Nigeria’s Infrastructure Gap may Increase with Continued Insecurity, Corruption

Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari,  revealed that the country needs $1.5 Trillion to fix the infrastructure gap over the next ten years.

He revealed this at the Glasgow COP 26 high level side event on improving global infrastructure. The event was hosted by USA President, Joe Biden; EU commission President Von Der Leyen and UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson.

He further stated that this has become more necessary as a means to achieve the 2030 mandate for sustainable development.However, issues such as poor road network, dilapidated schools among others have hampered the countries’ development.

With over 200 million persons, Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country and the most populous black nation in the world. 

In 2017, the Director-General of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) Mr Chidi Izuwah, noted that 135,000 kilometers of road networks in Nigeria are untarred. A report by the world bank had noted that “Of the country’s 160,000 Km of state and rural roads, less than 15% of rural roads are considered to be in good condition.

Nigeria’s Education Infrastructure Threatened by Banditry, Mismanagement

A publication had detailed some of the challenges facing the Nigerian education sector including overcrowding and unconducive spaces. The country’s academic staff union of universities (ASUU) have embarked on strike severally over ‘poor state of universities, underfunding and inadequacy of facilities.

The Union’s President, Professor Victor Osodeke had told Dataphyte that the state of facilities in the country’s Universities have become very worrisome and needs a total overhaul. 

Boko Haram has also been reported to be responsible for burning of schools. Between 2014 to 2016 alone, the United Nations reported that an estimated 1,500 schools were burnt. The infrastructure challenge has contributed and hit deeper with over 10.5 million out of school students, according to UNICEF. 

Infrastructure Problems Compounds Insecurity in Nigeria

The state of insecurity, with all 6 geo-political zones battling different problems from terrorism to banditry, kidnappings, farmer/herder clashes etc. has further worsened the state of infrastructure in the country. And all of this is further complicated by endemic corruption.

In the South Eastern part of the country, there have been burning of police stations, leading to loss of equipment, buildings and other security facilities. As at May, 2021, not fewer than 21 police stations were burnt in South eastern Nigeria. A publication by the African centre for strategic studies noted the poor state of facilities to help the Nigerian police function properly.

This crisis led the African Center for Strategic Studies to warn that the “ back-and-forth raids and attacks risk plunging the region into a crisis similar to the Anglophone-Francophone conflict across the border in southwest Cameroon.”

A publication by the Council for Foreign Relations outlined how Boko Haram terrorists overran Nigeria’s Military base in North Eastern Nigeria in 2018. The attackers were reported to have destroyed military tanks and other equipment. A M4 Sherman military tank according to a military machine website, costs $250,000 (which is the cheapest on the list). Bandits have also been on rampage in the region; they  were reported to have burnt a military base in Zamfara, carting away equipment in the process.

In the 2022 budget, the cost of a phase 1 construction for Bukavu and Janguza Barracks, Kano, was put at N1.13 billion by the Nigerian Army. 

Just in October, an explosion damaged coaches on a Nigerian passenger train. The train operates between Abuja and Kaduna. Hospitals are not left out, with humanitarian organisation, InterSOS also reporting that Magumeri hospital was burnt in Borno state. In 2017, the then health commissioner of Borno, Haruna Msheilla, was quoted as stating that 248 primary health centres and 19 general hospitals were destroyed by Boko Haram terrorists.

A report by the International Committee of the Red Cross recounted what the Dikwa community in Maiduguri faced after their two primary health centres were burned down. According to a report by Africacheck, it costs between N18-N22 million to build a Primary Health Centre.

Nigeria’s Infrastructural Development has been Stunted Due to Corruption. 

The Chatham House revealed that $582bn has been stolen from Nigeria since independence. Transparency International ranks Nigeria 149th out of 180 countries on the corruption perception index for 2020.  

A Dataphyte report had exposed how N1.53 Trillion was mismanaged by the Niger Delta Development Commission. The report also noted abandoned projects meant to develop the Niger Delta region. A total of 22 projects were reported duplicated in the commission’s budget.

Between 2018 and 2018 N90.9 billion meant for 176 projects by the commission, were also reported to have been unaccounted for. Also, Niger Deltans have been reported severally complaining of underdevelopment and serial neglect.

Although Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari promised to fight corruption at various times, corruption may have denied Nigerians some infrastructural development, creating huge deficits in its infrastructural development.

Long Road to Growth

If the recalcitrant problem of insecurity facing Nigeria is not solved and corruption is not roundly deterred, it may be a longer walk to development, requiring even more finances than the President has declared.

Unfortunately, the challenges are a double-edged sword,  insecurity continues to widen the infrastructural gap by destroying the existing infrastructures and corruption makes it impossible to bridge that gap. 

The biggest losers are the citizens.

What Nigeria Needs to Do to Curb Corruption, Secure Country- Analyst

An economic analyst, Samuel Atiku noted that the infrastructure needs of Nigeria is very high and that Nigeria cannot advance or solve its critical infrastructure demands alone.

Samuel however stated that the demand of Nigeria will only be achieved if investors confidence is boosted. According to him, issues of instability of policy and lack of trust by investors will impede bridging the infrastructure gap.

He also stated that insecurity has continued to destroy key infrastructures and as such there is a need to strengthen the security system in the country. The analyst opined that there is a need for  an infrastructure development plan to be put in motion. The last infrastructure plan was about ten, fifteen years ago and the national railway plan was a long while ago.

He harped on the need to have a holistic plan that can help mitigate all identified issues.

Gift Omodedia, a policy analyst, has reiterated that open contracting is the way to end endemic corruption. She noted that if there is open contracting, where contracts can be well monitored and questions can be asked, corruption will be tamed.

“I think it is about open contracting, if we can fix that in public procurement, we can fix to a large extent corruption anywhere in the world. This is because public procurement accounts for about 80% of government social contracts to the citizens, so you can imagine a situation where the contracts go to the right person and the right place, it will help ensure delivery of adequate service especially with the knowledge that they would be asked informed questions due to very timely publication of contracting information” she noted.

She also urged the government to hold up to its part of the social contract. According to her, the way to ensure a secure country is if the government holds up its end of the social contract and delivers on the benefits of democracy.

Gift encouraged Nigerians to be concerned about those who get into power, as a way to ensure real change.