Nigeria’s Consultants & The Cost Of Failed Infrastructure: Why Accountability Cannot Wait
By EMEM BENSON (on behalf of Engr. Okon Nkpubre)
How Consultants Became Part of Nigeria’s Development Problem
FOR years, I have become increasingly convinced that one of the least discussed contributors to Nigeria’s slow development is the role played by consultants engaged on major public infrastructure projects.
Whenever conversations focus on failed industries, abandoned projects and wasted public investments, attention often shifts to politicians and contractors. Yet I believe another critical group deserves equal scrutiny—consultants whose professional responsibility is to provide technically sound advice regardless of political pressure.
In my view, Nigeria possesses abundant natural resources and a highly skilled workforce. What has repeatedly undermined national progress is not necessarily the absence of development plans, but the failure to protect technical decisions from political interference.
When Technical Advice Gives Way to Politics
Major industrial projects that once promised to transform Nigeria into a manufacturing and industrial giant now stand as reminders of missed opportunities.
The Ajaokuta Steel Complex, Delta Steel Company, Oshogbo Machine Tools Factory, Aluminium Smelting Plant and several other strategic investments consumed enormous public resources but have largely failed to deliver their intended economic impact.
From my perspective, these projects did not simply fail because of funding shortages or poor execution. They were conceived, designed and supervised under the watch of consultants who were expected to defend professional standards.
Instead, I believe many technical decisions became subordinate to political interests, ethnic considerations and powerful individuals determined to influence project outcomes.
The result has been decades of underperformance despite billions of naira invested.
Engineering Principles Should Never Be Negotiable
One lesson engineering teaches is that natural systems resist artificial alteration.
Whenever designers force infrastructure to operate against natural environmental conditions, nature eventually restores its original balance—often at tremendous financial cost.
To me, this principle explains why location decisions for major maritime infrastructure should never be dictated by political convenience.
The Calabar Seaport as a Lesson
The Calabar Seaport illustrates what I consider one of Nigeria’s most enduring engineering mistakes.
Instead of locating the facility where natural maritime conditions were most favourable, political considerations allegedly influenced its siting deep inside the shallow Calabar River.
Because the river naturally accumulates sediment, continuous dredging has become unavoidable simply to keep the channel operational.
Rather than serving as a catalyst for sustainable maritime growth, the port has struggled under recurring maintenance costs that many engineers believe could have been largely avoided through better technical planning.
Questions Surrounding the Ibaka Deep Seaport
It is this same concern that shapes my long-standing position on the Ibaka Deep Seaport controversy.
I remain troubled that consultants who participated in comprehensive due diligence studies reportedly reversed their earlier technical conclusions within a relatively short period.
Ordinarily, engineering reviews should explain changes through measurable technical evidence supported by established design parameters.
Instead, I believe the later location assessment departed from accepted engineering methodology and introduced evaluation criteria that remain difficult to justify technically.
For me, this raises legitimate questions about transparency, professional ethics and regulatory oversight.
Professional Institutions Must Defend Engineering Integrity
As someone who later practised engineering consultancy after leaving public service, I have personally encountered the consequences of poor technical design.
One assignment involved reviewing a boatyard project where what had been constructed simply could not perform its intended function because of fundamental design errors.
Experiences such as this reinforce my belief that engineering institutions cannot remain silent whenever questionable professional practices emerge.
I therefore believe organisations such as the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) and the Association for Consulting Engineering in Nigeria (ACEN) should investigate controversial consultancy decisions whenever credible concerns arise.
Development Should Rise Above Politics
Several independent feasibility studies over the years have reportedly identified Ibaka Bay as possessing natural advantages for deep-sea maritime infrastructure.
The same location has repeatedly featured in proposals relating to industrial development, petroleum logistics and export facilities.
To me, this consistency deserves serious consideration rather than political reinterpretation.
Development decisions should ultimately be driven by technical evidence rather than competing political narratives.
An Appeal for Fairness and National Interest
As debates over the Deep Seaport continue, I remain convinced that correcting what I consider a flawed decision would benefit not only one community but Nigeria’s broader economic future.
I also believe political leaders have an opportunity to demonstrate fairness by revisiting decisions that remain controversial.
Ultimately, sustainable national development depends upon restoring integrity to professional practice, respecting objective technical evidence and ensuring that infrastructure decisions are guided by competence instead of political expediency.
