President Bola Tinubu has taken state governors to task. He says they are building needless flyovers instead of consolidating his economic reforms. The president wants governors to focus on agriculture, education, and healthcare. He says infrastructure should support production, not vanity.
He is absolutely correct. Nigerian governors have a well-documented addiction to concrete. Flyovers, bridges, and urban renewal projects make for great ribbon-cutting ceremonies. They do not create jobs at scale. They do not reduce poverty. They do not improve the metrics that actually matter. A farmer in Kebbi does not need a flyover. He needs irrigation, fertiliser, and market access. A student in Enugu does not need an overpass. She needs a functioning classroom and a teacher who shows up.
The criticism is particularly timely. Several governors are in the middle of second terms. They are looking for legacy projects. Flyovers are visible. They outlast political tenures. They make governors feel like builders of modern cities. The reality is that most of these projects are funded with borrowed money. Debt servicing is already consuming over 40 percent of state revenues in some cases. The flyover in Kano or Port Harcourt will be paid for by generations who never asked for it.
But Tinubu is not a neutral observer. His own administration has championed the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway. That project has drawn criticism for lacking environmental impact assessments. It has displaced communities and disrupted livelihoods. The president cannot lecture governors on vanity projects while pushing a highway that serves similar political purposes.
The message is sound. The messenger is compromised. What Nigeria needs is a national development framework that prioritises human capital over concrete. That framework must apply to Abuja as much as it applies to the states
