Across Nigeria, gleaming new terminals and four-kilometre runways are rising in places with bad roads, empty classrooms, and unpaid salaries. Governors are calling them gateways to prosperity. Aviation experts are calling them something else: white elephants.
The rush by states to build airports is creating what industry watchers describe as an “epidemic” of non-viable projects, expensive infrastructure that delivers little practical value while consuming enormous public funds.
The Numbers Don’t Add Up
Nigeria has 32 airports, including five recognized international aerodromes in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Kano and Enugu. Those five alone handled 89.7 percent of over 16 million passengers in 2022. The other 27 airports shared just 10.3 percent of traffic.
Passenger traffic even dipped to 15.89 million in 2023, leaving even less room for new facilities.Yet at least 13 states have spent or proposed to spend a total of N251 billion on establishing largely non-viable airports. Bayelsa spent N60 billion. Akwa Ibom N20 billion. Delta and Jigawa N17 billion each. Bauchi and Kebbi N15 billion each. Ogun, Ekiti, Abia and Nasarawa have proposed N20 billion each. Osun N15.5 billion and Zamfara N12 billion.
Anambra is planning a $2 billion cargo airport under a private arrangement.
“Concrete Democracy” in Action
Experts say the projects are driven less by economics and more by politics. About 15 state airports built since 1999 in Ogun, Bayelsa, Osun, Delta, Ebonyi, Akwa Ibom, Ekiti, Anambra, Abia, Yobe, Nasarawa, Kebbi, Edo, Gombe and Jigawa have underperformed despite fancy tags like “cargo” or “international”.
Director-General of NCAA, Cpt. Musa Nuhu, said some airports need N300 million a month to maintain but record just 1,000 passengers. “There is no magic that can make them sustainable, and FAAN doesn’t have the money”.
Managing Director of FAAN, Olubunmi Kuku, confirmed that only three of the 22 airports managed by FAAN are profitable. The remaining 19 are being subsidized because passenger traffic does not match operational costs.
Aviation analyst Group Captain John Ojikutu described it as “political development competition rather than economic nor social development”. He cited Akure Airport in Ondo, less than 40 minutes from Ado Ekiti, which has not recorded up to 200,000 passengers in 10 years.
“Why would Ekiti build another airport without finding out how much of the 200,000 passenger traffic is from the state?”
Case Studies in Waste
Ekiti: The Agro-Allied International Cargo Airport was commissioned in 2022. Two years later, it was still struggling. Citizens asked why N16 billion was spent on an airport when many towns lack good roads and schools. “You cannot point to one standard public secondary school and hospital in Ekiti State but somehow, having an airport is more important”.
Bayelsa: The state launched an international airport at a cost of N60 billion. Critics noted the state still struggles with housing and potable water. Opposition figures questioned plans to buy an aircraft when basic assets were poorly managed.
Ebonyi: The international airport initiated by former Governor David Umahi was described as “ill-conceived” and a “white elephant project”. Less than two months after commissioning, major engineering faults were reported on the tarmac. Critics alleged it was a ploy to siphon funds.
Ogun: The Gateway International Agro-Cargo Airport was boasted to have the longest runway in Nigeria and West Africa at 3.4km, plus a 600m safety zone. Yet questions remain about traffic and viability.
What Experts Say States Should Do Instead
Aviation professionals argue that most air travelers are government and corporate officials whose fares are paid by employers. For ordinary citizens, road transport remains king.
Ojikutu said what states need are toll express roads linking state capitals to the nearest existing airports. “It makes no economic sense for the states building airports when they should divert the money to other social services like schools, hospitals, roads”.
Dr. Oluropo Owolabi, former MD of SAHCOL, called the projects “anti-people”. Using Ekiti as an example, he said: “What’s the use of an airport in Ekiti, a civil servant state. How many people can afford airfare there… I think what the people of Ekiti need is a good road network that will make bringing out their farm products from the villages to the city easy”.
NCAA has also been urged to regulate the number of airports within a state or region based on population and passenger traffic.
The Bigger Picture: Misplaced Priorities
The airport boom comes at a time when FAAN says most of its 22 airports require billions in upgrades for terminals, landside and airside infrastructure. States themselves struggle to pay minimum wage and provide basic services.
With FAAC allocations to states rising significantly since fuel subsidy removal, the debate has intensified. Citizens are asking whether billions spent on airports could have been better invested in healthcare, education and roads.
Some projects remain abandoned. Others operate far below capacity. In Ebonyi, stakeholders said the airport was “ill-conceived and dubiously executed”.
Can Any of Them Be Saved?
A few states are trying different models. Anambra’s cargo airport is being built under a build-operate-manage-transfer agreement with private funding. Lagos is pushing recycling and logistics hubs around its airports.
But without passenger traffic, cargo, and supporting infrastructure like roads and industries, most experts agree the facilities will remain liabilities.
As one analyst put it, Nigeria’s “concrete democracy” manifests in projects that are conspicuous and imposing but of minimal productive value. The sturdy physicality gives the impression that democracy is paying off, even when the economics say otherwise.
Until states conduct proper feasibility studies, prioritize connectivity over construction, and focus on economic fundamentals, the white elephant epidemic will continue, with taxpayers footing the bill.
