Harvard-trained governance expert Sam Amadi has urged Nigeria to prioritize essential infrastructure development over politically motivated projects, emphasizing that the country needs feeder roads, power, and education rather than "flyovers built for political optics."

Speaking at the maiden public lecture of the Faculty of Social and Management Sciences at Benson Idahosa University (BIU) in Benin City, Edo State on Thursday, Amadi lamented Nigeria's chronic failure to address productivity, inequality, and multidimensional poverty despite changing governments.

"Development isn't just about growth. It's about enhancing people's freedoms and capabilities," Amadi stated. "Nigeria keeps changing governments, but policies remain unimplemented or ill-conceived. We need infrastructure that matters, not politically motivated projects."

The lecture, themed "Rethinking Nigeria's Economic Management Policies and the Way Forward," featured prominent economists including Prof. Mustapha Sagagi, a non-Executive Director at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), who attributed Nigeria's economic challenges to systemic corruption, weak policy implementation, and fiscal recklessness.

Sagagi revealed that over N30 trillion was printed in seven years without corresponding economic output, highlighting the damaging effects of unbridled borrowing and money printing. He noted that despite Nigeria having abundant professional talent, the country lacks "a leadership and institutional system that allows good ideas to translate into action."

The CBN director acknowledged recent economic improvements, including inflation moderation, rising reserves, and improved forex transparency, attributing these gains to the CBN's tightening stance and unified exchange rate system.

"If not for monetary tightening, the naira could have crashed to N3,000 per dollar. That would have been catastrophic," Sagagi warned, while emphasizing that more needs to be done to translate macroeconomic reforms into better livelihoods.

Economist Ayo Teriba, CEO of Economic Associates, advocated for the holistic privatization of critical sectors, arguing that infrastructure is "too important to be left to the government alone." He called for replicating the telecom sector's privatization success in power, rail, and gas industries.

Teriba also highlighted inefficiencies in agricultural distribution, noting that 60 percent of crops are lost post-harvest due to poor transport and storage systems. "Agriculture is not failing; the support systems around it are," he explained.

In his opening remarks, BIU Vice-Chancellor Prof. John Okhuoya emphasized that universities have a duty to drive policy engagement and development solutions, adding that Nigerians must move from analysis to action.

Prof. Mike Asekome, Chairman of the Local Organising Committee, noted that the experts were carefully selected to share their expertise in reviewing and proffering solutions to Nigeria's current economic challenges.