The Tinubu Media Support Group (TMSG) has responded to former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s criticism of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project, arguing that it is comparable to the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, which he constructed during his tenure as military head of state in 1978.
The group stated that if the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway was not considered wasteful at the time, the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway cannot be dismissed as needless and wasteful, as the former president has suggested.
In his latest book, Obasanjo described the 700-kilometre Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, a legacy project of the Bola Tinubu administration, as wasteful. However, in a statement signed by its Chairman, Emeka Nwankpa, and Secretary, Dapo Okubanjo, TMSG countered this claim, noting that if the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway was not deemed wasteful in 1978, the same cannot be said of the coastal highway.
The statement read: “We are as shocked, jolted, and disappointed as many Nigerians by the dismissive remarks about the 700-kilometre Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway attributed to former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
“The former president is said to have labelled this ongoing legacy project of the Tinubu administration as wasteful and corrupt in his latest book, Nigeria: Past and Future. However, we wonder how he arrived at this conclusion. Is he burdened by memory loss or selective amnesia, often associated with advancing age? Or is this simply a case of envy from a man whose records are being incrementally eclipsed before his very eyes?
“We are compelled to ask these pertinent questions because this is a project that the administration has repeatedly described as one largely funded by the contractor under an Engineering, Procurement, Construction, and Financing (EPC&F) arrangement, with counterpart funding from the federal government.
“We also wonder what could prompt the former president to describe a highway designed to open up coastal areas and link nine states in such a derogatory and loquacious manner.
“Moreover, we see striking similarities between the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, inaugurated by General Obasanjo in 1978, and the ongoing Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway being constructed by the innovative Bola Tinubu administration.
“The 127.6-kilometre Lagos-Ibadan Expressway was built to connect Ibadan and Lagos but has since become a major route linking the northern, southern, and eastern regions of Nigeria. It has spurred development in numerous communities along its route, including the flourishing industrial estates in Ogun State.
“Similarly, the Coastal Highway will unlock the blue economy’s potential and industrial value chains in coastal communities, while significantly reducing travel time between the nine connecting states, among other remarkable benefits.
“Obasanjo has also criticised the completion of the official residence of the vice president. Again, his stance is unwelcome and unexpected, particularly from a former president who initially initiated the project. Successive administrations under his political party, the PDP, wasted billions on the project before abandoning it.
“In our view, former President Obasanjo’s position on these two issues is not rooted in altruism. Rather, it reflects his habitual tendency to unnecessarily criticise sitting presidents—a practice that has continued to diminish his standing and credibility as a statesman.”
TMSG also condemned the former president’s sweeping condemnation of Nigeria’s past leadership, describing it as a character flaw that stands out like a sore thumb.
The group acknowledged its respect for elder statesmen but urged Obasanjo to use his later years to rebuild his tarnished image and regain the respect of Nigerians.
“It is not too late for Africa’s longest-serving military leader, who handed power to a democratically elected civilian government, to redeem his legacy. He would do well to resist the frequent urge to descend further into ignominy, so that history may judge him kindly.
“We were not surprised that the former president issued a blanket condemnation of those who have held leadership positions in the country.
“This reflects a messianic complex. How else can one describe a former leader who labelled past political officeholders as ‘ill-prepared, satanic, self-centred, and solely focused on corrupt self-enrichment, while the nation continues to wallow in abject poverty’? Haba, Obasanjo!
“Yet, this is the same man who, as president, approved the establishment of a private university for himself at a time when Nigeria’s public universities were shut down for a cumulative 18 months due to poor funding.
“Moreover, while the former president speaks glibly about poverty in Nigeria, few may realise that the poverty rate when he left office in 2003 was 48.4 per cent, a result of poorly conceived policies.
“In fact, we assert that some of Obasanjo’s policies laid the groundwork for the exponential rise in poverty across the nation. At the time, the government’s response was to distribute tricycles, popularly known as Keke Napep, as a poverty alleviation measure, while other developing countries like India and Brazil implemented social welfare schemes that lifted millions out of poverty,” the statement added.
