Changing Gears on the Railway?

Last weekend, President Muhamadu Buhari and Transportation Minister Rotimi Ameachi were in South Africa for the China-Africa Forum. On the sidelines, both men engaged the Chinese on Railway investment. The Chinese are no strangers to railway infrastructure in Nigeria, nay Africa. There is good evidence from some African countries of the success of collaboration with Chinese investment in railway development. In spite of the long years, Chinese involvement in Nigerrian railway has not yielded gain that reflects the enormous political and financial commitment claimed by previous governments.

The current government needs to set out its agenda for railways very clearly. It need to dream big. Nigeria is a huge country, with a huge population, with untapped economic and social resources.  Indeed, such a dream should begin with a total remap of railway routes. While it may be beneficial to invest in the legacy routes, it must not be at the expense of new routes with potential for immense advantages. 

In this context, the primary thing is to drive forward a strong advocacy for sustainable public transport by engaging different stakeholders collaborating on a strategic scale comprising financial, economic and political actors. By doing this, the obstacles to investment in railway, even by local investors, become surmountable because of the long-term estimation of public transportation to the life and health of the country.

Thus, I call on the President and Mr Amaechi to convene a Stakeholders Summit on Public Transportation as an aid to assembling these strategic, structural and social forces that can drive cohesive, sustainable change in our attitude to long-term investment in transportation - with or without the Chinese. 

Tuesday, 8 December 2015