The Shem Perspective is a research and commentary platform on why public projects succeed on paper and stall in practice. Written by Dr. Shem Ayegba, PMP, CP3P: former Special Assistant to the Lagos State Governor, housing PPP researcher, and delivery professional.
Every piece here traces back to one root problem: the gap between what good policy knows and what actually gets built.
Why housing strategies that work on the whiteboard collapse at the construction site, and what actually closes that gap.
The unglamorous mechanics of getting infrastructure built: procurement, sequencing, and the politics of maintenance.
Public-private partnerships as they actually run: contract design, risk allocation, and where "success factors" quietly fail.
Inside government machinery: the unseen layer of process and capacity that decides whether policy becomes reality.
Billions committed, targets set, strategies published. So why does housing delivery keep falling short? A diagnosis of where the system breaks down, with a focus on Ontario.
Read the brief → Essay · LagosA personal reflection on two cities, one journey, and what Hong Kong's approach to infrastructure and public housing can teach Lagos about urban possibility.
Read the essay → Analysis · Housing PPPsWhy Lagos keeps building housing it cannot afford, in places it cannot protect, and what a delivery-focused PPP model would look like instead.
Read the analysis →
