Amid paucity of funds to close the gap of infrastructural deficit nationwide, there is a growing concern on routine vandalisation of available public assets, which currently costs over N132 billion in repairs yearly.
Nationwide are rampant thefts of electricity transformers and cables, removal of rail track slippers, tampering with oil pipelines, vandalism of manhole covers, pedestrian bridge railings and bridge barriers.
Repair estimates are though sketchy, findings showed that pipeline repairs alone cost the Federal Government at least N60 billion yearly. Another conservative estimate showed that each state – where such infrastructures are restored at all – spends an average N2 billion on repairs of vandalised public assets yearly.
Concerned stakeholders, however, called for sensitisation on the culture of protecting public assets, coupled with stiffer penalties for vandals, as deterrence.
Agusto & Co., a rating agency, recently estimated that Nigeria’s infrastructure deficit requires $3 trillion to close over the next 30 years, while the National Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan envisages an investment of $150 billion yearly to achieve the target.
But the 2024 budget and allocations to critical sectors show that a paltry sum of N1.32 trillion is allocated for infrastructure, including execution of new projects and repairs in ministries such as works and housing, transport, aviation, and water resources.
The sum is completely dwarfed by Lagos State government’s recent claim that the state alone requires over N7 trillion to tackle infrastructure challenges in 2024. Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu disclosed that about 60 per cent of yearly budget on roads is spent on fixing and maintenance due to damage by some heavy-duty vehicles.
Lagos State Government allocated 27.3 per cent of its N1.76 trillion 2023 budget to road infrastructure, amounting to N482.86 billion.
Indeed, many flyovers and pedestrian bridges in the state have been stripped, with their fittings and railings stolen or damaged. The increasingly brazen hoodlums have recently taken to hacking the concrete dividers on major highways to extract the embedded steel.
In Lagos, most affected bridges include those in Apapa, Ijora flyovers, Ladipo and Oshodi pedestrian bridges, Dorman Long Bridge, Ojuelegba, Iyana-Isolo, Otedola and Carter Bridge. Findings revealed that severally, truck barriers have been installed on facilities like Ojuelegba Bridge and others, but routinely knocked down by reckless drivers of heavy-duty trucks.
Vandalism is, however, not peculiar to Lagos. For instance, the Management of Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company said that between January and June 2022, a total of 158 distribution substations were vandalised across the four franchise states of the company causing the company to lose over N238.7 million worth of equipment.
In the Federal Capital Territory, solar-powered street lights have been stolen. Some of the poles were cut off and taken away alongside the solar panels and lights.
Besides, about N556 billion was lost between August and October 2021 to pipeline vandalism, sabotage and other challenges that led to the shut-in of over 17.86 million barrels of crude oil, according to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited. The NNPC said it spent N53.36 billion on this in 2020.
Vandalism of electricity facilities and equipment accounts for over 60 per cent of blackouts recorded across the country.
Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) lost over N50 million monthly to vandalism through stolen cables, damaged transformers, and other network infrastructure, while the Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) said it lost an estimated sum of N4 billion to vandalism of its assets as such acts reportedly escalated within its network in six months.
Similarly, in Ogun state, three transmission towers collapsed recently on the 132KVA Papalanto/Ojere double-circuit transmission line, after they were vandalised, causing power outages around Abeokuta and its environs.
In the telecommunication sector, the National Communications Commission stated that over 50,000 cases of major destruction to telecom infrastructure and facilities have been reported nationwide in the past five years.
The Guardian gathered that the motoring public have also contributed to the destruction of public facilities. Culprits in the act are usually articulated trucks conveying 40-feet containers, who are often involved in lone or multiple accidents on the expressway.
The trend has been a drain on the nation’s lean resources as an average of 200,000 barrels per day is lost to the wanton damage to pipelines and a huge amount of N60 billion yearly by the Federal Government to repair and maintain the vandalised points, according to the former Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed.
Apparently pained by the economic loss to vandals, infrastructure expert, Lookman Oshodi, said beyond punitive measures for those who destroy public facilities, the government needs to do more in terms of education and awareness creation among the users, especially drivers.
Oshodi said truck drivers cannot safely convey goods and machineries across the country without understanding the basic rules of road ethics.
He said: “If a truck driver is apprehended for destroying public infrastructure, massive education is required for him and the owner of the vehicle on what is obtainable in driving in a city like Lagos.
“The drivers that cause damage to infrastructure should be made to pay exorbitantly for such damage. If the owner of the vehicle has good insurance coverage, the insurance should cover the cost of damage.”
Oshodi, who is the Project Director, Arctic Infrastructure, observed that the Nigerian State still battles inadequacy of infrastructure.
“Management and maintenance strategy of public infrastructure are still relatively low, and we have not been able to develop robust expertise to understand the importance, purpose, and direction that public infrastructure should go.
“We still take public infrastructure as a transactional and political patronage system. Public infrastructure speaks to the fundamental existence of any society, strength, capacity, the direction, and wealth, extent of good governance and prosperity of any society,” he said.
He advised that as part of transport infrastructure provision, the government should install signals on strategic locations on the type of trucks that can pass a particular axis and conditions of the areas they can divert to on the expressway to get to their location.
He added that the essence of truck driver signals on the highways was to prepare any right-thinking drivers to be aware of diversions ahead during the journey and the available options to take.
Former Chairman, Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) Apapa branch, Sunny Ejeje, said it is time for the government to come out strong against those who vandalise public infrastructure, rather than spare them when such incidents happen.
He said the refusal to do so would continue to cause more discomfort to residents, who are the beneficiaries of the infrastructure.
“The perpetrators must be prosecuted individually because most of the time public infrastructure is destroyed as a result of negligence. Apart from impounding the vehicles and government should arrest and prosecute the individuals and make the companies they work for pay for the damage.”
The President, Association of Professional Women Engineers of Nigeria (APWEN) Dr Elizabeth Eterigho, said there is the need to strengthen enforcement of existing laws to deter vandalism, adding that such acts should be treated as a criminal offense and enforced with fines and/or imprisonment.
“There is a need for concerted efforts from citizens first, the governments’ agencies, law enforcement, to address this issue and ensure that the nation’s economic growth potential is not undermined. Collaborate with stakeholders such as utility companies, private entities, and community groups to prevent vandalism through collective efforts, including employing security personnel, installing Closed Circuit Television cameras, and implementing access control systems,” Eterigho said.
While urging the government to prioritise the safety and well-being of infrastructure, she advised the government to invest in newer technologies that can help detect and prevent vandalism and create awareness campaigns.
Eterigho said: “We must protect our assets, including pipelines, power grids, telecommunication networks, and public infrastructure, as they are very crucial to our daily lives.
“Preventing vandalism of critical infrastructure requires a multi-faceted approach that involves education, awareness, improved security measures, cyber security, collaboration, and reporting and response mechanisms.
“By taking proactive steps to prevent vandalism of critical infrastructure, we can help to protect our communities and ensure the continued functioning of essential services,” she said.