Urges FG to fix infrastructure, bad roads, tackle insecurity
A Canada-based Nigerian entrepreneur, Oluwafemi Ayeyemi, has identified insecurity and poor infrastructure as two major problems scaring Nigerians away from coming back home to invest.

The entrepreneur, who noted that investment opportunities abound in Nigeria, said the problems of infrastructural deficit, like water supply, electricity, motorable roads, and above all, insecurity, have always created problems in the minds of Nigerians in terms of investment in the country.

Ayeyemi expressed his concern after conducting journalists around his ongoing N3 billion hotel projects at Obada, Abeokuta, in Ogun State.

Speaking with journalists yesterday, the hotelier lamented the difficulties he faced during the ongoing construction of his 62-room hotel project, including the cost of building materials, unreliable contractors, and a lack of basic infrastructure.

He noted that the poor condition of the road leading to the site prompted him to personally spend N5 million on sand and rock to make it motorable.

“I would have abandoned the project if not for my father’s encouragement. We started in 2017 and have faced many setbacks, but quitting is not an option. Doing business in Nigeria is very risky, especially with insecurity and bad roads. Yet, this hotel alone will provide jobs for at least 100 youths in this locality,” he said.

He, therefore, appealed to the Ogun State government to extend its road rehabilitation efforts to rural business corridors like Obada-Oko, stressing that improving infrastructure would attract more investors and boost local economies.

Also speaking, his wife, Elizabeth, expressed concern that many of their friends in the Diaspora are discouraged from investing in Nigeria due to insecurity and dilapidated infrastructure.

She urged both the federal and state governments to prioritise road projects and security to create a more enabling environment for returnee investors.

The couple, however, maintained that the government alone could not fix the economy and called on well-meaning Nigerians in the Diaspora to invest in ways that could create jobs and boost the economy—if only the government would do its part in addressing infrastructure and security challenges.