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Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has criticized the N15.6 trillion Lagos-Calabar coastal highway project, labeling it a wasteful and corrupt initiative. He also condemned the Bola Tinubu administration for approving N21 billion for a new official residence for Vice President Kashim Shettima.
Obasanjo made these remarks in chapter six of his newly launched book, Nigeria: Past and Future, which was unveiled last week as part of his 88th birthday celebrations.
According to Punch, the former president argued that the government’s actions reflect a continuation of “transactional” governance, operating under the slogan “it is my turn to chop.”
“State resources are captured and appropriated, with a pittance to staff and associates to silence whistleblowers,” Obasanjo said.
He pointed to the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway project as an example of “waste, corruption, and misplaced priority,” adding that Tinubu’s administration had ignored public concerns over the controversial project.
“Typical examples of waste, corruption, and misplaced priority are the murky Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road on which the President had turned deaf ears to protests and the new Vice-President’s official residence built at a cost of N21bn in the time of economic hardship to showcase the administration hitting the ground running and to show the importance of the office of the Vice-President. What small minds!”
Obasanjo also accused many Nigerian leaders—including governors, presidents, ministers, commissioners, and local government chairmen—of being ill-prepared and self-serving.
He reiterated his long-standing belief that Western liberal democracy might not be the best fit for Africa, advocating instead for a system tailored to the continent’s unique characteristics.
“We should seek democracy within African history, culture, attributes, and characteristics, one that will take necessary African factors into consideration. Until we can get a better word or description for it, let us call it Afrodemocracy,” Obasanjo said.
