By Zayyad I. Muhammad
The Federal Government of Nigeria owns thousands of abandoned and incomplete buildings, roads, dams, electricity, etc, projects, vast tracts of unused land, thousands of obsolete and unserviceable vehicles, and millions of scrap machines and equipment scattered across the country. These assets, though neglected, represent significant untapped potential that could be leveraged to generate much-needed revenue.
Both the federal and state governments need additional funds to finance developmental and humanitarian programs and sustain ongoing projects and programs. The solution to this financial challenge may lie in the assets that have been left to deteriorate. By auctioning some of these assets, commercializing others through private sector participation, and completing abandoned projects, the government can unlock substantial revenue streams.
For instance, Nigeria has thousands of kilometers of abandoned or dilapidated federal highways. Rehabilitating and conventionalizing these roads through private sector involvement would improve infrastructure and generate revenue for the government. This approach would shift the financial burden from the public purse to private investors, who would fund the construction or rehabilitation of the roads and recoup their investments through tolling.
In 2022, the Federal Government introduced the Highway Development and Management Initiative (HDMI), a commendable program that identified 19 federal highways for rehabilitation and tolling. However, recent reports suggest that the current Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, has become a bottleneck to the initiative.
As Bismarck Rewane, Managing Director of Financial Derivatives Company Limited (FDC), noted, “This idea was thwarted with the entrance of the current Federal Minister of Works, who came into the picture, first as a catalyst and next as a spoiler.”
The President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration should prioritise reviving schemes to convert abandoned properties, highways, lands, vehicles, machinery, and other assets into sustainable revenue streams. However, the process must be meticulously planned, transparent, and supported by robust legislation and institutions. Given Nigeria’s history of failed concessions and partnerships, neither private sector players nor international investors will be willing to participate without these safeguards.
Failures include the Lekki-Epe Concession, Ajaokuta Steel Company’s 2004 concession to GSHL (revoked in 2008), Lagos-Ibadan Expressway’s 2009 concession to Bi-Courtney (revoked in 2012), and the Nigerian Ports Concession program, where operators failed to meet obligations due to weak enforcement and oversight. Another case is the ALSCON concession to UC Rusal, leading to ownership disputes and legal battles.
To succeed, the government must learn from past mistakes and create an enabling environment that fosters trust and accountability. By doing so, Nigeria can transform its abandoned assets into a goldmine of opportunities, driving economic growth and development for the benefit of all.
Zayyad I. Muhammad writes from Abuja via zaymohd@yahoo.com.