by Opuiyo Oforiokuma

Managing Director/CEO

ARM Harith Infrastructure Investment Ltd

As I present this foreword for ALP’s third version of the ALP Business review, I have to borrow from my own words by reiterating that dealing with Nigeria’s infrastructure deficit is daunting but not impossible. I would categorically say that it is a challenge which can be surmounted if we – government and the private sector – adopt a planned and structured approach. It is quite clear that the infrastructure gap is a major impediment to Nigeria’s socioeconomic growth. Much more than the various problems highlighted by local and international financial organizations like the World bank, the UNDP, etc., the apparent inability of successive Nigerian governments historically to create sustainable programs for infrastructure development is a significant weakness that must now be addressed.
Infrastructure development, and any other kind of major long term projects, require careful assessment of the associated risks and benefits. There also needs to be provision for financial stability and for good stakeholder relationship management, during project execution. As the old adage goes: “Swallowing the elephant whole will lead to choking or indigestion; thus it’s best to eat the elephant in bite-sized chunks”. In essence, the import is that Nigeria’s infrastructure gap must be approached in manageable segments, and in a structured and disciplined way.
The 30-year Nigerian Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan (NIIMP) estimates a requirement of US$3 trillion over the plan horizon, US$166 billion of which was forecast to arise during the first five years (2014 – 2018). In addition, 48% of the cost in the first five years was assumed to come from the private sector. Assuming the NIIMP figures to be a fair estimate, they translate into an average of US$100 billion annually over 30 years. Two things should now be apparent to all who care to consider this issue : that the public private partnership model has a key role to play in dealing with Nigeria’s infrastructure deficit, and that together, the Nigerian government and private investors must establish a system of funding that will enable the long term delivery of infrastructure projects in Nigeria. These and many other issues are dealt with in this edition of ALP Business review. Also kindly see my article amongst the various other good publications within. Happy reading!