The Federal Government has drawn criticism after renaming the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway in honour of President Bola Tinubu, with opponents accusing the administration of turning national projects into personal monuments.
Minister of Works David Umahi announced the decision during a press briefing in Abuja on Thursday, making the coastal highway the sixth public institution or infrastructure to bear the President’s name since he took office in May 2023.
Among the facilities previously named after Tinubu are the National Assembly library, the Nigeria Immigration Service’s technology complex in Abuja, a Nigerian Army barracks in Asokoro, the Bola Ahmed Tinubu Polytechnic in Gwarinpa, the Abuja International Conference Centre and the Minna International Airport.
The decision has sparked strong reactions from opposition figures and civil society groups.
African Democratic Congress National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, condemned the move, describing it as “the highest form of sycophancy” and arguing that public infrastructure funded by taxpayers should not be personalised.
He said, “You cannot be using public money to build public infrastructure and personalising it. But this APC government has turned the state to personal property and everything around President Bola Tinubu.
“It is the highest form of sycophancy that we have ever witnessed, not even under military rule. It is also indecent. You cannot be naming things after yourself. When you serve the nation, the nation names things after you. It is very wrong.”
Also faulting the decision, National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement, Dr Yinusa Tanko, questioned why an unfinished project was being named after the President.
“It doesn’t make sense at all. It goes to tell you the kind of will for power and control. Even the project has not been completed and you are naming it after yourself. It has not even gotten up to a quarter,” he said.
Former PDP Deputy National Chairman, Bode George, urged the government to slow down, warning that more attention should be paid to environmental concerns and public safety.
“Kadan kadan, wanyo wanyo, e te jeje oo (Take it easy). Calabar to Lagos is a long journey. So, I don’t know what is the hurry,” George said.
Human rights lawyer Inibehe Effiong also criticised the development, calling it “completely misguided” and saying it reflected the growing personalisation of governance.
He said, “It is usually what autocratic and dictatorial leaders behave in this manner. What they are doing is personalisation of governance.
“The fact that an incumbent President is obsessed with having national monuments, institutions and infrastructure named after him during his tenure is a reinforcement of the diabolical ‘Emilokan’ ideology.”
The Executive Director of the International Society for Social Justice and Human Rights, Jackson Omenazu, maintained that such honours should only come after a leader has made outstanding contributions to national development, urging the President to focus on addressing the country’s economic challenges.
Offering a different view, President of the Nigerian Society of International Affairs, Prof Hassan Saliu, said the move could simply be a symbolic gesture by supporters rather than the President’s personal decision.
He noted that naming public institutions after political leaders is a common practice in many African countries.
However, supporters defended the decision. Former Oyo State Deputy Governor Hazeem Gbolarumi said there was nothing unusual about the renaming, while 2027 presidential hopeful Prof Christopher Imumolen urged Nigerians to focus on the economic importance of the coastal highway instead of the controversy over its name.
Kwara APC Chairman, Prince Sunday Fagbemi, also dismissed the criticism, insisting that completing the project should be the government’s priority rather than the debate over its new name.