Olatunji Ariyomo, a policy and regulation development specialist, at the weekend stressed that the prevalent issues of underdevelopment plaguing Nigeria can be ascribed to the failure of the nation’s political elite to effectively collaborate.

Ariyomo, a fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, stated this while speaking at the 2024 Engineering Lecture hosted by the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA).

According to him, the absence of cohesive efforts and consensus-building among the country’s leaders has impeded progress and stunted growth across various sectors of the country.

While stressing that the situation has hindered Nigeria’s advancement over the past six decades, he maintained that the country’s failure to prioritise and invest in infrastructure development has contributed to its underdevelopment.

He said, “There are very important small issues that have simply made forging an elite consensus around the growth and development of Nigeria difficult. They are also the root cause of the nation’s economic uncertainties in the past six decades.

“Issues of ethnicity, religion, and socio-political conflicts continue to undermine the potential of Nigeria for greatness.

“We must address those fundamental and foundational issues in their relatively small or seemingly insignificant form for us to fix the wider or broader issues with Nigeria and thereafter become globally competitive.

“First rail line was in China in 1865 and started one in Nigeria (Lagos-Abeokuta-Ibadan) in March 1896. The first rail line in Nigeria took them just two years to complete. By 1905, China had started building its railways by itself.

“As of 2024, Nigeria relies heavily on China for the construction of its rail infrastructure.”

Policy expert blames political elite for Nigeria’s stunted growth