They say the ECOWAS Lagos–Abidjan Highway will be 1,028 kilometers long, connecting nations, boosting trade, and uniting West Africa in a ribbon of asphalt so smooth that even potholes will need visas to exist on it.
It is a dream. A bold vision. A PowerPoint presentation. But has it been abandoned?
Of course not. How can you abandon something that has not yet fully arrived?
The highway exists in its purest, most resilient form: the announcement.
Every few years, like clockwork—or like a generator that almost starts—it reappears.
Ministers gather. There are microphones. There are hard hats that have never met dust. A ceremonial shovel touches the earth briefly, like a handshake between strangers who don’t intend to call each other again.
“Work has commenced,” they declare.
And indeed, work has commenced—on press releases, feasibility studies, stakeholder engagements, and a truly impressive collection of conference snacks.
Critics say nothing is happening. This is unfair. So much is happening. Meetings are being held at an extraordinary pace.
Committees have formed subcommittees, which have courageously commissioned consultants to review the findings of earlier consultants who recommended further consultations. Progress is not linear; it is circular—like a roundabout with no exit.
Meanwhile, travelers between Lagos and Abidjan continue their heroic journeys on existing roads, where each pothole is a reminder of the highway that lives in our hearts. Some say the road is already there spiritually, and that is what truly matters.
Funding, of course, is “being finalized.” It has been “being finalized” for so long that it deserves its own commemorative plaque. Investors are “keen,” partners are “engaged,” and timelines are “revised.” No one is quite sure revised to what, but the revisions themselves are very promising.
Occasionally, a stretch of road somewhere is improved. Is it part of the grand highway? Maybe. Maybe not. In West Africa, all roads lead to optimism—and sometimes to a press conference explaining why the rain, inflation, or Mercury in retrograde has caused a slight delay of 3–7 years.
So no, the Lagos–Abidjan Highway Project has not been abandoned. It has simply evolved into a higher state of existence: a perennial project. A legend. A policy document that refuses to die.
One day, they say, you will drive from Lagos to Abidjan in six hours.
Until then, you can make the journey in installments:
Hope in Lagos, patience in Benin, resilience in Togo, and faith in Côte d’Ivoire.
And really, isn’t that the true highway?
Written By Fabian Anawo