruption. But in 2019, Chief Obasanjo endorsed the same Atiku, a supposedly corrupt man, for the office of president. This left many Nigerians wondering whether former president, popularly called OBJ knows what he is doing.
“It is morally repressible for a former president to give an impression that he is the only country’s former leader that is upright. During the struggle for the actualisation of the June 12, 1993 presidential election won by late Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola, Chief Obasanjo claimed that the billionaire philanthropist was not the messiah Nigeria needed.
“Recently, Chief Obasanjo in his new book titled ” Nigeria; Past and Future,” released to mark his 88th birthday, claimed that the ambitious Lagos- Calabar Coastal Highway project was “wasteful and corruption.” There is nowhere in the entire book that the former president presented evidence to substantiate these serious allegations. This is capable of finishing his status as an elder statesman.
“If there were any questions Chief Obasanjo wanted to ask about the highway project, he has direct access to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Minister of Works, Senator Dave Umahi. As a former president and an elder statesman, he doesn’t need an appointment to see President Tinubu.
“Elder statesmen give their advice behind closed doors devoid of media attention. Traditionally, former leaders around the world rarely issue public statements on the decisions or activities of their successors because of the potential tensions such remarks could create. This is a global practice which other past leaders in Nigeria adhere to except Chief Obasanjo.
“The Lagos- Calabar superhighway project represents a crucial step in Nigeria’s efforts to enhance connectivity, facilitate economic growth and improve the quality of life of Nigerians. The road connects nine states, beginning from Victoria Island in Lagos to Ogun, Ondo, Edo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers and terminates in Calabar, the Cross River state capital.
“The contractor handling the project, Hitech Construction Company Nigeria Limited is a reputable international firm that has delivered high quality jobs here in Nigeria. The Minister of Works, Senator Umahi who regularly inspects the ongoing project has testified about the quality of work being executed by the company.
“The project is neither wasteful nor associated with corruption. One thing a lot of Nigerians, including Chief Obasanjo don’t know is that the federal government is providing only thirty percent cost of the project while the contractor is responsible for sourcing for seventy percent of the cost.”