By Khalid Idris Doya Nigeria's long-standing overreliance on oil revenues has exposed the economy to volatiliThe fiscal stress, currenc...
By Khalid Idris Doya
Nigeria's long-standing overreliance on oil revenues has exposed the economy to volatiliThe fiscal stress, currency pressures, and chronic under-investment in critical infrastructure, the Chairman of the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA), Dr. Musa Babayo, has said.
Dr. Babayo made this assertion while delivering a keynote address at the 1st International Conference 2025 organised by the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), Abubakar Tatari Ali Polytechnic (ATAP), Bauchi Chapter, themed 'Remodelling the Economy for Sustainable Development,' on Monday.
According to him, Nigeria's structural challenges go beyond oil dependence and include a weak manufacturing base, high logistics costs, institutional bottlenecks, and persistent skills gaps that continue to suppress productivity, investment, and job creation.
"Youth bulges are colliding with limited opportunity; social goods such as housing, healthcare, and education remain poorly linked to production centres; and public funding for basic service delivery is often episodic.
"None of thiInstitutional Countries with similar profiles have transformed through diversification, institutional strengthening, human capital development, and innovation-led growth, exactly the levers Nigeria must now pull with discipline," he said.
Dr. Babayo stressed that productivity improves when infrastructure investment is focused on areas where value is created, including farm-to-processing corridors, industrial clusters, border posts, urban logistics networks, and digital infrastructure.
He noted that success should be measured by outcomes such as reduced travel time, improved reliability, and lower logistics costs rather than mere spending volumes.
"Inclusion expands when social infrastructure is treated as economic infrastructure. Worker housing stabilises labour markets, clinics reduce catastrophic health spending, and technical and vocational education converts skills into productive enterprises," he said.
He also emphasised that resilience is best achieved through prevention, citing pre-rain drainage works, axle-load control at freight gates, work-zone safety, and climate-aware engineering standards.
"Legitimacy grows when funding is predictable and data are open, when citizens can see what improved, where, and at what cost," he added.
The FERMA chairman advocated a shift in agriculture from yield-focused production to integrated value chains through mechanisation, storage, agro-processing, and regional exports.
Manufacturing, he said, requires industrial clusters, local content enforcement, quality standards, and reliable logistics.
He further called for responsible mining that supports mineral-based industries and regional processing, while highlighting the growth potential of the creative and digital economy through intellectual property protection, broadband expansion, and efficient payment systems.
"The north star is a domestic value addition that travels outward as competitive exports," he said.
On digital transformation, Dr. Babayo identified broadband penetration, local cloud infrastructure, and university polytechnic innovation hubs as critical to scaling fintech, e-commerce, telemedicine, agri-data platforms, and digital public services. He added that data portability, cybersecurity standards, and digital identity systems would reduce friction and expand economic formality.
Dr. Musa Babayo underscored the importance of infrastructure revitalisation through reliable power supply, efficient transport corridors, and logistics platforms such as dry ports, truck parks, and intermodal hubs. He noted that transparent public-private partnerships and service-level-based contracts could help bridge financing gaps.
He also called for institutional strengthening through transparent procurement, efficient tax administration, and judicial efficiency, stressing that rules must be predictable and consistently applied.
On human capital development, he advocated aligning curricula with industry demand, expanding technical and vocational education and training (TVET), promoting micro-credentials, and funding laboratories that deliver measurable outcomes at city and state levels.
At the macroeconomic level, he urged exchange-rate coherence, prudent fiscal management, improved revenue mobilisation, and pro-growth monetary policy to restore investor confidence and attract long-term capital.
Dr. Babayo proposed initiatives such as a Sustainable Development Studio, which would convert student capstone projects into real-world public solutions, and a Bauchi Corridor Micro-Lab, where faculty-student teams would regularly measure and publish travel-time, reliability, and safety indices to support evidence-based budgeting.
He also recommended skills for Resilience Micro-Credentials, including training in asset condition scoring, work-zone safety, materials testing, weigh-in-motion technology, GIS for public works, and data storytelling.
In his address, the Chairman of ASUP ATAP Chapter, Comrade Nazif Abba Pali, described the conference as a historic milestone and a reaffirmation of the union’s commitment to national development, global relevance, and sustainable growth.
"The theme of this conference is timely and compelling. Across the world, economies are being tested by rapid technological change, environmental challenges, unemployment, and widening inequality.
"For developing nations like Nigeria, these challenges are worsened by structural weaknesses and underutilisation of human capital," Pali said.
He emphasised that polytechnics occupy a strategic position in economic remodelling due to their mandate for practical, technical, and entrepreneurial education.
"When properly empowered, polytechnics can drive innovation, promote industrial growth, support small and medium-scale enterprises, and produce a workforce with future-ready skills," he said.
Comrade Pali called for stronger collaboration among academia, government, industry, and society, stressing that sustainable development requires inclusive growth, investment in education and research, and policies that encourage local production, value addition, and responsible resource use.
He reaffirmed ASUP's commitment to quality technical education, improved funding, staff welfare, and institutional autonomy, while urging policymakers to place technical and vocational education at the centre of economic planning.
"The task of remodelling our economy for sustainable development is a shared responsibility. It requires courage, commitment, and collective resolve to build a prosperous, inclusive, and sustainable future," he concluded.
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