When President Bola Ahmed Tinubu assumed office, Nigeria stood at a crossroads: decaying infrastructure, congested highways, epileptic power supply, and a rising debt burden that many feared could push the country into unsustainable territory. Rather than shy away from borrowing, Tinubu has taken a different path. His administration has embraced foreign loans, but with a deliberate shift—moving away from borrowing for recurrent expenditure and instead channeling funds into transformative projects in rail, roads, power, and ports.
The write up is being Powered by Amb. Musa Muhammed Tsoken, National President, APC Initiative for Good Governance, and National Coordinator, Asiwaju Again 2027.
Written by Aliagan Abdulrahman
When President Bola Ahmed Tinubu assumed office, Nigeria stood at a crossroads: decaying infrastructure, congested highways, epileptic power supply, and a rising debt burden that many feared could push the country into unsustainable territory. Rather than shy away from borrowing, Tinubu has taken a different path. His administration has embraced foreign loans, but with a deliberate shift—moving away from borrowing for recurrent expenditure and instead channeling funds into transformative projects in rail, roads, power, and ports.
One of the most visible examples of this approach is the Kaduna–Kano Standard Gauge Railway. For years, the project was stalled by funding delays. But in January 2025, the China Development Bank released $254.76 million to revive the 203-kilometre line. Under Tinubu’s watch, construction has surged from about 15 percent completion when he assumed office to over 50 percent by mid-2025. The rail, once completed, will connect Kano—northern Nigeria’s commercial heartbeat—to Abuja, dramatically cutting travel time.
For traders like Aisha Ibrahim, a grain seller in Kano’s Dawanau market, the project is not an abstract government policy but a lifeline. “Sometimes my goods spoil before they reach Abuja because of road delays and insecurity,” she explained. “If this railway works, I can move faster, safer, and cheaper. It will change my business completely.”
The impact is not limited to northern Nigeria. In Lagos, where traffic gridlock drains hours from daily productivity, residents are watching closely as Tinubu’s loan-backed Lagos Green Line rail project takes shape. Valued at $2 billion, it promises to ease commuting pressures in Africa’s largest megacity. Emeka Okafor, a young banker who spends three hours daily in traffic, told this reporter: “We don’t care where the money comes from—loan or no loan—as long as it gives us a train that works. Time is money. If I save two hours a day, that’s more work, more family time, and less stress.”
Further north, Tinubu has doubled down on completing the Kano–Maradi rail line, stretching into Niger Republic. Though initiated under the previous administration, his government has recommitted to completing it by 2026. The project, valued at nearly $2 billion, is expected to transform border trade. Farmers in Katsina and Jigawa states, who often struggle with poor road networks, are hopeful. Alhaji Musa Danladi, a tomato farmer in Daura, put it simply: “If we can take our tomatoes by train to Lagos or Abuja, they will not rot on the road. We will make more money, and Nigeria will eat fresher food.”
Tinubu’s infrastructure push is not limited to rail. In May 2025, Nigeria secured a $747 million syndicated loan from Deutsche Bank to finance the first phase of the ambitious Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway. Stretching 700 kilometres, the road will connect Lagos to Calabar, unlocking opportunities for trade, tourism, and regional integration. For Blessing Udo, a fashion designer in Akwa Ibom, the project is a promise of mobility. “Traveling to Lagos to buy materials takes days and plenty of money. If this highway is real, it will bring Lagos closer to us. My business will grow,” she said.
Meanwhile, in Lekki, Tinubu’s government has secured $652 million from China Exim Bank to finance a road linking the Lekki Deep Sea Port, the Dangote Refinery, and southern trade corridors. The goal is clear: to ensure that Nigeria’s biggest industrial hub has efficient evacuation routes. Logistics operators in Lagos are already optimistic. “The Lekki port is massive, but without good roads, it’s useless,” argued Adeyemi Adebayo, a truck driver. “If the government really finishes this road, work will be easier, and we drivers will spend less time stuck in traffic.”
Power, too, is receiving attention under Tinubu’s loan-driven development plan. Allocations include $100 million for distribution infrastructure under the Presidential Power Initiative and $116 million for new transmission lines to evacuate 700 megawatts from the Zungeru hydropower plant. For Maryam Lawal, a frozen food seller in Kaduna, this could be a game-changer. “I spend half of my profit buying diesel for generators. If power improves, I can expand my business and even employ more people,” she said.
Of course, risks remain. Critics caution that borrowing, if mismanaged, could deepen Nigeria’s debt woes. Experts warn that counterpart funding obligations, corruption, and execution delays could undermine the gains. Yet the administration insists it is balancing fiscal discipline with transparency, ensuring loans are tied to tangible, revenue-yielding projects.
Tinubu himself has argued that “borrowing for productive investment is not a sin; it is a necessity.” The early signs suggest that his strategy is beginning to bear fruit. Across Nigeria, from grain traders in Kano to artisans in Lagos, from tomato farmers in Katsina to designers in Akwa Ibom, ordinary citizens are beginning to glimpse how debt, when carefully deployed, can become development.
If sustained, the president’s approach may mark a turning point—transforming Nigeria’s debt burden into national assets and laying a foundation for inclusive, long-term prosperity.