2027 presidential aspirant, Abayomi Mighty as described the recent ribbon-cutting ceremony for a mere 30 kilometers of the proposed 750-kilometer Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, hailed as a milestone by President Bola Tinubu’s administration, as nothing short of a national embarrassment.
He added that the grandiose spectacle celebration of a paltry 4% of an incomplete project shows a disturbing trend of prioritizing optics over substance.
Abayomi Mighty joined his voice with other critics, including a Lagos-based health commissioner, Prof. Akin Abayomi, who rightly described the commissioning as a charade, pointing to it as a mockery of Nigeria’s infrastructure ambitions.
Abayomi Mighty maintained that the event held on May 31, 2025, reeks of political desperation, attempting to dress up mediocrity as progress while the nation grapples with economic hardship and crumbling public services. Adding that such displays erode public trust and expose a leadership more concerned with photo ops than delivering tangible results.
The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, touted as a flagship project, was meant to revolutionize connectivity and economic growth across Nigeria’s southern and southeastern regions. Yet, commissioning a fragment of this ambitious 750-kilometer corridor—barely enough to cover a short commute—highlights a dangerous precedent: “the normalization of incomplete delivery as an achievement” He said
Worse still, this ribbon-cutting farce distracts from the broader economic and infrastructural crises plaguing Nigeria. While Tinubu’s government trumpets this negligible progress, citizens face soaring inflation, a cost-of-living crisis, and neglected public infrastructure.
Abayomi Mighty added that Tinubu’s economic reforms, including fuel subsidy removal, have exacerbated hardship, yet resources are funneled into ceremonial displays rather than addressing these urgent needs. The Lagos-Calabar project, initiated with promises of economic transformation, has instead become a symbol of mismanagement. This piecemeal approach mocks the public’s expectations and undermines the credibility of Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Abayomi Mighty concluded that the ribbon-cutting for a fraction of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is not just a disgrace but a dangerous betrayal of public trust. It exemplifies a leadership that prioritizes propaganda over performance, squandering opportunities to address Nigeria’s real challenges. The Tinubu administration must abandon this obsession with hollow victories and focus on delivering measurable outcomes.