By Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, SAN
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The Geo-Political and Localized Devastation: The Ondo State Realignment
A major geographical and legal controversy has emerged regarding the Ondo State section of the highway, where the Federal Ministry of Works altered the original route.
The Inland Diversion (Bypassing the Coast)
Local stakeholder groups, backed by institutional frameworks like the pan-Yoruba group Afenifere and the Ilaje Committee of Lawyers, the Itsekiri and Iwere Groups, traditional rulers and opinion moulders have raised alarm over the realignment that diverts the highway inland through parts of Edo State, bypassing Ondo’s approximately 100-kilometer coastline. This is not a matter to be dismissed with a wave of the hand, as the federal government seems to be doing apparently, given the grave but ominous silence that has characterized the response to these basic agitations. No one should lose sight of the original concept of the Coastal Highway project, going by its name and design. Let us take from one of the sound arguments propounded by those concerned which is hereunder adapted and reproduced.
A road is never merely a road when properly conceived and strategically aligned. A major highway can transform communities, open markets, create employment, stimulate investment, connect previously isolated populations and redefine the economic destiny of an entire region. A project conceived as a Coastal Highway should not, without compelling and demonstrable reasons, substantially bypass the coastal communities of Ondo State. That is why the controversy surrounding the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and the reported alteration of its alignment in Ondo State deserves more than political commentary. It deserves facts, transparency, professional scrutiny and responsible public engagement.
IT’S AN ISSUE OF NATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE
The first point that must be established is that this is not merely an Ilaje issue, the matter transcends Ilaje. It is an Ondo State issue, a Niger Delta issue, a national development issue and ultimately an issue of equitable infrastructure planning. The agitation must not be reduced to a local or sectional demand. Ilaje is an integral part of Ondo State, and its coastal communities form an important component of Nigeria’s Atlantic and Niger Delta environment. Its extensive coastline, waterways, fishing communities, maritime activities and proximity to the Atlantic Ocean place it at the heart of the State’s enormous blue-economy potential. Consequently, when a major Federal infrastructure project intended to traverse and connect Nigeria’s coastal belt allegedly bypasses substantial portions of that coastline, it is entirely legitimate for communities that appear to fall outside a proposed alignment to ask: Why?
Those questions should not be dismissed as agitation for political reasons. And where the explanation is based upon technical considerations, they deserve technical answers, economic answers and policy answers. These questions should not be regarded as hostility. They are the natural questions of citizens whose communities may be materially affected by a major public infrastructure decision. The straightforward fundamental question to ask is, what makes a Coastal Highway “coastal”? Is it merely a highway that eventually connects coastal cities? Or is it intended to create a strategic transportation corridor that opens up, integrates and stimulates development along Nigeria’s coastal belt? The central issue is remarkably simple. If the project is described and conceived as a Coastal Highway, then the relationship between the highway and Nigeria’s actual coastline becomes an important matter of public policy. If the latter is also the objective, then the economic and developmental significance of the Ondo coastline cannot reasonably be ignored. The coastal communities of Ilaje should not merely watch a Coastal Highway pass somewhere inland while they remain disconnected from the transformational opportunities such infrastructure is expected to create. A coastal highway should create more than asphalt. It should create economic corridors, employment, logistics opportunities, tourism, maritime connectivity, industrial development, fisheries expansion, aquaculture, agricultural value chains and access to markets.
RESOLVING THE ALIGNMENT QUAGMIRE
That is precisely why the alignment matters. I acknowledge the reported explanation that the Ondo coastal alignment presents soil and geotechnical challenges. There is nothing unreasonable about engineering considerations influencing the alignment of a major highway. Indeed, any responsible government must consider soil bearing capacity; geotechnical stability; environmental impact; flooding and erosion; construction cost; maintenance requirements; bridges and hydraulic structures; security; traffic projections; economic viability; and long-term sustainability. However, the existence of an engineering challenge does not automatically establish that the only solution is to abandon the coastal alignment. The challenges should lead to a careful assessment of available engineering solutions and alternatives. It should not automatically end the conversation. The question is not whether the terrain is challenging. The question is whether the challenges can be responsibly engineered, at what cost, and with what long-term benefit to Nigeria. That is a question for qualified engineers, environmental experts, economists, planners and other relevant professionals. And that is precisely why the matter deserves a transparent technical conversation. If the terrain is the reason for the deviation, Nigerians should be able to see the technical basis for that decision.
What are the geotechnical findings? What alternative routes were investigated? What are the comparative construction costs? What are the environmental implications? What is the projected economic benefit of each alignment? What is the long-term maintenance cost? And what additional infrastructure would be required to connect the bypassed coastal communities? These are not hostile questions. They are legitimate questions in a democracy concerning a major public infrastructure project. The coastal environment is undoubtedly challenging. But engineering challenges should invite engineering solutions. The argument that a terrain is difficult should be approached with the question, “How can it be engineered?” And not “How can it be avoided?”
Modern engineering has demonstrated that infrastructure can be constructed across difficult terrains, wetlands, riverine environments, mangrove ecosystems and areas with complex soil conditions. This does not mean that every proposed coastal alignment is automatically feasible or economically sensible. Rather, it means that the technical feasibility of the Ondo coastline deserves a rigorous and independent assessment before it is effectively written off. The people of Ilaje know their environment. Engineers understand science. Government possesses the institutional capacity. Let all three knowledge systems meet at the table. The approximately 100-kilometre coastline attributed to Ondo State is an enormous economic asset, not a geographical burden and should not be viewed merely as difficult terrain or considered only in terms of the difficulty it may pose to construction. It should also be considered in terms of the avalanche opportunities and the enormous potential such as: Blue Economy; Fisheries; Aquaculture; Maritime Transportation; Tourism; Ports and Tourism; Logistics; Energy; Agriculture; Industrial Development; Coastal Trade and many others. The Nigeria Federal Government is increasingly seeking to diversify its economy and expand its blue economy potential. A strategically planned coastal infrastructure corridor could therefore become much more than a transportation project. It could become an economic development corridor. That possibility deserves serious consideration. It therefore becomes even more important that the infrastructure connecting Nigeria’s coastal corridor should be planned with the economic potential of these communities in mind. A road through the area could become the catalyst for an entirely new economic ecosystem.
The fact that communication infrastructure traversed portions of these environments during the colonial era, and that major infrastructure has subsequently been developed in comparable coastal environments across Nigeria, reinforces the need for serious technical investigation rather than assumptions about impossibility. The issue is not whether modern engineering can defeat nature. Rather, it is whether the cost, engineering requirements and long-term benefits justify the investment. That is a question capable of being answered objectively.”
THE EQUAL DEVELOPMENT QUESTION
The development of Edo State, Delta State and Ondo State should be complementary, and I have no objection whatsoever to the development of any other part of Nigeria. Ilaje like every other Nigerian community deserves infrastructural development. Development should never be presented as a competition between Nigerian states. The objective should be to create interconnected economic corridors in which one state’s development reinforces another’s. Therefore, the argument should not be “Ondo versus Edo.” It should be “How can Nigeria obtain the greatest developmental benefit from the entire coastal corridor?” That is the higher national question. Constructive engagement is not and should never be seen as rebellion. The reported visit of the Honourable Minister of Works to Igbokoda is therefore commendable. A government that engages directly with affected communities demonstrates democratic responsiveness. The next logical step should be deeper technical and stakeholder engagement.
The “Real Coastal” Necessity
Legally and economically, bypassing the actual coastline defeats the project’s primary statutory objectives. The original route was designated to open up neglected, oil-producing littoral communities in the Ilaje local government area. It was meant to link strategic economic frontiers like Araromi Beach (a major eco-tourism hub) directly to Lagos and the South-South.
The Legal Argument for Invalidation
Bypassing these communities violates the core equity principles of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) Act and infrastructure development mandates. While the Ministry of Works defended the alteration by citing severe “soil challenges” and coastal terrain issues, legal analysts and marine engineering experts argue that modern civil engineering has tamed similar terrains globally. Forcing an inland path strips the Ilaje people of their right to infrastructural inclusion, turning a generation-defining “coastal” highway into a standard mainland expansion that abandons the very communities anchoring Nigeria’s maritime economy.
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