Nigeria, March 5 -- For some days now, I have found myself engaged in discussions on the economic relevance and priority of two crucial infrastructure projects: the Coastal Road and the Fourth Mainland Bridge. Both have been discussed in planning circles for decades. The 4th Mainland Bridge was first conceptualised in the mid-2000s under Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu, with its design approved around 2008, but it has since seen intermittent revival efforts without firm construction. The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, a federal initiative, embodies a much older vision of linking Nigeria's coastal corridor, and has recently seen early construction activity after years of planning.

It is tempting, no doubt, to follow the money - interrogate pro...