•The culture of commissioning uncompleted projects must stop

The rate at which state and federal governments in Nigeria rush to commission projects at various stages of completion has become alarming. This is more noticeable towards the end of a chief executive’s tenure. It is a testimony to the vainglorious tendencies in political leaders. They are not men ready to share the stage with any other. It is not enough that there is already a plaque showing that the said project was flagged off during their administration, it must bear an announcement that it was completed even when that is palpably false.

In the run-up to the change of baton at the state and federal levels last year, this tendency played out again. In some states, projects that had witnessed abandonment for years were swiftly dusted up, contractors mobilised to site and instructed to ensure they were somehow made ready for inauguration before May 29. Many of them being houses, bridges and roads, the integrity of the construction is subject of agitation among the people.

Besides, in a country where successors are unwilling to complete uncompleted projects hurriedly commissioned by their predecessors, there are fears that the money expended on such projects could have been wasted.

We call for a stop to such nefarious activities. As it has been said many times, governance is a continuum. No single person or government is in position to meet all the social, political and economic needs of the people. Even in the highly industrialised societies, there are so many things that are not yet in place and could engage the attention of succeeding administrations.

It is unfortunate that many of those who find themselves in leadership positions in Nigeria lack decency and integrity, which is the only explanation for such vanity. Henceforth, any government that fails to keep to the design and quality template for any project should be subject to prosecution. This may sound harsh, but has become inevitable in the interest of the country.

Last year, as reality of departure from office dawned, many state governments, in total disregard for decorum, rushed to put their names on uncompleted projects. In Cross River State, where Professor Ben Ayade held sway, a signature project, the super highway that cuts across about three-quarters of the local government areas of the state, was one of those hurriedly and prematurely inaugurated projects. While, as the people, especially motorists attested, work had already gone a long way, it still had some way to go. But, the governor was in a haste to put his name on the project as the one who conceived and inaugurated it. The new government still has work to do to complete it.

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