₦airaland Forum

The Coastal Highway of Fraud – In a Nutshell

A man inherits a dilapidated house.

The roof leaks when it rains.
No doors or windows – anybody can walk in.
The children inside are hungry – fighting each other over scraps of food.

No bed to sleep on.
No electricity.
The place smells of neglect.

In the garage sits a Mercedes Benz – broken, but easily repairable.

Instead of fixing the roof.
Instead of feeding the children.
Instead of securing the house.
Instead of repairing what already exists…

The man sells his family the idea of a vision
and he buys a brand new Tesla.

Then he gathers the community and says:
“Behold progress.”

Ladies and gentlemen,
that is the Coastal Highway.

A road to misplaced priorities,
funded by the suffering taxpayers,
those who are killed senselessly due to unchecked insecurity
and defended by people who still don’t have a roof.

Pained and bitter folks like you and your ilk, wailed uncontrollable and consistently when President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as the Governor of Lagos State, initiated the Lekki Free Trade Zone, which opened up the Lekki industrial Corridor and consequently birthed the Eko Atlantic City, Dangote Refinery, Lekki Deep SeaPort etc.

The Lagos - Calabar Coastal Highway will be successfully completed. Nigeria's Blue Economy potential will be fully optimised, and pessimist like you will continue to throw tantrums till thy kingdom comes

⁶

Jakpon:
Pained and bitter folks like you and your ilk, wailed uncontrollable and consistently when President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as the Governor of Lagos State, initiated the Lekki Free Trade Zone, which opened up the Lekki industrial Corridor and consequently birthed the Eko Atlantic City, Dangote Refinery, Lekki Deep SeaPort etc.

The Lagos - Calabar Coastal Highway will be successfully completed. Nigeria's Blue Economy potential will be fully optimised, and pessimist like you will continue to throw tantrums till thy kingdom comes

Me i am not an anywhere-belle-face analyst so wont deny the wisdom in your post but the folly of this project shouldn't be ignored either.

The road is too costly. Too mega in nature. From 10 lanes to 6 six lanes. Wont open coastal economy anywhere close to how Lekki did for lagos. Lagos is naturally comgested and a property developers heaven.
This road is only supported by southerners and in a political system highly susceptible to 8 years rotational arrangement, Broda Yekini has completed less than 10% of the road in about 31% of the window possibly available. That leaves the actual completion date closer to 2047 when another southerner will be completing the project if the APC rotational plan of 8 years between north and south is still active.
Between now and 2047, there is going to be a sure explosion of population and when you factor in the housing deficit, Healthcare system deficit, agricultural challenges. Security. Standard of living trend. Hmmm. I pray that road doesn't stop after only 50km from Lagos and Calabar ends.

Jakpon:
Pained and bitter folks like you and your ilk, wailed uncontrollable and consistently when President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as the Governor of Lagos State, initiated the Lekki Free Trade Zone, which opened up the Lekki industrial Corridor and consequently birthed the Eko Atlantic City, Dangote Refinery, Lekki Deep SeaPort etc.

The Lagos - Calabar Coastal Highway will be successfully completed. Nigeria's Blue Economy potential will be fully optimised, and pessimist like you will continue to throw tantrums till thy kingdom comes

Let’s stick to facts, not myth and propaganda.

Tinubu did not “initiate” the Lekki Free Trade Zone, that project predates his administration.

Eko Atlantic is a private land-reclamation project, not a byproduct of the Free Trade Zone.

Dangote Refinery is a private investment conceived and executed long after Tinubu left office.

Lekki Deep Sea Port was planned and delivered by multiple administrations, with a lot of funding from abroad.

Supporting continuity is fine. Rewriting history is not.

As for the Coastal Highway of fraud, being optimistic without transparent studies and clear funding roadmap isn’t vision – it’s a sales pitch.

Development is not measured by propaganda speeches, but by outcomes Nigerians can actually live with.

givedemwotowoto:
Let’s stick to facts, not myth and propaganda.

Tinubu did not “initiate” the Lekki Free Trade Zone, that project far predates his administration.

Eko Atlantic is a private land-reclamation project, not a byproduct of the Free Trade Zone.

Dangote Refinery is a private investment conceived and executed long after Tinubu left office.

Lekki Deep Sea Port was planned and delivered by multiple administrations, with a lot of funding from abroad.

Supporting continuity is fine. Rewriting history is not.

As for the Coastal Highway of fraud, being optimistic without transparent studies and clear funding roadmap isn’t vision — it’s sales pitch.

Development is not measured by propaganda speeches, but by outcomes Nigerians can actually live with.

some of these fancy mega projects, nations like Kenya and Tanzania have already completed them. They are complaining because the taxes they are paying feels too heavy for the impact those structures are making on them.

Flangelo12:
Opening roads in China has been a primary catalyst for economic and social development, acting as a core strategy for poverty reduction, urbanization, and industrial expansion. The development of transport infrastructure, particularly in rural and western regions, has been driven by the philosophy that "to get rich, build roads first".

This is very false and misleading.

China actually invested massively in roads and transport infrastructure,

but let's be very very clear:

Roads were not the primary catalyst for China’s development, nor were they built in isolation.

What actually drove China's transformation was:

1. Industry policy first: China built factories, special economic zones, and export industries – before or alongside road construction. You don't just build roads because you have a vision that they will open up industries. You build roads to ease access to transportation from production all the way to consumption, and open up the economy.

2. Export Manufacturing: China's growth came from massive manufacturing for the global market, not from road construction itself.

3. Human capital and productivity: They invested heavily in education, utilized their massive manpower and young and active population. Something that Nigeria has failed woefully at, instead the lazy politicians are claiming Nigeria is overpopulated.

I could go on, but these few already make the case.

CodeTemplarr:
some of these fancy mega projects, nations like Kenya ans Tanzania have already completed them. They are complaining because the taxes they are paying feels to heavy for the impact those structures are making on them.

Exactly. Countries like Kenya and Tanzania have already completed their own "mega projects", yet the reality on ground is different. People are now pushing back because of the tax burden.

We just can't keep quiet and keep hoping they're right. We already see and know how the world works.

givedemwotowoto:
This is very false and misleading.

China actually invested massively in roads and transport infrastructure,

but let's be very very clear:

Roads were not the primary catalyst for China’s development, nor were they built in isolation.

What actually drove China's transformation was:

1. Industry policy first: China built factories, special economic zones, and export industries – before or alongside road construction. You don't just build roads because you have a vision that they will open up industries. You build roads to ease access to transportation from production all the way to consumption, and open up the economy.

2. Export Manufacturing: China's growth came from massive manufacturing for the global market, not from road construction itself.

3. Human capital and productivity: They invested heavily in education, utilized their massive manpower and young and active population. Something that Nigeria has failed woefully at, instead the lazy politicians are claiming Nigeria is overpopulated.

I could go on, but these few already make the case.

I got this from AI.

AI no get sense.

Flangelo12:
I got this from AI.

AI no get sense.

lol

givedemwotowoto:
Let’s stick to facts, not myth and propaganda.

Tinubu did not “initiate” the Lekki Free Trade Zone, that project predates his administration.

Eko Atlantic is a private land-reclamation project, not a byproduct of the Free Trade Zone.

Dangote Refinery is a private investment conceived and executed long after Tinubu left office.

Lekki Deep Sea Port was planned and delivered by multiple administrations, with a lot of funding from abroad.

Supporting continuity is fine. Rewriting history is not.

As for the Coastal Highway of fraud, being optimistic without transparent studies and clear funding roadmap isn’t vision – it’s a sales pitch.

Development is not measured by propaganda speeches, but by outcomes Nigerians can actually live with.

Provide proof.

Una fear and biggest predicament be say. Na person wey Una hate the most for this life dey build the country wey Una hate the most... If Tinubu don do all these how Una candidate go take campaign, I know that's the problem but even as a private citizen, Tinubu flogged all Una opposition and in-house saboteurs to become the president. Tinubu pass whom una fit bring down.

You see as Una cry throughout Buhari lifetime? Na so Una go cry till Tinubu handover to his handpicked successor.

Una just start cry. Primaries na few months away and Una never even get party.

givedemwotowoto:
Let’s stick to facts, not myth and propaganda.

Tinubu did not “initiate” the Lekki Free Trade Zone, that project predates his administration.

Eko Atlantic is a private land-reclamation project, not a byproduct of the Free Trade Zone.

Dangote Refinery is a private investment conceived and executed long after Tinubu left office.

Lekki Deep Sea Port was planned and delivered by multiple administrations, with a lot of funding from abroad.

Supporting continuity is fine. Rewriting history is not.

As for the Coastal Highway of fraud, being optimistic without transparent studies and clear funding roadmap isn’t vision – it’s a sales pitch.

Development is not measured by propaganda speeches, but by outcomes Nigerians can actually live with.

If the road is complete do not pass through it.

2nd Niger bridge built by buhari was also a waste of funds because there was no need for it.

The problem with you people is, u want most of the road leading to S.S to follow through the S.E region.

Coastal road already free the Niger Delta route and separate it from the usual S.E route. It will also increase development across the region

Coastal road is misplaced priority but obi beer parlor factory is not.


Thank God obi lost the election, imagine the backwardness Nigerians would have suffered in that regime.

givedemwotowoto:
The Coastal Highway of Fraud – In a Nutshell

Ignorance and bad belle.
If previous govts built infrastructures the way Tinubu is doing now,Nigeria's growth would have been phenomenon.
Failure and underdevelopment no dey tire una?

alanto:
Una fear and biggest predicament be say. Na person wey Una hate the most for this life dey build the country wey Una hate the most... If Tinubu don do all these how Una candidate go take campaign, I know that's the problem but even as a private citizen, Tinubu flogged all Una opposition and in-house saboteurs to become the president. Tinubu pass whom una fit bring down.

You see as Una cry throughout Buhari lifetime? Na so Una go cry till Tinubu handover to his handpicked successor.

Una just start cry. Primaries na few months away and Una never even get party.

You're still dreaming so let me give you a reality check:

Millions of Nigerians now skip meals daily.
Over 60% of Nigerians live in multidimensional poverty.
That's over 120 million Nigerians.

Households that used to feed their families with N10,000 weekly now spend about N50,000.
That's a 500% increase for food and even petrol, but salary increased by only 133%

If that is not shocking enough,
in 2025 alone, over 70% of deaths from religious violence worldwide happened in Nigeria.
Insecurity has exploded.

This is weakness and failure, not leadership.

CodeTemplarr:
⁶Me i am not an anywhere-belle-face analyst so wont deny the wisdom in your post but the folly of this project shouldn't be ignored either.

The road is too costly. Too mega in nature. From 10 lanes to 6 six lanes. Wont open coastal economy anywhere close to how Lekki did for lagos. Lagos is naturally comgested and a property developers heaven.
This road is only supported by southerners and in a political system highly susceptible to 8 years rotational arrangement, Broda Yekini has completed less than 10% of the road in about 31% of the window possibly available. That leaves the actual completion date closer to 2047 when another southerner will be completing the project if the APC rotational plan of 8 years between north and south is still active.
Between now and 2047, there is going to be a sure explosion of population and when you factor in the housing deficit, Healthcare system deficit, agricultural challenges. Security. Standard of living trend. Hmmm. I pray that road doesn't stop after only 50km from Lagos and Calabar ends.

2047? Just like the Dangote Refinery which is not supposed to be operational in the next 40 years?
The road doesn't stop investment in Healthcare or agriculture or whatever.
The road will be completed and with it a lot of development.
While you are being pessimistic some people are already planning to build gas stations along the highway.

If previous govts built infrastructures the way Tinubu is doing now,Nigeria's growth would have been phenomenon.
Failure and underdevelopment no dey tire una?

Putinofrussia:
Ignorance and bad belle.
If previous govts built infrastructures the way Tinubu is doing now,Nigeria's growth would have been phenomenon.
Failure and underdevelopment no dey tire una?

Roads are a means of transportation, not a catalyst for growth.

Growth comes from production: factories, farms, electricity, jobs, skills (from education investment), manpower (which Nigeria has) and security. Roads only work when there is something to move and people who can afford to move it.

givedemwotowoto:
Roads are a means of transportation, not a catalyst for growth.

Growth comes from production: factories, farms, electricity, jobs, skills (from education investment), manpower (which Nigeria has) and security. Roads only work when there is something to move and people who can afford to move it.

What can we call this? Ignorance? So, after all the production from the factories and the farms you will pack everything on a witche's broom and fly them to where your products are needed?

garykoeman:
If the road is complete do not pass through it.

2nd Niger bridge built by buhari was also a waste of funds because there was no need for it.

The problem with you people is, u want most of the road leading to S.S to follow through the S.E region.

Coastal road already free the Niger Delta route and separate it from the usual S.E route. It will also increase development across the region

Coastal road is misplaced priority but obi beer parlor factory is not.


Thank God obi lost the election, imagine the backwardness Nigerians would have suffered in that regime.

Failures always argue about how things would've been far worse under someone else.

Serious people deliver results. They don’t need propaganda.

ElSudani:
What can we call this? Ignorance?

Maybe you needed me to complete the sentence with "building highways in isolation"? You want to go back to doing your ABCs?

givedemwotowoto:
Maybe you needed me to write "in isolation" at the end? You want to go back to doing your ABCs?

What you wrote is below the reasoning of a primary school kid.

ElSudani:
What you wrote is below the reasoning of a primary school kid.

A primary school kid doesn't know anything about developing the economy. Go join them if you missed that stage in life. This thread is for adult conversations.

givedemwotowoto:
A primary school kid doesn't know anything about the economy. Go join them if you missed that stage in life.

Not true, my nine year old cousin would lecture you on the importance of transportation in a given economy.
You have absolutely no clue. This is clearly above your pay grade.

Lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol

ElSudani:
2047? Just like the Dangote Refinery which is not supposed to be operational in the next 40 years?
The road doesn't stop investment in Healthcare or agriculture or whatever.
The road will be completed and with it a lot of development.
While you are being pessimistic some people are already planning to build gas stations along the highway.

There are private roads just like there are private healthcare facilities or petrochemical plants. Why didnt Tinubu leave highway for private road builders if it was viable and sensible.

ElSudani:
Not true, my nine year old cousin would lecture you on the importance of transportation in a given economy.

You sound like those kids that say "My father is a doctor". What are you, kid? Lecture us. Earn your adulthood.

givedemwotowoto:
Failures always argue about how things would've been far worse under someone else.

Serious people deliver results. They don’t need propaganda.

100% of obi investments are situated in S.W and N.C that should tell you the failure the man was.

The two gov who came after him were critical of his handling of the state.

Obi lack proper foresight or understanding to make any meaningful impact as a leader.

Peter obi has never practiced what he always preach.

CodeTemplarr:
⁶Me i am not an anywhere-belle-face analyst so wont deny the wisdom in your post but the folly of this project shouldn't be ignored either.

The road is too costly. Too mega in nature. From 10 lanes to 6 six lanes. Wont open coastal economy anywhere close to how Lekki did for lagos. Lagos is naturally comgested and a property developers heaven.
This road is only supported by southerners and in a political system highly susceptible to 8 years rotational arrangement, Broda Yekini has completed less than 10% of the road in about 31% of the window possibly available. That leaves the actual completion date closer to 2047 when another southerner will be completing the project if the APC rotational plan of 8 years between north and south is still active.
Between now and 2047, there is going to be a sure explosion of population and when you factor in the housing deficit, Healthcare system deficit, agricultural challenges. Security. Standard of living trend. Hmmm. I pray that road doesn't stop after only 50km from Lagos and Calabar ends.

lol
President Tinubu has always been a visionary and people like him have foresight, they are often described as persons who see visions, have clear ideas about the future, or possess innovative, creative, or prophetic, qualities. They are often characterized as dreamers who convert ideas into reality, sometimes called a visioneer in contexts of building concepts.
You are sure not a visioneer and wouldn't understand the thoughts and doings of visionaries like Tinubu.

CodeTemplarr:
There are private roads just like there are private healthcare facilities or petrochemical plants. Why didnt Tinubu leave highway for private road builders if it was viable and sensible.

Coming from people who never condemned the wasteful 2nd Niger bridge.

Ofemannnu:
lol
President Tinubu has always been a visionary and people like him have foresight, they are often described as persons who see visions, have clear ideas about the future, or possess innovative, creative, or prophetic, qualities. They are often characterized as dreamers who convert ideas into reality, sometimes called a visioneer in contexts of building concepts.
You are sure not a visioneer and wouldn't understand the thoughts and doings of visionaries like Tinubu.

lol. Vision like that of alpha-beta revenue arrangement or to line their pockets?

garykoeman:
Coming from people who never condemned the wasteful 2nd Niger bridge.

i was in Igbo Agboyin, Ogbomoso as a Yoruba man that time. I only recently converted into igbo.