In 14 years, National Library building moves from N8bn cost to N50bn, yet abandoned

CLEMENT IDOKO, in this piece examines the state of the National Library of Nigeria (NLN) headquarters building, an iconic structure and a national monument that has been abandoned.

The fate of the National Library of Nigeria’s head office building in Abuja is the story of Nigeria. From the intial cost of N8 billion in 2006 and with N11 billion spent so far, if the project, which has been abandoned for 14 years, will be completed, another sum of N39 billion is needed to get it done.

Fourteen years down the line, the edifice is more or less a white elephant project in the hands of the giant of Africa.  Many have argued that Nigeria is a praying nation and not a reading one. Monuments like the National Mosque and the National Christian Centre, which sandwich the National Library, have long been completed and put to use by worshippers. While the National Mosque, Abuja, was built in 1984 and the National Christian Centre, Abuja, was built in 2005, the National Library that has been under construction since 2006 has been abandoned.

As it is, the NLN project is the only edifice in the midst of others in the Central Business Area, Abuja, yet to be completed. All other national monuments surrounding it have been completed. Experts have said that if it had been completed at that time, it would have probably been one of the best national libraries in the world.

Saturday Tribune checks revealed that the contract for the construction of the NLN headquarters located on Plot 35 of the Central Business District Abuja, was awarded to Messrs Reynolds Construction Company (RCC) in 2006 at the cost of N8.590 billion. The project was expected to be completed in about four years. Amazingly, 14 years after, the contractors are not on site even though the building is at about 44 per cent completion stage.

It was also gathered that the project, by the time it was abandoned, had gulped N11 billion. Because of inflation and cost of materials, the contract has been reviewed several times.

Further checks revealed that at the expiration of the contract period in February 2008, the contractor, RCC, stopped work and demanded an upward review of the initial contract sum. In response, the ministry of education, on recommendations from a private consultant, approved a redesign of the specialist work on the project in 2009 to incorporate new technology, which led to the reduction in the number of floors from eight to five.

The contract sum of the reduced scope was reviewed upward to N18 billion from the original sum of N8.590 billion, followed by the issuance of compliance certificate of ‘no objection’ on the review by the Bureau of Public Procurement and approved by the Federal Executive Council with a completion period of 21 months effective from July 2010.

In February 2013, RCC requested for more time and reviewed the contract sum upward to N48 billion but in 2014 an ad-hoc committee consisting all stakeholders was set up to resolve all pending issues. The committee recommended N38.764 billion as the revised cost with 30 months completion period expected to be forwarded to the presidency by the ministry for approval.

National Librarian, Professor Lenrie Olatokunbo Aina, however, expressed optimism that the project would be completed by 2023. He said the current administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is determined to complete the NLN edifice that would be a national pride. He explained that arrangement is being worked out on completion of the project.

Aina was appointed as National Librarian and Chief Executive Officer of National Library of Nigeria on 1 August 2016, by President Buhari, who many stakeholders have described as a square peg in a square hole.

He told Saturday Tribune in Abuja that the N39 billion required for the completion of the project is split into three years beginning from 2021 to 2023, where appropriation would be made in the National budget for the project respectively.

Aina said: “I am very excited that media people keep on asking about the Headquarters of National Library of Nigeria. That shows that the media has interest in the development of the National Library of Nigeria. But I want to assure you that we are on course.

“This administration will finish the headquarters before it leaves. That I want to assure you that by 2023, we will have a realistic headquarters of National Library of Nigeria which will be the pride of every Nigerian. This is because government is working so hard to finish it within three years.

“They are trying to budget for it. We needed N50 billion to complete the project and since we have already spent N11 billion, the remaining N39 billion is divided into three; 2021, 2022, and 2023, we will have a National Library of our pride.

“Even for us at the headquarters, we have been made to take care of the budget of the consultant for 2021, 2022 and 2023. As government will be releasing money to the contractor, we shall be releasing money to the consultant. So, we are ready and by the time the building is completed, everybody will be very happy to be a Nigerian.

“Like we have always said, when it comes to librarianship, Nigeria is in the forefront, especially in Africa. When we talk about African countries may be only South Africa can rival us in terms of this profession. But we know that once this headquarters is finalized, then we can generally be regarded as leading other nations in the continent.

“The building was abandoned in 2014. The building commenced in 2006 with the hope of finishing within three to four years with the estimated cost of N8 billion to complete the project. There were problems and it was abandoned in 2014.

“But when I assumed duty in 2016 and I was taken round, I tried my very best to meet with the relevant people that could assist us in ensuring the completion of the edifice. We met the National Assembly Committees on education both at Federal House of Representatives and the Senate and they have been doing fantastically well and every other relevant committee,” he said.

He said the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu and the Permanent Secretary, Sonny Echono, who himself is an architect, all have shown great commitment to the completion of the project.

Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, had once said that a whopping sum of N50 billion was required to complete the project. He cited poor funding as the reason for the abandonment of the project.

According to him, by 2013, during the government of former President Goodluck Jonathan, the project cost was reviewed upward to N18 billion but work was, however, stopped by the end of 2013 as a result of poor-funding.

Adamu said: “In the recent past, I have received a number of enquiries from members of the press, expressing concern over the ‘abandoned’ gigantic National Library Headquarters, here in Abuja. Let me state unequivocally that the Buhari administration has made it clear that it will not abandon any project initiated by any past administration that is adjudged to be in public interest.

“It is in the light of this, that the 2nd Niger Bridge, the Mambila Dam, Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Terminal and a host of other projects have either been completed or are being continued. When this administration came into power, the contractor submitted a new bill of N78 billion to complete the project.

“We set up a committee to evaluate the project. This committee has submitted a bill of N50 billion. We have forwarded the report to the Bureau of Public Procurement for further appraisal. The recommendation of the BPP will be forwarded to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for consideration,” he said.

The Minister said while government awaits these processes to be completed, it is pursuing alternative sources of funding especially from special intervention funding windows from perhaps, Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).

He further explained that the rising cost of the project was due largely to exchange rate fluctuations, necessary upgrades and modernization among other variables.

He said: “Away from the National Library Headquarters, may I inform you that the National Library of Nigeria (NLN) is required by its enabling Act to have a presence in all states of the Federation. To fulfil this mandate, the NLN has been expanding its branches across the country as well as rehabilitating existing ones”.

Stakeholders are now worried that one year after Adamu made commitment of the Federal Government to complete the project, nothing concrete was done till the COVID-19 pandemic came to ravage the economy of the nation.

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