The Foursquare Gospel Church in Nigeria has called for stronger institutions driven by ethical leadership and deliberate investment in critical infrastructure as the country seeks to build a sustainable future.

This was the focus of the church’s 13th Annual Public Lecture held on September 10, 2026 at the Marquee, Harbour Point, Victoria Island, Lagos.

The event brought together church leaders, youths, public officials, business leaders and other stakeholders to examine Nigeria’s infrastructure challenges and the values and institutions required to sustain national development.

A former Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Agba, chaired the occasion, while former Chairman of Odu’a Investment Company, Dr. Segun Aina, delivered the keynote address.

The General Overseer of Foursquare Church in Nigeria, Rev. Dr Sam Aboyeji, set the tone for the discussions on the topic: Faith, Infrastructure and the Future of a Nation. He said the underpinning of any functioning system are the values that shape human behaviour in such societies.

In his opening remarks, Prince Agba said that Nigeria’s development choices were often shaped by short-term political considerations rather than long-term impact.

Drawing from the work of late Harvard Business School professor, Clayton Christensen, the former minister argued that institutions and nations could decline through a series of seemingly reasonable decisions that prioritise immediate benefits over long-term consequences.

He noted that leaders were often pressured to pursue projects that were visible and politically rewarding while less visible but essential investments in projects like primary healthcare, rural roads, schools, water and other basic services received less attention.

“If we are to build a nation that lasts, the first structure we must repair is not a road or a bridge. It is the measure by which leaders and citizens judge success,” Prince Agba said.

Speaking from his experience in government, he highlighted Nigeria’s 2022 Multidimensional Poverty Index, which he said showed that 63 per cent of Nigerians, representing about 133 million people, were experiencing multidimensional poverty.

Prince Agba described multidimensional poverty as stretching beyond income to include deprivation in areas such as sanitation, healthcare, education, housing, food security, electricity and access to other basic services.

According to him, the data demonstrated the need for governments to locate infrastructure based on the specific needs of communities rather than adopting a uniform approach.

He also urged leaders to judge projects by their impact on citizens rather than their size or visibility, stressing that votes could be counted but stewardship would ultimately be measured.

He also called on citizens to examine the demands they make of public officials, arguing that Nigerians sometimes contribute to poor governance by prioritising contracts, appointments and personal favours over broader public interest.

‘Character Infrastructure’ is Critical

The guest speaker, Dr Aina, took the discussion further by arguing that infrastructure is not limited to roads, bridges and other physical structures.

He proposed placing greater priority on what he described as “character infrastructure”. For him, this is the ethical and behavioural foundation that determines how people use knowledge, authority, resources and institutions.

Dr Aina argued that a country could possess modern infrastructure and still fail if the people responsible for managing public resources lacked integrity and competence.

For him, “People who know what to do and can do it excellently and possess the character to do it rightly” are required to build a nation that can endure.

He also drew lessons from countries including Singapore, South Korea, Rwanda, the United Arab Emirates and China, arguing that their experiences demonstrated the importance of visionary leadership, long-term planning, human capital development, strong institutions, technology and sustained investment.

He also called for greater participation of Christians and faith-based organisations in politics and public affairs, arguing that people of competence, quality and integrity should be encouraged and supported to seek political office and held accountable when they assume leadership positions.

Still on ‘Invisible Infrastructure’

In his presentation, former Minister of Aviation, Osita Chidoka, who participated as a panelist, said the country’s visible infrastructure could not function effectively without what he described as “invisible infrastructure.”

He identified courts, civil service, regulators, procurement systems and electoral bodies as part of Nigeria’s institutional infrastructure, while trust, fairness and restraint constituted another layer necessary for society to function predictably.

“The invisible infrastructure determines the quality and durability of visible infrastructure,” he said.

He added that Nigeria needed institutions that would make good behaviour easier, misconduct costly and competence consequential.

Chidoka also warned that institutional weakness carried an economic cost, just as poor roads and unreliable electricity did, because investors and citizens need confidence that contracts would be enforced, regulations would be predictable and the powerful and powerless would receive equal treatment.

Another panelist, Mrs Olufunmilayo Kadri, an engineer, emphasised the importance of regulation, professional supervision and maintenance in ensuring that physical infrastructure lasts.

Drawing from personal experiences with poorly executed building constructions and inadequate access roads, she argued that infrastructure projects must be properly designed, supervised and maintained rather than simply constructed and abandoned.

She cited infrastructure projects that have survived for thousands of years, saying, “Whatever we’re doing as engineers is a covenant with the people who will use what we design.”

On his part, Joseph Ciroma, another panelist, also an engineer, stressed that national development ultimately depends on the values and actions of citizens. “A nation cannot be stronger than the values of its citizens,” he said, maintaining that infrastructure and technology could only deliver sustainable benefits when citizens used them responsibly.

He also emphasised the need for integrity, accountability and the fear of God as foundations for nation-building.

“We cannot continue doing the same thing and expect to get a new result,” he said, warning that compromising standards and neglecting maintenance would only lead to infrastructure deteriorating shortly after construction.

On the whole, the lecture reflected the Foursquare Gospel Church’s broader emphasis on the role of faith in national development, as noted by the church’s General Overseer, that sustainable development is not achievable through physical infrastructure only, but with people and institutions grounded in values, vision, competence, integrity and faith.

This position was affirmed by the various speakers who repeatedly returned to the need for Nigerians to look beyond what can be immediately seen and build systems capable of producing lasting benefits.

The discussions placed infrastructure within a broader framework of values-based leadership, character, institutional strength, and responsible citizenship.