Category: Nigerian Tribune

The University of Ilorin has emerged as Nigeria’s number one university in research quality in the just-released Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings.

It scored 69.4 per cent, the highest among Nigerian universities ranked this year.

The latest ranking result was released last Wednesday at the World Academic Summit hosted by the University of Cape Town, South Africa.

A statement by the University’s Director of Corporate Affairs, Mr. Kunle Akogun, said that the ranking assesses universities on five pillars such as teaching, research environment, research quality, international outlook and industry.

The statement quoted the University Ranking Implementation Project Manager, Professor Suleiman Folorunso Ambali, as saying that ‘research quality is UNILORIN’s strongest turf, and that the university aims to convert it into wider international recognition and work towards the 801-1000 band in the next edition’.

According to the university’s spokesperson, an analysis of the results shows that the University of Ilorin has been ‘lifted from the 1201-1500 band in 2026 into the 1001-1200 world band’.

‘Our University is now one of the seven Nigerian universities in the global top 1,200″, Mr. Akogun said, adding that UNILORIN is ahead of the University of Lagos, Bayero University, Kano and the University of Ibadan on quality research, which carries 30% of the overall score and measures how widely a university’s research is cited by scholars worldwide.’

Reacting to the development, the Vice Chancellor of the University, Professor Wahab Olasupo Egbewole (SAN), said that ‘this outcome is not accidental but a reflection of years of patient, disciplined scholarship by colleagues who publish work that the world reads and cites.

The Vice Chancellor thanked every lecturer, researcher, postgraduate supervisor and student whose work contributed to the positive rankings of the university.

The management of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, has expressed anguish and concern over the reported abduction of prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members travelling from Ibadan, Oyo State, to their orientation camps.

This was contained in a statement by the university in response to reports and police confirmation that prospective corps members and other passengers were abducted after two buses travelling from Ibadan were attacked along the Owerri-Onitsha Road.

The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Razaq Olatunde Rom Kalilu, said in the statement issued by the institution’s Public and Alumni Relations Unit that the university is particularly distressed by reports that at least three of its graduates, including graduates of Food Science and Physiology, are among those reportedly abducted in the October 1 incident.

In the statement, Prof. Kalilu said: ‘The University stands firmly with the affected families at this deeply distressing moment.

‘This is a painful and deeply troubling development for the University and, most importantly, for the families of our graduates and the other young Nigerians whose lives have been so cruelly disrupted. Our immediate and overriding concern is their safety and safe return to their families.’

The Vice-Chancellor called on security and other relevant agencies to intensify coordinated efforts to locate and secure the safe release of all the abducted prospective corps members and other passengers.

‘Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, remains in solidarity with the families. We are praying and hoping for the safe return of our graduates and every other victim,’ the Vice-Chancellor said, adding that the university would continue to monitor developments and maintain appropriate communication with relevant authorities and affected families.

The former President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Reverend Dr Samson Ayokunle, has told Nigerian politicians that, regardless of their antics and aspirations to rule Nigeria in 2007, citizens will survive.

Ayokunle spoke to journalists in Ibadan on Friday, October 2, 2026 against the backdrop of electioneering for who becomes the president in 2027.

At the 10th anniversary of the Oritamefa Baptist Model School Cambridge A-Level College, Reverend Ayokunle charged Nigerians to persevere through the current challenges facing them.

‘What God revealed to me is that whatsoever is happening in this nation, Nigeria, we will survive, and His will alone will prevail. That’s why we don’t give up on this nation, Nigeria.

Reiterating the need to persevere, Ayokunle explained that ‘In fact, anyone that has given up doesn’t need to be in this country anymore. We see the future, which God take away from men and give to all of us in this country by Himself’.

Proffering solutions to the insecurity in Nigeria, the former CAN President asserted that determined leadership is the way to go.

The solution to the insecurity in Nigeria is more determined Leadership. The time that the leaders are no more complicit in insecurity, that time Nigerians will breathe a sigh of relief.’

Joining many voices on the state of the nation, especially in relation to people’s livelihoods, Reverend Ayokunle, who resisted the urge to rate President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, however, lamented that Nigerians are hungry.

‘Well, I’m not his assessor; the masses are his assessors, but let us speak the truth: there is hunger in the land; the cost of living is too high.

‘Well, it is good that the subsidy was removed, but what’s the average earnings of Nigerians when we removed the subsidy, as it’s removed elsewhere? We are planning towards the same mind the same explore but do we pay the same salary, do we pay the minimum wage that’s paid in America, in UK and elsewhere?

‘What we are paying will deepen the complication of the devaluation in naira has thrown workers into abject poverty.’

Ayokunle also declared that ‘it is very difficult for Nigerians to breathe economically and this is what a serious government, a government that will not play politics with the lives of the people, must address’.

During his OBMS A-Level Cambridge Anniversary lecture, Rev. Dr. Remi Awopegba, the recently retired church pastor and visionary behind the College, spoke about the institution’s journey and its future.

He emphasised the importance for students to cultivate a global perspective while upholding high standards of excellence.

Awopegba encouraged students not to let their environment or background limit their aspirations. He urged them to adopt a global outlook and maintain high standards in whatever situations they encounter.

‘Never let your environment or your background limit your vision. Neither permit discouragement from the experiences of others to deter you. Start where you are, but think global,’ he said.

According to him, the vision behind the establishment of the college was to produce students capable of competing beyond their immediate environment.

In his remarks, the Director of the College, Deacon Clement Oke, said the contemporary world does not require teaching younger ones only academic capability; capacity building of the students is also important, noting that the College has embraced this right from the beginning.

All Progressives Congress (APC) in Jigawa has received a boost ahead of the 2027 general elections as hundreds of members of opposition parties defected to the ruling party during a rally attended by thousands of supporters in Limawa Ward, Dutse Local Government Area.

The defectors were drawn from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), African Democratic Congress (ADC) and Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), and declared their support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Governor Malam Umar Namadi and other APC candidates ahead of the forthcoming elections.

The rally, which attracted more than 10,000 APC supporters, predominantly women, was coordinated by the Senior Special Assistant to the governor on Student Matters, Ambassador Salisu Muhammad Seeker.

Receiving the defectors, the APC State Chairman, Ahmed Garba, represented by the party’s Publicity Secretary, Bashir Kundu, commended the people of Limawa Ward for their support and confidence in the leadership of President Tinubu and Governor Namadi.

He expressed confidence that the APC would secure victory in Jigawa State in 2027, describing the large turnout and the influx of opposition members as indications of the party’s growing grassroots acceptance.

Kundu assured the new members that they would be accorded equal recognition and opportunities within the party, irrespective of their previous political affiliations.

He said the people of Limawa and its environs had reasons to support the APC, particularly in view of political appointments given to indigenes of the area and infrastructural projects initiated by the Tinubu and Namadi administrations.

According to him, the appointments and development projects have contributed to the socio-economic development of the area and created opportunities for its residents, particularly the youths.

The rally was attended by the APC House of Assembly candidate for the area, Ibrahim Yakubu Yargaba, a former chairman of Dutse Local Government Area; the governor’s aide, Ambassador Seeker; the ward councillor, Gambo Daiyanu; and other party leaders and political stakeholders.

Addressing the supporters, Yargaba urged the people to sustain their loyalty to the APC by voting for the party’s candidates in the 2027 general elections.

He described the massive turnout as a demonstration of the people’s acceptance of the programmes and policies of the Tinubu and Namadi administrations.

The candidate said continued support for the APC would enable the government to consolidate its achievements and attract more development projects to the area.

Yargaba, however, cautioned party supporters against complacency, urging them to intensify grassroots mobilisation and prevent opposition parties from making inroads into the ward.

‘Do not allow any opposition party to come here and deceive you or undermine the good relationship you have built with the governor,’ he told the gathering.

The rally is part of the APC’s ongoing mobilisation efforts as political activities gather momentum ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Six serving All Progressives Congress (APC) Members of the Zamfara State House of Assembly have resigned from the party, saying there is deception in APC and the party stakeholders lacked unity in the state.

In their separate letters of resignation dated 4th October, 2026, available to newsmen on Sunday, the 5 aggrieved lawmakers also said their decision to resign from APC was reached after careful, wide consultations.

Those who resigned from APC included Hon. Ibrahim Tukur, Hon. Bashir Abubakar, Hon. Aliyu Ango Kagar, Hon. Nasiru Abdullahi, Hon. Mukhtar Nasiru Jikan Shehu and Hon. Faruk Dosara.

The resignation letter reads in part: ‘With much respect sir, I, Hon. Tukur, member representing Bakura constituency, Zamfara State House of Assembly hereby, resigned my membership from All Progressive Congress (APC) with immediate effect.

‘This decision came up after careful and wide consultations due to lack of unity among the party stakeholders in the state, deception, uncertainties, injustice and inability of the government to overcome the security situation in my constituency, state at large and above all nonchalant attitude, poor leadership of the Governor.

‘I am very grateful to the leadership and members of the party for their support and cooperation throughout my stay in the party.

‘Kindly accept this letter as my official resignation with immediate effect’.Both same letter concluded.

Meanwhile, a former council chairman of Bukkuyum Local Government Area, Abubakar Faru has lauded the decision of lawmakers for resigning from APC.

Faru described their decision as true servants of their constituents who care for the betterment of people and their wellbeing.

‘This decision is a bold decision, at right time and for the betterment of their constituencies ‘. He stated.

WHEN my alma mater, the University of Ife (aka ‘Great Ife’) was renamed Obafemi Awolowo University by the military junta of Gen. Ibrahim Babangida on May 12, 1987, it was as if a dagger was driven into my heart. This was despite the fact that I had graduated from the school five years earlier. Also, the sage after whom the university was renamed richly deserved the honour, being one of the nationalists who fought the British and won Independence for Nigeria on October 1, 1960. Awolowo was also the trail-blazing first Premier of the Western Region; his government conceived the idea of the University of Ife that was eventually renamed in his honour after his death on May 9, 1987. His all-round achievements were breathtaking; more so in the field of education. His FREE EDUCATION programme gave the Western Region a head-start in post-colonial-era Nigeria.

Still, I felt as if something was wrenched out of me with the name-change. Not that Awo did not deserve the honour or any honour for that matter. Apart from fighting for Independence, and apart from his matchless contributions to the development of the Western Region, he was also the vice-chairman of the Federal Military Government of Gen. Yakubu Gowon as well as the Commissioner (today’s Minister) of Finance reputed to have helped navigate the country through the harrowing times of the Civil War (1967 – 1970) without borrowing a dime to prosecute the war. Before his death, Awo had also been the leader of the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) whose political godsons won elections and governed what was then known as the LOOBO states (Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Bendel and Ondo states.)

I have gone on this historical excursion to show that my feelings or misgivings when Great Ife was renamed were not that Awo did not deserve the honour. I think it must have had to do with the sentimental attachment that students generally develop for their alma mater. Till today, I still harbour those feelings. Whenever anyone asks if I finished from the Obafemi Awolowo University, I waste no time in saying I did not, but that I finished from the University of Ife! When they retort that it means the same thing, I always insist it does not – or does it? University of Ife is University of Ife (Great Ife) and Obafemi Awolowo University is Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU). I did not attend OAU; I attended the University of Ife – and that is what is boldly printed on my certificate!

When I write, you must have noticed that I never forget, whenever I mention Obafemi Awolowo University, to put in parenthesis ‘formerly the University of Ife, Ile-Ife.’ I am sure I am not alone in this feeling of nostalgia toward the University of Ife. Not a few believe that name-change destroys brands, distorts history, and creates double identities. I would have preferred that institutions, once named, retain their original names. We can always find other monuments to name after anyone. Or, if a university or any school is to be named after anyone, let it be done from the very founding of the said institution, so that whoever is going there knows where he or she is going; not that name-change catches you mid-air or a crisis of identity is created for you long after you have passed out of your alma mater.

The UNILAG name-change fiasco

The name-change at the University of Ife went rather peacefully. It was a matter that farts in one’s mouth, but immediately adds honey to it. Babangida, the Maradona and self-styled evil genius, must have primed his dubious honour done to Awo – that is how I still see it almost 40 years after – as blackmail. President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan was, however, not as lucky when he proposed to rename the University of Lagos, Akoka, Lagos after Chief MKO Abiola, after the death of the business mogul and winner of the annulled June 12, 1993 presidential election, on July 7, 1998. Jonathan must have been aghast with the gale of negative reactions that attended his decision, which he announced on May 29, 2012. Ordinarily, he could have expected to be carried shoulder high for it; what with his two predecessors (Olusegun Obasanjo, himself Yoruba and Egba like MKO Abiola; and Umaru Yar’Adua) not deeming it fit to honour Abiola!

Characteristically, Jonathan backpedalled and the National Stadium, Abuja, was fittingly renamed MKO Abiola, the widely acclaimed ‘Pillar of Sports’ in Africa, by President Muhammadu Buhari on June 12, 2019. Was the protest against the renaming of the University of Lagos directed personally at MKO? No! I can still recollect that the same feelings I expressed about the name-change at Ife were those expressed by a cross-section of Nigerians – former and present Akokites inclusive. Brand destruction. Identity crisis. Psychological trauma, etc. Eventually, MKO got the national honour he richly deserved instead of being conscripted in death as a local champion. That was one reason many were also not happy with Awo being limited to the university he conceptualised in his own locality instead of the Leader of Opposition in the First Republic being honoured with something outside his own territory. What Babangida did was use Abu’s money to entertain Abu. In the real sense, he gave nothing!

Issues surrounding upgrade of Rufus Giwa Polytechnic

It is in this light that I seek to say a few words about some of the issues surrounding the upgrade of Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo to the status of a university. Founded and named The Polytechnic, Owo in 1979, the school has witnessed a series of name-change, such that its alumni may find it difficult to recognise their school again or feel any joy or interest in identifying with it! It was renamed the Ondo State Polytechnic in 1990. Again in 2003 it was renamed Rufus Giwa Polytechnic in honour of Chief Rufus Giwa, a prominent Nigerian businessman-turned politician from Oke-Agbe, Akoko area of Ondo state, who died in a road accident on March 26, 2003 at the age of 60 years. Last year again, the Ondo state government approved the upgrade of the polytechnic to a specialized University of Agriculture and Agribusiness.

It would appear as if the actual name and specialization of this university in the making is not yet settled. There are those who feel it should be a full-fledged university or that more courses should be added to it. Ask JAMB how many Nigerian students indicate interest year-in, year-out in Agriculture and Education courses! Every year, the carrying capacity of Nigerian universities in those courses is left unfilled while courses such as Medicine, Nursing, Law, Engineering, Pharmacy, Accountancy, Mass Communication are unable to take more than a fraction of interested applicants. The new university, if it limits itself to Agric courses alone, may likely suffer the same fate driving it away from remaining a polytechnic. I have been a member of JAMB’s civil society and media team for many years, attending its stakeholders’ and other high-stake meetings and can volunteer that information to my state for free!

Rufus Giwa: To be or not to be?

The other controversy trailing the new university is whether it should still retain ‘Rufus Giwa’ in its name. Last Tuesday, 29th September, 2026, a public hearing on the conversion of the polytechnic to a university was held in the hallowed chambers of the State House of Assembly and I understand proceedings went very well. A major hurdle in the way of the university taking off the ground has, thus, been scaled. And, in my opinion, the minor controversy over whether the name ‘Rufus Giwa’ should or should not be retained need not detain us any further. Those for as well as those against have their points. This, then, is like the proverbial tse-tse fly that perches on a man’s scrotum – care must be taken when dealing with it.

I have expressed my personal feelings about naming public institutions after individuals. I wish other public places could be so named. I have also enumerated the deleterious effects of name-change executed mid-air. In the case of the school under discussion at Owo, name-change has been done repeatedly. This destroys brands, mutilates identities and makes alumni solidarity difficult. Tell me, under what name or names will the alumni of this school gather and organize themselves to give back to their alma mater?

When Gov. Olusegun Agagu changed the name of the Ondo State Polytechnic to Rufus Giwa Polytechnic in June 2003, many viewed it as political patronage. As an astute industrialist, an honour done Rufus Giwa in his areas of forte, just like the National Stadium renamed after MKO Abiola and not the University of Lagos – would have been fitting. I am not aware of Chief Rufus Giwa’s pedigree in the field of education in Ondo state or Nigeria at large. Awolowo earned his own honours with his contributions to the educational development of the Western Region and the many seminal books he wrote on Nigeria’s development. Besides, Rufus Giwa was not a former governor of Ondo state. We can cite the examples of former Gov. Ambrose Ali (Ekpoma State university); Technical University, Ibadan renamed after former Gov. Isiaka Ajimobi; University of Technology, Ogbomoso renamed after the second Premier of the Western Region whose government actually executed the take-off of the then University of Ife, and the Ekiti State University of Education named after former Gov. Bamidele Olumilua, among others.

It was within the prerogatives of Agagu to have immortalised a friend and supporter, especially one that was a prominent son of Ondo state who must have contributed one way or the other to the state’s development. His name should have been fixed on something more appropriate. But that having been done, I counsel that we allow sleeping dogs to lie! The task now should be how to kick-start the new university as well as ensure it does not become moribund before long. Courses that interest admission-seekers should be injected into its curriculum.

Olowo deserves commendations

Let me say, before I close, that I do not see anything wrong in the Olowo of Owo leading a strong delegation of Owo obas and elites to the public hearing on the new university. In fact, we should commend him for doing so. Few days after the hectic Igogo festival, Kabiyesi, who should be holidaying somewhere, prioritised the public hearing. I also do not see anything wrong in his aggregating the views of his people at the public hearing. Yes, he is the current chairman of the Ondo State Council of Obas and Owo and Akoko have been brothers from the time when eyes were on the knees, as they say, but, ultimately, all politics is local. Charity, they say, begins from home.

Now that the public hearing has come and gone, we should all let bygones be bygones. Let Owo and Akoko elites sheathe their sword. Those suggesting a tit-for-tat not only miss the point but are fruitlessly trying to compare sleep with death. The name of Adekunle Ajasin that the university at Akungba-Akoko answers is richly deserved. History records Ajasin as one of the brains behind the Action Group’s FREE EDUCATION policy in the old Western Region; he was also the civilian governor of old Ondo State when his administration founded the then Obafemi Awolowo University in March 1982. It was renamed the Ondo State University in 1985, relocated to Akungba-Akoko after Ekiti state was split from Ondo state in 1999 and was renamed Adekunle Ajasin University in 2004. Ajasin died on October 3, 1997.

African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, has said the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye, prayed for him and expressed confidence in his victory ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

Sowore disclosed this after attending the RCCG National Thanksgiving Service at the church’s headquarters in Ebute Metta, Lagos, on Sunday, alongside the National Chairman of the AAC, Pastor Samuel Ajeigbe.

According to him, he later had a private meeting with Adeboye, who offered to pray for him and told him that he had been following his activities.

Sowore said the cleric described his path as honourable and expressed confidence in his eventual triumph.

He said, ‘He stated that he follows my activities religiously, expressed certainty that my path is honourable, and said he is confident of my triumph.’

Sowore added that the meeting marked his second encounter with Adeboye at the same venue, recalling that they first met in 1996, shortly after he completed his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).

According to him, their first meeting took place when he was involved in efforts to mobilise students against campus cultism and the activities of cult groups.

‘Thirty years later, we met again at the same place. I deeply appreciate the warm reception of members of the church, and our private conversation, and his prayers,’ he said.

Sowore, however, stressed that his visit to the church was not intended to promote a political agenda.

‘It is important to state that my visit was not intended to promote a political agenda,’ he added.

Minister of Works, Senator Dave Umahi, has said the reinforced concrete pavement being deployed on the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is designed to last between 50 and 100 years, with minimal maintenance.

Umahi said the technology was part of the Federal Government’s strategy to deliver roads capable of withstanding heavy traffic and reducing the cycle of repeated reconstruction.

‘We are talking of 50 to 100-year guarantee for reinforced concrete pavement, with low maintenance,’ he said.

The minister said the durability of the pavement was particularly important for major economic corridors expected to carry heavy commercial traffic.

He disclosed that work on the 55-kilometre Section Two of the coastal highway was progressing, with the concrete pavement expected to be completed in November.

However, he explained that some bridges and flyovers would require additional time because of the engineering challenges around the Dangote Refinery and Lekki Deep Sea Port corridors.

According to Umahi, the structures must accommodate heavy-duty trucks while taking account of the soil conditions in the area.

He also disclosed plans to address drainage concerns along the completed section of the highway, saying service lanes and drainage channels were being incorporated to improve the evacuation of floodwater.

‘We are creating five-foot drainage channels on both sides, and culverts will cross the coastal highway to connect to Lagos State drainage channels that lead to the lagoon,’ he said.

Umahi maintained that the road was designed to withstand the environmental and traffic pressures associated with the coastal corridor.

The Federal Ministry of Finance has similarly said the highway is being constructed with continuously reinforced concrete pavement, designed for a minimum lifespan of 50 years with minimal maintenance.

The zeal with which the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu went about the Lagos-Calabar Superhighway upon its assumption of office in 2023 left no one in doubt that this is one government that is interested in connecting different parts of the country with quality roads. After the debate that the Lagos-Calabar Road was only a southern affair, the administration added the Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway to balance things out. Though I would say that not much is being heard about the Sokoto-Badagry Road, much noise and drama have concentrated on the Lagos-Calabar concrete Road.

Although not many Nigerians appeared convinced about the urgency of the project at the time it kick-started, the fact that the government was bent on making a statement with the project is not in doubt. While questions persist on the design, the cost, and the environmental impact reports, the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, had made it the topmost point of his agenda to supervise, discuss, debate, and inspect the road at regular intervals.

Some bureaucrats said that the plan for the road has been in the books of the Federal Government for a long time. They said the same of the Sokoto-Badagry Road, which some said was spoken of several times by the late President Shehu Shagari in the Second Republic. It is doubtful if the longevity of the idea can answer for its urgency at this time. Well, as we speak, the question of whether the contract should be given or not is off the table. The deed has been done. What Nigerians can demand right now is that the contractors should ensure a good job is done.

We have seen that nothing can take away the intent of Tinubu’s administration to execute the Lagos-Calabar and Sokoto-Badagry Superhighways. But not a few Nigerians are of the view that there is something to learn from history. We read in the books that the Royal Niger Company, which transferred the ownership of Nigeria to the British authorities, had earmarked access to sources of raw materials as a key policy initiative. We learnt that as a result of the need to easily ferry the raw materials from the inner routes down to the sea, the railway was construed as the veritable mode of communication. The channelization of rail access was also said to have been designed in a way that emphasised the business of the colonialists-ferrying resources as quickly as possible back to the home country. So, you saw that the rail stations and the road networks that were designed and all linked together in a way that fast-tracked the assignment of the British and enhanced the transfer of the much-desired goods to the ferry at the sea.

I do not know what business model was relied upon by the Tinubu government in zeroing in on the Lagos-Calabar and Sokoto-Badagry Roads as the most important superhighways in 2023. I am, however, convinced that if a simple survey had been undertaken among Nigerians in arriving at the answer, many would easily pick out the Lagos-Abuja Superhighway as a pressing priority. The traffic between Lagos and Abuja has been the heaviest in recent years, either by road or by air. The Abuja -Lagos route has become the most lucrative for airlines since the movement of the federal capital to the FCT. And if the government were to build a modern rail system to join a superhighway, commuting around the country, as well as tourism, would be greatly enhanced. If the government were to adopt a Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) model or a model of concessioning that would ensure the road is tolled, investors across the globe would easily jump at it. How the shrewd businessmen that surround this government missed that opportunity beats one hollow.

It is, however, better late than never; David Umahi can still swing his engineering wand and land us the Lagos-Abuja Superhighway, linked with an express train system. It is even a surprise that governments over the years have failed to configure an expressway linking Lagos with the new capital. As it is, the expressway that should link Lagos to Abuja was terminated at Ilesa, Osun State. One cannot explain why the military, which actualized the movement of the nation’s political capital from Lagos to Abuja, did not contemplate an expressway to facilitate the movement of the people to the new capital. After Ilesa, a tiny, winding road navigates through Akure, Ondo State, parts of Akokoland, and to Kabba, in Kogi, or if you take the one to the right after Owo, you navigate through Ibillo, Ogorimagogo, and then Okene and Lokoja. Either route is a traffic snare. I was even told that the Ibillo end has been abandoned long ago, after it became a den of kidnappers.

Whether it is for the fancy of linking a nation’s economic capital to the political capital or we are determined to tap into the huge business opportunity provided by the relentless traffic around the Lagos-Abuja corridor, it makes sense to initiate the Lagos-Abuja Superhighway right now.

There is a message here for Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy. I was told he comes from one end of Akoko and that his compatriot, Olubunmi Tunji Ojo, the Minister of Interior, also hails from Ondo North, the area that houses the route that links Ondo with Kabba, Kogi State, which serves as the current plausible linkage between Abuja and Lagos. If the gentlemen would want to write their names in the hearts of their people, this is the time to lobby every segment of the federal system to approve the construction of a Lagos-Abuja Superhighway that would pass through their native land.

If finance is the challenge that would keep such a project at bay, I do not think that the Federal Government has an issue there. In the last two years, a company pioneered by Lagos businessman, Chief Kenny Martins, has highlighted measures by which such a road can be fixed through concession.

Martins, who claimed that the late President Muhammadu Buhari had bought into the project, had announced that his company AEC Unity Network Limited was working on a 470-kilometre Abuja-Lagos Superhighway, which he said would cut travel time between the two capitals to four hours. He spoke in Lagos in 2025, expressing the hope that the Federal Executive Council would give its nod to the project, valued at an estimated cost of $4bn.

Martins had said: ‘The project will take about $4bn, but with issues and adjustments, it can be rounded up to $5bn. The time for completion is four years, and when the road is ready, it will take just four hours to travel from Lagos to Abuja.’

So far, there have not been explanations as to why nothing is being heard from the administration on the project; suffice it to say that the superhighway is a worthy project, either as a public sector-funded assignment or a concession to a private concern. If you ask me, I will prefer that the proposed road and even the Lagos-Calabar project or the Sokoto-Badagry construction are handed through a concession, where strict supervision and adherence to timelines would be guaranteed. The size of the nation’s capital budget votes is another issue here. Last week, the National Assembly extended the capital component of the 2025 budget to December 31, 2026, which means that the N30.22 capital budget for 2026 would not be executed at all. If a project is tied to such uncertainty, you can be sure its fate is already determined before its takeoff.

It is not difficult to know why some simple riddles are so difficult to resolve in Nigeria. We have the Infrastructure Concessioning Regulatory Commission; we have Ministers of Works, who should be eager to deliver on big projects; you have directors of highways, who should want to ensure the road in their locality is motorable all year round. But they end up doing the opposite. Rather than unleash the capacity of the private sector to construct big projects on behalf of government and ensure they recoup their money by tolling the roads, the government has continued to take loans that ended up being subjected to the vagaries of Federal Character. For instance, when the Buhari government started obtaining SUKUK loans, I was shocked to see that a N100 billion loan would be distributed to the six geopolitical zones in equal halves. Tell me how many years a project would have to wait before it would be executed if it relies on such a funding pattern. The preferred option would have been to devote the N100 billion loan to one single project where the fund can make appreciable impact. Governments do unthinkable things in the name of political correctness.

While sounding enthusiastic last year about his company’s proposal for the Abuja-Lagos Superhighway, Chief Martins said that the company has devoted six years to the planned project. He said that the superhighway will connect Abuja, the Federal Capital, with Lagos, the economic hub, and open up communities in the Federal Capital Territory, Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ekiti, Kwara, Kogi, and Niger. He also spoke of a spur to Baro Port.

‘The superhighway will facilitate easier and cheaper means of commuting by road between the two great cities. It will also provide a convenient alternative for those travelling to any of the states along the corridor,’ Martins said.

By all means, the superhighway is long overdue, and the Minister of Works shouldn’t waste much time bringing it to life.

Borno State Governor, Prof. Babagana Umara Zulum, on Sunday commissioned road and bridge projects spanning more than 86 kilometres in Gombe State, commending his Gombe counterpart, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, for delivering what he described as transformative infrastructure and people-oriented development across the state.

Zulum commissioned the newly completed 41-kilometre Shango-Sarkin Yaki-Abuja/Bula-Bomala-Dinawa-Alagarno-Kalajanga-Tappi Road in Kwami Local Government Area, alongside other road and bridge projects delivered under Governor Inuwa Yahaya’s Network-1100 initiative.

The 41-kilometre road connects several communities along the Gombe-Tappi corridor and terminates at Tappi on the Gombe-Kano Highway.

The road is expected to improve connectivity between Gombe metropolis and rural communities while opening up access to farmlands, markets and other economic opportunities.

Other projects commissioned included the 30-kilometre Kwanan Gerkwami-Tsangayari-Gerkwami-Daniya-Daban Fulani Road, the 15-kilometre Kurba-Titi-Tsangayari Road with a spur to Kundulum, and the three-span Titi-Kurba Bridge, bringing the total length of the newly commissioned roads to more than 86 kilometres.

Speaking during the commissioning ceremonies, Zulum said improved road infrastructure would stimulate agricultural production, strengthen rural economies and enhance the livelihoods of communities.

‘Construction of roads connecting cities to rural communities will no doubt expand farming opportunities, thereby enhancing the means of livelihood of the community,’ he said.

The Borno governor described the scale of development achieved under Inuwa Yahaya as unprecedented in the history of Gombe State.

‘I want to use this platform to commend His Excellency, Governor Inuwa Yahaya, for all the good works that he has been doing in Gombe. Such kind of development is unprecedented in the history of Gombe State,’ Zulum said.

He added, ‘Honestly, I did not know that Gombe had witnessed this level of development under the present administration. Governor Inuwa Yahaya is a Governor known and respected for his uncommon performance, and I am pleased to have come to Gombe and witnessed these remarkable achievements for myself.’

The Borno governor added, ‘I must say that the people of Gombe are indeed fortunate to have a Governor who is so committed to their development. I therefore urge the people to reciprocate this selfless service by supporting and appreciating the Governor’s efforts to transform the state.’

Presenting the projects for commissioning at the various locations, Inuwa Yahaya said the roads were strategically designed to link communities, improve mobility and unlock the economic potential of areas along the corridors.

He described the projects as part of his administration’s sustained investment in critical infrastructure aimed at connecting communities, expanding economic opportunities and improving the quality of life of the people.

The projects are being implemented under the Network-1100 programme, which targets the construction of approximately 1,100 kilometres of roads across Gombe State’s 11 local government areas.

The Gombe governor said that, as his administration entered the final phase of its tenure, more than 1,000 kilometres of roads had already been constructed, representing a major milestone in the state’s infrastructure development drive.

He added that the expanded road network would facilitate the movement of people and agricultural produce, improve access to markets and services, and strengthen economic activities across Gombe State.

At all the locations, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Works, Danladi Adamu, gave a detailed overview of the projects.