The Managing Director of Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Bismarck Rewane, has described Nigeria as a graveyard of abandoned projects and criticized the federal government’s Highway Development Management Initiative as a burden on growth.
Rewane made this disclosure in his presentation at this month’s Lagos Business School Breakfast Session titled “Nigeria in 2025: Breakthrough or Fall through.”
He urged the government to build a resilient economy to restore Nigeria’s global relevance.
He cautioned that postponing efforts to establish a resilient economy would be costly for Nigeria, while inaction could have devastating consequences.
“Nigeria is like a morgue of abandoned projects. Easy to start and easier to kill. The federal government in 2022 came up with the novel idea of highway concessioning,” Rewane said. “In all, about 19 federal highways were selected for rehabilitation and tolling. The Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved and reached financial closure with investors.”
However, he argued that the noble goals of the HDMI were derailed by the current Federal Minister of Works, who first served as a catalyst but later became a hindrance.
He stated that the derailment of the HDMI turned a promising initiative into a nightmare, halting N11.54 trillion in private investment.
Rewrite warned that if the HDMI fails, private capital will shy away from future infrastructure projects in roads, power, ports, and railways.
He noted that Nigeria is still recovering from the Lekki-Epe concession failure and warned that the country cannot afford another high-profile setback.
“investors are licking their wounds, and Nigerian road6 users are suffering, smiling and hoping for the best,” he said.