Railway management incorporating mass transit including multi-faceted logistics and infrastructural
support is a very tricky business. Anybody who works or has worked in that
sector can comfortably explain the complexity of the challenge required to make
things work effectively.
Many people wonder and express dismay that Nigeria does not
have an effective and viable rail service. However, what has been forgotten is
that over the past four decades the rail infrastructure has been wound down and
systematically dismantled.
The infrastructure (rails, rolling stock, stations, etc.)
needs to be replaced, the business required to make the network work needs to
be put in place and the technology that enables the whole setup to run
seamlessly needs to be learned.
Even in the United Kingdom where rail travel is a matter of
course, the challenges are immense and the system is in constant change. In
India that boasts an expansive network recent events have shown that constant
updates to the entire system cannot be overlooked.
Nigeria is ripe for a state-of-the-art cutting edge rail
system, however what is needed more is commitment from the Federal Government
to demonstrate an unflinching will to pump huge sums of money into the rail
program. A major part of this will is capacity development that is driven by
the unique needs of Nigerians as opposed to a short cut of importing foreign
knowledge.
It not insinuated that foreign experts that have experience
of running railways in other parts of the world do not have anything to offer, Nigerians need to be very involved building a railway system that
suitable for Nigerians, conceived and built by Nigerians. To build an effective
and viable railway system a program set up to assess the needs of all
stakeholders.
This includes identifying and valuing interwoven services
essentially those that can generate revenue for the service. Daniel Thomas and
Gill Plimmer writing for the Financial Times on March 25, 2016 (https://www.ft.com/content/173b6c06-f1da-11e5-aff5-19b4e253664a)
wrote that UK’s Network Rail’s infrastructure includes a vast fibre network
that runs alongside railway lines up and down the country. This currently
delivers voice, data, video and broadband services for maintenance teams and
communication between trains.
There is a "deluge of interest” from potential
investors worldwide such as Vodafone, Virgin Media and TalkTalk, companies
interested in expanding their national telecoms networks using the UK rail
infrastructure, which would provide connectivity between towns and cities and
into remote and rural areas.
This is important because railways are expensive and additional
and innovative sources of revenue are crucial to the maintenance of the
infrastructure and profitability of the service. Using the national fibre
network that can be built alongside the rail network could also be used to help
connect masts to improve mobile coverage, which can be used to aid developing
rural parts of the country.
Another area where railways worldwide generate revenue is in
the property arena. Rail companies own vast swathes of property and land in a
large array of areas, which are candidates for leasing and rental
possibilities. There is also opportunity provided for advertising on rolling
stock on railway buildings, and in open fields.
The misfortune of the Nigerian railway story is the inability to put an efficient
and effective rail program in place, all due to the culture that exists towards the whole
spectre of governance, business, banking and managing projects.
The purpose of this medium is not to list Nigeria's shortcomings
as a nation. However for a railway program to proceed and succeed, there
needs to be trust, governance and transparency. Government bonds need to
be issued and mind boggling amounts of money will be raised. Accountability, an
exceptional management program and project management practices need to be put
in place as well as seeking the support and education of the populace.
It is believed that there is the wherewithal to carry
out a rail program, however there is a need to dig in deep and execute a massive culture
change to make it work. We need a strong visionary leader to move things
forward. Railway development
in Nigeria can take a big bite into the current unemployment situation.
All manner of skills can be absorbed and trained over a wide age range.
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who served as President
longer than anyone (from 1933 to 1945), liked highways. He signed a law in 1944
that called for selecting an Interstate System, making a program ready for
construction after World War II so there would be lots of jobs for soldiers
when they came home from the war. A similar program in Nigeria targeting the
railways will have a similar result on the unemployment situation creating
jobs, training and wealth for participants and stakeholders.
