Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Saturday Essay: The Trains Are Back - and Peter Obi is Riding on One Track!

This is great news for those of us old enough to recall with nostalgia the
"golden years" of Nigeria's railway transportation system. So popular was this
system that we recited the names of the major railway cities in the country in
elementary and high schools. Those of us who were (and are) soccer or football
enthusiasts—some might say fanatics—will recall the fantastic Nigerian Railways
football club, SCOA, UAC and—yes—The Police football club among others. I caught
the train from Yaba to Apapa to work at Niger Motors. Those were wonderful and
interesting days in Lagos and Nigeria!

Ike Udogu




----- Original Message -----
From: Mobolaji Aluko <alukome@gmail.com>
Date: Saturday, December 27, 2014 12:39 pm
Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Saturday Essay: The Trains Are Back - and
Peter Obi is Riding on One Track!
To: USAAfrica Dialogue <USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com>, NaijaPolitics
e-Group <NaijaPolitics@yahoogroups.com>, "nigerianid@yahoogroups.com"
<nigerianID@yahoogroups.com>, naijaintellects
<naijaintellects@googlegroups.com>, NiDAN <nidan-group@googlegroups.com>,
OmoOdua <OmoOdua@yahoogroups.com>, Ra'ayi <Raayiriga@yahoogroups.com>, ekiti
ekitigroups <ekitipanupo@yahoogroups.com>, Yan Arewa <YanArewa@yahoogroups.com>

> My People:
>
> Compliments of the season to all of una!
>
> I could care less whether Governor Peter Obi (formerly of APGA) is
> burnishing his own image, or that of his new party in preparation
> for the
> February 2015 elections. He has every right to do so.....pictures
> don'tlie. The fact of the matter is that the trains are back in
> Nigeria - and
> he has been telling us not only about the one track he rode one
> (Port to
> Enugu via Umuahia), but other tracks that he has been told about
> that are
> on track.
>
> So that is very good news indeed, because, next to electricity,
> opening up
> Nigeria via railway is the next best thing that will fire Nigeria
> up to the
> next level of development. You gotta believe that...
>
> What I have now done is not only "pencilled" in red below on a
> detailed map
> of Nigeria the routes that Governor Obi mentioned, but also took the
> liberty to extend GEJ/Obi's vision to my own vision of WHAT the
> railwaymap of Nigeria should REALLY look like, making sure that (at
> the very
> least) it traverses EVERY (or near every) new university town in the
> country.
>
>
>
>
> So rather than go off at another tangent of abuses of politicians, we
> should also make railways an issue in the forthcoming elections,
>
> (1) by holding the incumbent government to the fire on its
> delivery so far
> on railways; the Lagos/Kano line has not been particularly
> spectacular,and needs serious improvement. But we should encourage
> it to continue,
> including making Peter Obi Minister of Railways - and nothing else
> for now..
>
>
> http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/12/lagos-to-kano-mass-transit-train-
> service-begins-operation-sijuwade/
>
>
> http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/127684-the-return-of-the-lagos-
> kano-passenger-train.html
>
>
> http://www.thenigerianvoice.com/news/159041/4/railway-corporation-
> cancels-lagos-kano-train-servi.html
>
>
>
> (2) holding the opposition accountable as to what it would do in this
> regard, whether it would continue the incumbent government's
> vision if
> elected, and outlining its own schedule and costs, or go off on
> some other
> adventures.
>
>
> To fulfil all righteousness, we should not forget what Governor
> Fashola is
> doing about Metrorail in Lagos State, with active encouragement and
> supportby the Federal Government and the World Bank:
>
>
> http://www.lamata-ng.com/rail_services.php
>
> Planned lines are:
>
> 1. Blue Line - Okokomaiko to Marina (27 kilometers)
> 2. Red Line - Agbado to Marina via Iddo and Muritala Mohammed
> International Airport (MMIA)
> 3. Green Line -Marina to Lekki (Airport)
> 4. Yellow Line -Otta to Iddo
> 5. Purple Line Redeem to Ojo
> 6. Orange Line- Redeem to Marina
> 7. Brown Line- Mile 12 to Marina
>
> The Blue and Red Lines are priority routes, which are already at
> advancedstages for immediate development.
>
>
>
> 3D impression of the Blue Line Rail running along Lagos Badagry
> Expressway
>
>
> Yes, the trains are back, and we will be watching and hoping to
> ride them...
>
> And there you have it.
>
>
> Bolaji Aluko
>
>
> ____________________________________________________________________
>
>
> THE TRAINS ARE BACK
>
> Peter Obi
>
>
> On Monday, the 23rd of December, 2014, we travelled with the Vice
> President, His Excellency, Arc Namadi Sambo, GCON to Port-Harcourt.
> TheVice president was there to flag-off rail transport from Port
> Harcourt, via
> Umuahia, to Enugu. After the flag-off, some of us on the entourage
> of Mr.
> Vice President - the Minister of Transport, Sen. Umar Idris; the
> Governorof Abia State , Chief Thoedore Orji, the SA to the Vice
> President, Mallam
> Abba Dabo, the Minister of the Niger Delta, among others, rode with
> theVice President in the train from Port Harcourt to the Imo River
> Station in
> Imo State. The ride was significant in many ways. Besides
> confirming the
> re-birth of rail transport in Nigeria, it has deeper implications for
> national productivity. Though it was the first time I entered train in
> Nigeria, but all of us riding in the train remind one that political
> leaders all over the world use that mode of transport as Mr. Joe
> Biden used
> railway regularly for over 30 years as a Senator from his
> Constituency in
> Delaware to Washington until he became the Vice President. I look
> forwardto that day our politician will use train to Abuja and I
> believe we are on
> our way to getting there. It was indeed a glorious era because I
> last saw
> train in Nigeria as an under graduate in the early 80s
>
> As we rode past several towns, adults and children came out en
> masse to see
> the train and wave to the passengers. Observing everything through the
> window, I said to myself that these people must be in for long
> conversations later, as it was a mix of the very old and some much
> youngerones who must be seeing the train for the first time in
> their lives. I say
> this because the railways in the country had collapsed for nearly four
> decades now. But time was when it was a convenient, constant,
> reliable and
> very affordable and most secure means of transportation in Nigeria;
> the way
> it has remained in some parts of the world. By its very nature, the
> trainis also better in transporting goods from one part of the
> country to
> another. Part of the reasons our roads collapsed is because some of
> theheavy loads that are ideal for the rail are transported by road.
>
> What can be deduced from the foregoing is that civilization is
> perpetuallyevolving. Today, the world has, in fact, moved from
> being a global village
> to become a global kitchen. Trains now move from one country to
> anotherwith frightening speed. From behind the key board one can do
> almostanything conceivable, without travelling from one place to
> another as used
> to be the norm. But the point to note here is that nations must be
> on tip
> toes to catch up with the speed. If any nation chooses to remain
> passive,civilization will leave her behind and this is what Nigeria
> suffered for
> many years. Oh yes, because for years we seemed to have wings so
> weak for
> the flight into the 21st century that we moved from infrastructural
> stagnation to infrastructural retardation, before finally plunging
> into the
> infrastructural decay inherited by the Jonathan era. This is why
> one can
> say with certainty that President Jonathan has been facing more
> challengesthan many understand.
>
> Cast your eyes on Nigeria, you will see that this country failed to
> planfor many years and we are now reaping the fruits of
> thoughtlessness. Today
> President Jonathan is working with a holistic template that is
> transformingeverything, backed by focused and continuous planning
> and re-planning.
> Nigeria is poised to maintain and surpass the same pace of
> development we
> witnessed in the 60.
>
>
> The way Mr. President manages the country today leaves no one in
> doubt that
> he is aware of all that needs to be done and is following a clear
> sequencein all things. The transformation Agenda is, in itself, an
> acceptance that
> many things are bad in the country and that we need radical
> policies to get
> the country to where others are in the 21st century. If he was not
> aware of
> this he might as well have named as catchword for his Government,
> Consolidation Agenda or even Sustenance Agenda.
>
> The foregoing and more are the reasons why the Jonathan Government
> appearsto have almost started everything anew, since the
> foundations it met were
> shaky. Anyone who tries to build on shaky foundations without
> reinforcingit, will end up with a collapsed building. He did not
> want that. This
> informs the building of new railway lines, such as the on-going
> Abuja-Kaduna line.
>
> One clear area that demonstrates the past failures of government is
> railwaysub-sector of the transport sector. The railways were one of
> our colonial
> inheritance that our people have not been able to manage well.
> Today, the
> Jonathan government wants to turn the rail lines into arteries of
> nationalunity, as they crisscross the nooks and crannies of the
> nation. Many past
> Governments spent Billions of Naira in that Sector, but with
> appallinglylimited results. That explains how a sector that used to
> be one of the
> highest employers of labour in Nigeria became so problematic that
> most of
> its workers had to leave, because they were tired of doing nothing.
> Perhaps one should sum it all up by stating for the record that the
> flag-off of the Port Harcourt line was part of the larger 25-year
> RailwayStrategic Plan comprising rehabilitation of the existing
> 4000 kilometres
> old, narrow gauge and the building of standard guage across the
> country.Out of this, the 1,124 Kilometres Lagos- Kano (western
> Flap) line passing
> through Ibadan, Ilorin, Minna and Kaduna is completed and is
> running 6
> times a week. On this, the Minister of Transport, Sen. Umar Idris
> gave an
> insight: "On December 2012, we flagged-off the commencement of
> passengerservices and haulage of goods on the Western Line from
> Lagos – Kano, a
> distance of 1,124Km. As a result of the restoration of services
> along that
> Line, economic activities are being further stimulated, thereby
> engenderingincreased confidence in the citizenry."
>
> The Port Port Harcourt- Enugu line that is completed is part of the
> longer,1657 kilometers Port Harcourt- Maiduguri line. The Markudi-
> Kafanchan-Jos
> line, which is part of it will be completed in January to be
> followed by
> the Jos- Bauchi- Gombe.
>
> This is in addition to the Kafachan-Kaduna line, connecting the
> Western and
> Eastern flank, which is also receiving attention and will be
> completed in
> January, 2015. The rehabilitation of Zaria- Kaura Namoda ( Zamfara)
> lineused to carry cotton and hide as well as Kano- Nguru lines will be
> completed in June, 2015. The more interesting thing here is even that,
> while the rehabilitation of the old, narrow gauge is on going, new
> standardgauge, which is part of the 25-year Strategic Plan is also
> going on
> simultaneously. The Kaduna- Abuja line is 90% completed, remaining the
> rolling stock which is due for arrival between January and
> February, 2015.
> The Warri-Ajaokuta double standard gauge is 95% completed, as only the
> interchanges are remaining. The contract for the Lagos-Ibadan standard
> gauge has been awarded.
>
> Part of the standard gauges under construction is the Coastal Lines
> traversing (11) states of the Federation namely: Lagos – Ogun–Ondo -
> Edo –
> Delta – Bayelsa – Rivers – Abia – Akwa Ibom – Cross Rivers and
> Anambra with
> the following alignment Lagos – Shagamu – Ijebu Ode – Ore – Benin
> City –
> Sapele – Warri – Yenagoa – Port Harcourt – Aba – Uyo – Calabar with an
> additional line from Benin City to Onitsha including the Onitsha Rail
> Bridge.
>
> Plans have also been completed for the rehabilitation of 9 Railway
> Stations, which will involve remodeling. This initiative is being
> undertaken under Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement. The
> stationsto be remodelled and redeveloped as made known by the Hon.
> Minister of
> Transport under the first phase are: Iddo Terminal Station, Lagos;
> EbuteMetta Junction Station, Lagos; Illorin Station; Kaduna
> Junction Station;
> Kano Station; Port Harcourt Station; Enugu Station; Jos Station and
> GombeStation.
>
> While this transformation is going on, it is pertinent to
> understand that
> the Federal Governemnt is also evolving eneableing legislation to
> bacvk up
> the results that are anticipated. Thus the following bills are
> almost ready
> for the National Assembly, namely, Nigerian Railway Authority Bill;
> National Transport Commission Bill; Nigerian Ports and Harbour
> AuthorityBill; National Inland Waterways Authority Bill
>
> The transformation at the ports are also awesome. Before the
> inception of
> Jonathan Government, our ports worked only for 9 hours, but today
> it works
> for 24 hours. The expansion of existing ports are ongoing, while
> administrative measures have been taken for the overall good, and
> enhancedservice delivery at the ports.
>
> With the flag-off of the resuscitated Port-Harcourt-Umuahia-Enugu
> rail and
> the on-going rehabilitation and outright construction of new
> railway lines,
> we have every reason to acknowledge that the Jonathan Government is
> on the
> right track in the area of providing cheap and effective mass
> transportation. The Minister of Transport, Sen. Idiris Umar, needs
> specialcommendation for working round the clock in the
> implementation of the
> Strategic Plan that is part of President Jonathan's Transformation
> Agenda.It behoves on us all to support President Jonathan in his
> task of
> re-engineering the country.
>
> Mr. Obi was the immediate past Gov. of Anambra State
>
> *___________________________________________________________*
>
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