In keeping with Nigeria ’ s colonial railway heritage , it is not surprising that the Minister of Transportation , Rotimi Amaechi , has invoked a plan to revive rail transportation. The headline announcement is that the Federal Government would spend $ 16 billion in “ modernising rail and ports infrastructure ” across the country . The minister ’ s intention appears justified in the light of Nigeria ’ s crude railway system , but , on closer scrutiny , it looks like a mere political statement that is not likely to achieve anything tangible .
Essentially , the government plans to link some parts of the country through a rail network and had earlier committed itself to two key projects at a cost of $ 20 billion. They are the 1 ,100 -kilometre freight and passenger line between Lagos and Kano, and the Lagos -Calabar line . On October 10, the Nigerian Railway Corporation stated that it would complete the first leg of the Lagos - Kano rail spanning Lagos and Ibadan by December 2018 , though the laying of tracks has yet to commence . The project is estimated to cost N 458 billion.
A deeper look, however , shows that Amaechi ’ s plan is not based on any sound financials . With the economy asphyxiating from low oil prices, a bogus public recurrent expenditure , mounting debts and frail buffers , the Muhammadu Buhari administration might not be able to stump up the requisite funds for the rail modernisation. Amaechi himself admitted this , saying : “ There are approvals for our sector but we have to look for the money because the money is not just there. ” How true !
Yes , a modern railway system is a sine qua non for a buoyant economy . Because of this unassailable economic reality , the government ought to have a clear focus in the rail sector . What is needed is a holistic reform of the sector . India , for instance , has just launched an ambitious High Speed Rail programme at a cost of $ 142 billion over a five -year period . Delhi plans to double this in the next five -year cycle . It has sourced funds from the Japan International Cooperation Agency, the World Bank and private investors from the United States , and has privatised several aspects of its rail sector, the world ’ s fifth largest . This is the way to go .
Therefore , Amaechi ’ s approach is faulty . The minister and President Muhammadu Buhari should stop giving the impression that the Nigerian government has the ability to generate the funds needed to execute the project. Amaechi ’ s mistake was made by his predecessors, with a N 50 billion programme and another $ 8 .3 billion plan ; the one delivering little and the latter aborted . Even the United Kingdom with a modern rail system is still opening up the rail market to attract private capital .
A poll by Eurobarometer , a European Commission agency, found that following the privatisation of British Rail in the 1990 s , service satisfaction of the United Kingdom rail users climbed to the second highest in Europe ( behind Finland ) at 78 per cent . A study by the British rail regulators adds that since privatisation , rail journeys increased by 117 per cent in 2014 and the number of passengers more than doubled . “ On the balance , rail privatisation has been a huge success ,” The Guardian of London said in 2013 .
Yet , the British government is not satisfied . Realising that Network Rail , the public rail company, is lagging behind , the British Ministry of Transport intends to fully privatise a new high - speed line between Oxford and Cambridge. “ What we are doing is taking this line out of Network Rail ’ s control ,” Chris Grayling, the British transport minister , said . “ Network Rail has got a huge number of projects to deliver at the moment … I want it to happen quicker . This is an essential corridor for this country. On that route , we are going to bring in private finance , in a form to be decided .”
Nigeria ’ s rail system needs huge private capital investment. This should be the crux of the rail modernisation plan : attracting foreign direct investment . By opening up the rail sector, the Buhari government can achieve a lot . The statist approach being employed inhibits radical modernisation. Closer home, a new 752 km HSR line between Ethiopia and Djibouti is having a significant impact on the economies of both countries . The authorities said the railway could reach a speed of 120 km / h ( cargo trains) and 160 km /h ( passenger trains) , cutting journey times between the two destinations from three days by road to 12 hours.
Unfortunately , this is not the case in Nigeria . The fastest passenger train between Abuja and Kaduna moves at 90 km /h although the NRC , after taking delivery of two new Chinese - built coaches in July , announced that it would increase the speed to 130 km /h . The other trains are much slower, including the Lagos -Kano train that takes three days or more . In all , Nigeria ’ s rail network stands at 3 , 505 km , with much of it in narrow gauge , in what has become a stone -age technology , going by global developments . This is a depressing situation , considering the huge potential of railway to boost transportation, tourism , employment and reduce the carnage and gridlock on our dilapidated roads .
To achieve the modernisation target, the Federal Government should entrench innovative ideas by opening up the sector: global rail companies are willing to partner governments to revamp the rail network . First , the executive should work with the National Assembly to repeal the Railway Act ( 1955 ) , the law that vests sole ownership of railway in the Federal Government . That law is an encumbrance that must go . In its place , a fresh one that will liberalise and accommodate private sector participation should be enacted expeditiously .
