Infrastructure Nigeria Agency – A catalyst for national infrastructure development

BY OKIDE EZIGBO

Dear Mr. Bababtunde Fashola, minister of power, works and housing,

In my search to dialog with any key national executive on a sustainable model-solution that can fix Nigeria’s infrastructural debacle primarily caused by Government’s long-term infrastructural inertia, I took time to research on the public service and personal philosophy of Mr. Fashola, the current Nigeria’s Federal Minister of Power, Works and Housing.

Sir, going by your current ministerial portfolio and having researched your career (its lows and highs), your exemplary life of public service and your introspective philosophy on personal wealth, financial prosperity and national development, you are the right national executive to engage a discuss with on a solution hunt to catalyze Nigeria’s infrastructural development.

The reason I selected this mode of communication is that I seek to energize the ongoing national dialogue on selecting a sustainable infrastructural solution for the needy public….yes, “needy public” because this inertia has gone on for too long.

It is time to try something new, a new approach that would de-emphasize the popular “Strong-Man-mentality” procumbent approach and in replacement adopt an approach that would focus on developing, onboarding and sustaining a processes-driven-solution that will outlive generations.

I read your brilliant write-ups on all that you aspire to achieve during your ministerial tenure. Laudable and Fanned! However, as I read these in repeats, I observed that a notable deficiency that may derail this aspired achievement is an obvious lacking focus on a sustainable “Process”.

In the national search to plug this infrastructural conundrum, a lot of interest groups have advocated several solutions such as; scraping “The Bank of Industry”, Incorporation of a “National Development Bank”, or incorporation of an “Infrastructural Bank”. These suggested solutions do not address a fundamental core on how invested capital will be applied and managed to achieve maximum value for the investing public. These proposed bank driven solutions will give the nation just another “bank” that will focus on fundamental bottom line; Revenue, Liquidity and Profit.

It’s a fact that most of Nigeria’s Capital infrastructural Investments are plagued with outsized or inflated costs largely due to opaque or ancient procurement practices, poor project viability assessment, poor project management practices and lack of innovation.

I propose that the nation should create and institutionalize a crown agency of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to be called “Infrastructure Nigeria Agency” (“INA”). This new agency with legislative backing, (similar to that of another government agency called “AMCON”) will be a centralized and credible procurement agency focused on;

• The study and assessment of Infrastructural ideas and proposals
• Use of transparent competition to procure on Infrastructural Projects
• Transaction Structuring and Professional Contract Management of Infrastructural Projects
• Professional Management of infrastructural Projects from Cradle to Grave
• Delivery of infrastructural Projects on Time and on Budget
• Seek cheap private or public financing for infrastructural Projects (surprisingly I prefer AFP to the popular P3 option)
• Build, maintain and manage a central database of all Government Interest on Land
• Manage Government Facilities and Real Estate interests, and
• Seek ways to maximize the value of Government’s interest on land

This Agency “Infrastructure Nigeria Agency” will have a sole mandate to provide a wide range of services to support all federalGovernment’s initiatives to modernize and maximize the value of public infrastructure and real estate interest. The Agency will focus on delivery of new infrastructure projects, and on how to drive utility out of existing assets.

The Agency will be governed by a Board of Directors who report to the Federal Minister of Power, Works and Housing and the Minister will set an accountability governance framework for the Agency.
The Agency will be assessed purely on output using achievable KPI targets. I suggest that it should be a part of the accountability governance framework that their Board and CEO will be overhauled if they repeatedly fail to achieve their yearly KPI’s.

Infrastructure Nigeria Agency can also be assessed on the following;
• Number of Infrastructural Projects proposals or ideas that have been assessed and proposed for implementation
• Number of Infrastructural Projects that have been tendered and awarded
• Number of Projects that have achieved substantial Project Close-Out
• List of key milestones achieved in all ongoing Infrastructural Projects
• Number of Private or Public financing they have attracted
• Total cost of completed Project as against benchmarked cost
• Competitive terms of financing they have negotiated or attracted on public or private financed Projects.

The Agency will deploy and institutionalize key processes in the management of Government infrastructural interests such as; Project Management Processes; Commercial Viability Assessment Processes; a transparent go-to market process i.e. RFI, RFQ, RFP, RFA Tendering and Bidding methodologies; document management processes, negotiation process for complex infrastructural projects all of these will help avoid costly change variations, achieve, maximized project efficiencies, lead to reduced dependence on expensive consultants and will help develop and nurture in-house sector knowledge.

A host of some iconic construction engineering companies operating in Nigeria such as; Julius Berger, Arab Contractors, Reynolds Construction Company, MCC, CCC, Setraco Construction, Dantata & Sawoe Construction, Cappa and D’Alberto Plc, Costain West Africa, Brunelli Construction and others not mentioned should not be the symbolic national imagery of a successful construction sector. The recognition of Julius Berger as a successful national construction icon should not also be translated as a “Fix” to the nation’s infrastructural needs. Ask any of these construction empires to identify an infrastructure project that is 10 years of age and still in a maintained good-state, and you will be surprised on their struggle to identify one singular project….in all their years of existence.The fault is not theirs but rather the inability of the nation to identify and adopt a sustainable project-approach that will achieve and deliver auto-mode long-view successes.

Infrastructure Nigeria Agency is a proposed solution capable of delivering national infrastructural needs such as; Road Projects, Bridges, National Hospitals, Nuclear Stations, Housing Development, Energy Infrastructure, Rail Transportation and similar complex infrastructural projects.

An “Infrastructure Nigeria Agency” (“INA”) will significantly drive down cost of national infrastructure projects and will solve the endemic national corruption problem. This Agency will help deliver to the public the long-due infrastructure they need to thrive. Now Sir, I will like to have your comment on this proposed solution. Let the conversation begin. #InfrastructureNigeria

Ezigbo, a senior contract strategist and advisor, works in the oil and gas sector in Canada.