Stop Building Flyovers and Feed Your People
Tinubu tells governors to stop vanity projects, demands SA compensation, 10 Commonwealth golds, flood warning for 6.5m.
Good morning,
President Tinubu has a message for the governors: stop building empty flyovers and start funding your people. At a State House meeting last week, he told them to abandon politically popular but economically useless infrastructure projects. He singled out massive flyovers in places with no traffic, arguing that states are now receiving four to five times their historical revenues after the removal of the petrol subsidy. There is no fiscal excuse for failing to deliver tangible improvements to the poorest citizens. A massive flyover in a sleepy state capital provides zero economic value if the surrounding communities lack basic clinics or functional primary schools. He connected this failure directly to the security crisis, noting that extreme poverty and state absence create the perfect breeding ground for banditry. The message is clear: build roads into remote areas, fund healthcare, educate the children. Or keep building flyovers and watch the country burn.
While the President lectures governors, Nigeria is demanding compensation from South Africa for victims of recent xenophobic violence. The government has already evacuated nearly 1,500 citizens and is now seeking payment for those who lost property. The diplomatic pressure is intensifying. The question is whether Pretoria will pay or resist.
And there is good news. Team Nigeria finished as the top African nation at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, securing 10 gold medals and placing seventh overall in the global standings. A dominant final weekend in track-and-field and para-powerlifting delivered the country’s best performance in recent history. For a moment, the news is about triumph. For a moment, we remember what we are capable of.
But the victories are tempered by warnings. The Nigerian Red Cross has issued an emergency climate alert, warning that severe floodwaters threaten over 151 communities and 6.5 million residents. Disaster agencies are urging authorities to clear drainage systems and prepare evacuation shelters. The 2022 floods devastated communities across Nigeria. The question is whether the government will act or wait for the floodwaters to rise.
Meanwhile, BUA Group is spending $85 million to expand its private port facilities, increasing raw material import capacity to two million metric tonnes annually. The private sector is building because the public sector cannot. And Nigeria’s US auto imports have risen 41.3% to $602 million in the first five months of 2026. The demand for foreign vehicles is growing. The question is whether local manufacturers can compete.
Warmly,
Lolade