Can the railways in Nigeria trigger an economic resurgence?

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.