Category: Transportation

Are there drivers’ etiquettes that are sacrosanct for safe road use? A video, which went viral on social media last week, showed the depth of ignorance among  public on expectations of road users, and how curbing these could stop the culture of wastes, writes ADEYINKA ADERIBIGBE

Generally, the road is regarded as a shared/common asset belonging to road users. As a shared asset, it is a leveller of sorts – bringing together the rich and the poor; with both co-relating as they prosecute their different journeys, moving from one point to the other.

The road, to be functional, is expected to interact with various users – motorists, pedestrians, young, old, abled and those who are otherwise abled, to ensure that each use the road and arrive safely at their  various destinations without any impediment or accident.

That explains the perspective on the road/traffic signs, which many motorists are expected to be conversant with before being licensed to make use of the road. This is primed on the assumption that an uninformed or ill-informed road user is a disaster waiting to happen.

One such sign, which has been abused is the Zebra Crossing. It is trite to assume that many motorists know what a Zebra Crossing is. But, more importantly, is to know what to do when you are approaching same.

Globally, a motorist is expected to slow down while approaching a Zebra Crossing and traffic is expected to come to a total stop on both sides of the road if you see a pedestrian waiting on the Zebra Crossing sign to allow him a safe passage.

In Europe, United Kingdom and United States, even is many Asian countries, a dedicated traffic sign has been developed for Zebra Crossing where the light turns on Red when pedestrian steps on the Zebra Crossing and will only come on Green when they have safely prosecuted their journey, for vehicles to continue their ride.

Where such is not available, it is the law that vehicles must come to a stop to allow other road users, especially pedestrians, make use of the road. Where such Zebra Crossing is usually some 100 metres away from traffic signal lights where pedestrians are expected to make use of the Zebra Crossing when the lights come on red for vehicles to stop.That is what obtains where the broad philosophy that the road is a shared asset for all, is readily accepted as norm. It ought to hold same for Nigeria, but did it?

Reactions from many Nigerians on a video, which went viral on social media last Wednesday, showed the depth of ignorance among many and if half the number who posted their views on the issue owns a vehicle and/or hold a driver’s licence, it showed that many needed to go back for re-evaluation/recertification to drive on public roads, as they constitute a real danger to public safety.

In the video taken by someone, who claimed to have observed the trend for about three months before posting, some officials of the Lagos Central Business District (CBD), and Lagos State Transport Management Agency (LASTMA) swooped on innocent motorists trapped on the Zebra Crossing at the Alausa CBD at Agidingbi, anytime the traffic light turns red.

The narrators alleged that the CBD sheriffs would intercept such vehicles, and force the drivers to a PoS operator around the Afrika Shrine about two kilometres away, where he/she would either settle the guys, or pay the fine of N20,000 for flouting the state’s traffic regulation.

The narrator wondered why the Zebra Crossing would be put less than 100 metres to a traffic light and why the officials rather than perform advisory roles often resort to extorting innocent motorists. He called on the government to investigate the development and bring the bad eggs in the force to book.

Though the event happened in Lagos, it was symptomatic of developments in many urban centres across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The Nation checks showed that Zebra Crossing is one among several other road signs abused by motorists due to wanton ignorance of their purpose and necessity like any other traffic sign to road users.

For instance, though unlike many road/traffic signs, many motorists recognise what Zebra Crossing sign means they hardly slow down while approaching one or wait as stipulated by the law, even when they see pedestrians at the shoulder of the road. Such attitude have imperiled many lives as many unsuspecting pedestrians have been knocked down and killed due to such recklessness.

The Lagos Traffic Sector Reform Law stipulates a fine of N20,000 for any infraction of this and other road traffic sign violations so that the roads are made safe for others.

The FRSC Superintendent Route Commander, Olabisi Sonusi, said the officers were right enforcing the law as it is an offence for any motorist to stay on Zebra Crossing whenever there is a traffic queue a a result of traffic signal stoppage.

She said there is an acceptable distance, which motorists are expected to keep to a Zebra Crossing and this must be respected for the sake of the safety of other road users.

Sonusi, who is the sector’s Public Education and Enlightenment Officer, however, flays the officials aggressiveness, saying perhaps more civility could have been deployed by the state officials in the discharge of their responsibilities.

Besides the Zebra Crossing, Sonusi said: “Other road signs which motorists and drivers are supposed to know and adhere to are the Octagon signs (which informs a motorist to do or not to do something), the Diamond (which alerts of hazardous conditions ahead, such as a sharp curve or a dangerous slope), the Circle, (which informs drivers they should not do something, eg, no u-turn etc), an upside down triangle which means yield), or horizontal rectangles (which provides guidance/information to drivers such as one-way street/road, or road hazard) and vertical rectangels which often times informs drivers of acceptable speed limits on some roads.”

Sonusi, who runs several radio programmes every morning in Lagos, lamented that despite repeated enlightenment, drivers continue to show stark ignorance of the regulations a development she described as unacceptable.

The Special Adviser to the Governor on Central Business District Mr Gbenga Oyerinde said his office is already investigating the matter, and urged the person who published the video to come to the CBD office at Alausa to help shed light on the development.

He however doubted that the video is recent, adding that his men like every other agencies of the government had downplayed their presence in the public space in the last three months as a result of the political development and had only returned to the roads fully this month. 

He said the CBD was established to improve the ease of doing business across the various areas designated as CBD in the state, adding that his men were usually out to ensure that any impediments to the roads are kept in abeyance, adding that his men had been variously trained only to assist motorists adding that in particular reference to the Alausa CBD, his men had been told to usually advice any motorist caught in the traffic queue as a result of the traffic light to turn right and make a u-turn by the Mobil Filling station to continue their journey and that only motorists who refused and are obstinate are arrested and made to pay the fine.

Ayinde who said Lagosians to see the CBD as partners urged them to come to the office or report such infractions at the Citizens Gate Portal that was recently launched by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu a platform expected to improve the feedback on governance and make governance closer to the people.

He said Lagosians should always resist the temptation to bribe government officials but rather report through all official channels in order to help sanitize the system and remove all bad eggs in the system.

Transportation Commisioner, Dr Frderic Oladeinde said the Ministry is working with all MDAs to ensure that not only is sanity maintained on the roads, but that travel experience is made seamless for all road users.

The Executive Director Centre for Sustainable Mobility and Access Development (CESMAD) Dr Kayode Opeifa said government might need to revisit the placement of the Zebra Crossing in order to ensure that motorists see it earlier than hitherto and are not drawn into the queue by the traffic signal light few metres ahead.

He said it is important to visit the location for a live view of the situation, and only when he did that would he be in a better position to offer a more robust professional advise.

He said: “From the video, it looks like an unusual situation, so professionally, we need to ascertain the markings are right and enforceable. I believe a larger percentage of drivers in Lagos state respect Zebra crossings to a great extent, hence we need to find out why the outcry. Could it be overzealousness by enforcement officers or a case of difficulty of compliance. This case need a review considering the fact that the person who did the recording says he has observed over time.”

Former Dean of the School of Transportation and Logistics, Lagos State University (LASU-SOTL) Prof. Samuel Odewunmi said stopping for other road users by motorists at Zebra crossing is mandatory and so, regardless of the development, the state officials are right. “If any motorists claimed ignorant of this traffic law, then his licence must be seized immediately because he is a serious danger to pedestrians and other road users.”

He however added that traffic education and enlightenment should be a continuous exercise in Lagos state and indeed across the country.  “Many of the motorists plying Lagos roads are coming from outside the state where these signs are very rare and mostly unenforced. But this is no tenable excuse at all for any motorists.”

Odewunmi cautioned traffic law enforcement should not revenue driven, though the fines accruable eventually becomes revenue for the state, adding that only by removing the revenue attraction can the government stop officials from seeing it as a Point of Cash (POC) for unsuspecting motorists who rather than beingwnlightened are rather extorted by the state through its officials. “Offenders should just be booked and directed to pay as appropriate. Extortion is when these officials collect bribe from the motorists without booking thereby putting the money in their pocket. This is illegal and must be resisted by the motorists,” he said.

 Prof Odewunmi  added that one should not ignore the fact that the levy and punishment for traffic offenders in Lagos state is rather high, so it compels motorists to prefer to settle the officials rather than face the stiff penalty prescribed by Lagos State Government. “On this I will recommend that the penalty of Lagos State should not be more than double the rates of the FRSC. This will encourage the motorists to pay into Lagos State coffers rather than the corrupt traffic officials.”

But the Executive Director of Safety on Wheels Patrick Adenusi described driving as an art guided by rules and regulations. An idea road, according to him, is supposed to constantly communicate to the driver. With respect to the enforcement by traffic officials on drivers waiting on zebra crossings, they’re doing the right thing arresting the motorists. “Waiting on zebra crossings” when the vehicle ahead is stationary or in slow traffic is against global best practices, Nigeria shouldn’t be an exception,” Adenusi said.

“Like it’s said, ignorance is not an excuse in law; as a motorist there is basic knowledge on safe use of the road you must possess. Vehicles are not supposed to “wait” on zebra crossings and intercession (junction) when the traffic in your front is not moving. The motoring public here is used to doing the wrong things that any attempt to enforce compliance is seen as high handedness. The chaos we experience daily on our roads is majorly a fall out of motorists not obeying the rules and the government is comfortable with it.

“While motorists are expected to be law abiding and strictly follow the rules and regulations, our government is the cause and main reason for the lawlessness. Most of our roads are “dumb,” there’s no communication of any sort between the road and the drivers, meaning our roads lack adequate road markings and signs. For example, in a state where there ought to be 5,000 zebra crossings and you have six hundred, the motorists may likely run afoul of the rules where the zebra crossings are installed. Where 20,000 road signs are required on the roads, and you only have 4,000 you’ll leave the motorists confused. The inconsistencies of road markings and signs everywhere contributes largely to noncompliance and violations. On the Highway Code and other driving manuals, the roads in those books have all the road markings and signs, but in reality, the signs are lacking.”

To effect any change, Adenusi urged the government to install road markings and signs on the roads, while the motoring public must of a necessity obey them. Government needs to engage the NGOs to help with advocacy. As simple as not blocking intercession which we don’t observe, some of the traffic congestion we experience daily can be a thing of the past, if we don’t block the intercession. The chronic lawlessness on our roads should be of a huge concern to us all. The government is not interested in addressing the reasons behind the incessant avoidable congestion with very huge negative impact on the lives, wellbeing, safety, and the prosperity of the people.

He recalled that Governor Sanwo-Olu, recently visited LASTMA and rubbed mind with them on how to improve traffic management in the state. Several suggestions according to him were given, one of which was that the government should engage the NGOs as partners in advocacy. However, nothing was heard of any engagement with the NGOs.

“The waste we experience daily in traffic is humongous, ranging from man-hour loss, stress, environmental pollution, wear and tear of the vehicles, and exposure to criminals, aggression, low productivity, and fuel. The losses to traffic congestion is in billions, take for example, if 20,000 vehicles trapped in traffic consume N1,000 extra fuel daily, that amount to N20million daily and in five days, it is N100 million. In a month, it would be N400 million and in a year, about N5 billion would have been wasted on extra fuel only. We all know, the number of vehicles caught in traffic daily far exceed 20,000. Government must be serious on improving traffic flow in the states.”

Residents of border communities of Ogun and Lagos states, who are users the Mass Transit Train Service (MTTS), have protested the new fare hike on the heels of deplorable and worsening state of the trains operated by the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), writes ADEYINKA ADERIBIGBE

For passengers of the Iddo/Ijoko mass transit train on the Lagos-Ogun interstate corridor, these are not the best of times.

 They are up in arms against the management of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), which last week jacked up the fares on the route by about 25 per cent.

Though the increment may appear insignificant, considering the cost of maintenance, among others, it was significant to affect patronage by the masses who found it difficult coughing out the new fares.

The new fare regime, which came into effect last week, moved the needle from N460 to N700.

The mass transit trains have been a life-saver for many as their fares  were adequate for those living around Agbado, Ijaiye and Ijoko axis and work in Lagos. These  people target the train for their shuttles at dawn and evenings for their journeys to and from work.

Take Madam Labule, who operates a bukateria around Oyingbo Main Market. Since she and her family moved to Ijoko, in Ogun State 20 years ago, the train has been her main option to her shop and back and she gets to work at 8.30am.

She had been coping with the increments which had been coming in series from N150 to the one before the last. Madam Labule had  stopped using the train since Tuesday when the NRC introduced the new fares.

What irked her was that the NRC management just slammed the new fares on passengers without notice.

“I got to the Ijoko Station last week and was shocked that the new rate has commenced. We were to pay N700 for a fare to Iddo and it doesn’t matter even if you are stopping at Agege or Agbado. In anger, I just went back to the bus stop to take a bus and I’ve been using the bus since then. It is just that we are usually afraid of being attacked by Area Boys who lurk around and often attack innocent and unsuspecting people at dawn.Otherwise there is no longer any attraction using the train,” she said.

Fidelis Ugbomeh is another train user who was shocked at the new price regime. A former Railway staff member, Ugboneh, who is now a journalist, and works in Lagos, has been a regular user of the train for over 30 years.

He said the latest increment was uncalled for as it does not reflect the state of the economy as it is coming when the domestic economy has shrunk to the limits as the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in a report last year, stated that 133 million Nigerians are diametrically poor across many sectors.

“The management left none in doubt that they are merely out to run the trains for profit at all cost, with scant attention paid to passengers comfort,” Ugbomeh said.

The train, which was usually full to capacity before getting to Agbado, in the morning, with same recorded in the evening even before it gets to Ebute Metta Junction (EBJ), which is the closest to Oyingbo, in the evening, is now sparsely filled on both legs of the journey since the increment.

“Passenger traffic has dropped on both legs of the journey – Ijoko to Iddo – or from Iddo to Ijoko on the return trip. In fact, in the morning, you can still get a seat at Agbado, which was never possible before because the train would have been filled to the brim, while in the evening you are likely to get a seat at EBJ Station, which was never possible before this astronomic fare,” Ugbomeh added.

Another train user, Joseph Nwala, a building materials trader at Iddo who lives at Agbado, said the new fare regime is unacceptable. “Let the NRC management work on refurbishing the coaches first before going ahead with any increment as Nigerians are already being fleeced and are just managing to ply the train for want of alternatives,’’ he said.

According to him, the coaches deployed by the NRC to ply MTTS route are antiquated.

He said the NRC runs two shuttles on the corridor and the two do four-round trips daily, yet each of the about 14 coaches attached to the locomotives are eyesores.

Nwala, who was equally a long- term user of the train, said the Seyi Sijuwade years were like the golden years for the nation’s narrow gauge coaches in terms of refurbishment.

Sijuwade, a former Managing Director of NRC, was relieved by the Buhari administration in 2015 and replaced by Mr. Fidet Okhiria, who as one of the very few who rose through the corporation’s ranks to the peak as helmsman of the 150-year-old corporation have midwifed the  modernisation agenda of the company.

Nwala recalled that the corporation used to have four locomotives and do a minimum of eight round trips per day in addition to the Lagos-Kano shuttle on the narrow gauge.

The Sijuwade years, which coincided with the era of rehabilitation of the corporation’s rolling and fixed assets, embarked on massive rehabilitation of the coaches – fixed the leaking body, reinforcing the roof claddings and upholstery of the interior of the coaches.

Also fixed was the replacement of the glass louvres window blades with plywood wooden blades, while some of the coaches were painted and their burnt fans and electric bulbs replaced.

Nwala, who scored the management zero on passenger services, lamented that the coaches have falling into disrepair, and rather than fix them, the management rushed into jerking up fare prices.

Corroborating Nwala, Pius Alademusi said many of the coaches no longer have window panes any more, while the upholstery on many of the seats are worn and bare of comfort.

Narrating the ordeal which many passengers who use the trains, he said: “You can’t imagine sitting on mere planks from Iddo to Ijoko, a distance of more than 45kms by rail that takes no less than two hours. That is even if you are lucky to get a seat, otherwise you process the journey standing for the entire journey.That is the daily experience of many passengers. Many of the coaches no longer have fans, and you can imagine how stuffy a coach filled with about 90 passengers at the minimum or hitting about 120 at full capacity could be. None of the coaches have electric bulbs again, so you board the train in darkness at dawn, with the day breaking on you in transit but the same sets on you, on your return journey and you are left to your devices as you process your journey in darkness. Regular passengers usually have their torchlights handy as they board the evening ride home, while those riding for the first time either buy one or risk a ride in the dark.

While the first train leaves Iddo by 4.30pm, the second leaves Iddo for Ijoko at 5.30pm. By the time the second train gets to Agege, its already getting dark at about 7.10pm while it will arrive at Ijoko around 8.30pm or thereabouts. Many a times, passengers would be crashing into each other as they disembark, because none of the coaches have lights, and none of the passengers ever thought of vicarious liability in the event of any loss as the situation gives room for thieves to pick the pockets of innocent and unsuspecting passengers.”

He also lamented the lack of toilet facilities in any of the coaches despite the long haul on a train that moves at a deplorably slow pace.

He said what passengers needed more now is a more comfortable coach, adding that some level of comfort can still be provided as is done in other nations that still deploys narrow width trains on narrow gauges, despite the age of the assets.

For him, rather than rush into slamming a new rate on passengers, which he said has led to a sharp drop in patronage, the NRC management ought to have taken drastic steps to refurbish the coaches and make riding more pleasurable for travellers.

Mrs Romoke Adeyemo, 66, who said she uses the train anytime she wants to check on her tenants at Agbado, lamented the deplorable state of the coaches and wondered what the NRC management had been doing with the income it has generated over the years from the over 10,000 passengers it carries daily on the two mass transit trains that transit Ijoko/Kajola and Iddo if there is no impact on the rolling stock.

For Mr Taiye Animasaun, a slight reduction of the fare to N500 would not be too bad for now. He said many passengers going to Agege from Ijoko have opted out of the train as the cost is no longer competitive when compared to bus fares.

He said now that the rains are here, the NRC management also suggested that the train windows should be fixed.

He stated: “Anytime it rain passengers who sits on the aisle get soaked because none of the coaches have windows.

“Passengers sitting beside the windows get soaked and even those at the doors are not spared. Despite this, the NRC has increased its rate to N700. This is unfair.”

NRC’s Managing Director Engr Fidet Okhiria said the management abandoned the train rehabilitation.

He said the coaches usually undergo regular rehabilitation at the corporation’s worksyard.

When contacted on the lamentations of the passengers, the NRC’s Lagos District Manager, Augustine Arisa said that management is not unaware of passengers’ pains on the train.

He said the coaches are currently being refurbished in phases as all cannot be pulled out for refurbishment at once.

He disclosed that the first phase of six coaches are being refurbished at Iddo and Loco workshops, adding that as soon as work on the coaches is completed it will be attached to the existing coaches in the corporation’s fleet.

Arisa explained that after the first phase another batch of six coaches will be removed from operation and sent to the workshops for refurbishing so as not to completely ground train operation.

The move to bridge the imbalance in air cargo export/import value chain is creating unease for aeronautical, trade facilitation, regulators, ground handling firms and other authorities. Experts say improvement in cargo packaging, processing and upgrade of handling facilities at airports is critical in unlocking the huge revenue potential in developing Nigeria into a cargo hub for West and Central Africa, writes KELVIN OSA-OKUNBOR.

The agitation by Nigeria to close the gaps  in the ranking of nations in air cargo is fast gaining traction among players in the value chain.

This is not farfetched. Africa’s most populous country is disenchanted over its parlous ranking as the fifth country on the continent in terms of air cargo freighting and the benefits accruing from the air cargo export/import space.

Despite its large population, number of airports/airlines, Nigeria is not giving a good account of itself in the development of air cargo and allied activities.

To reverse this trend, the committee set up by the Federal Government to deepen participation in the air cargo value chain last week submitted its report to the management of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).

Led by Mr Ikechi Uko, an air cargo development proponent/tourism ambassador, the committee has developed a roadmap to be implemented within the next few months by FAAN management in making the country’s airports, particularly the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), a hub for West and Central Africa.

Uko, who is the coordinator of the AviaCargo Committee, said the Federal Government was seeking ways to champion the development of cargo export and value chain as one of the avenues to boost revenues from non-oil sources.

He listed members of the AviaCargo Committee to include Dr Alex Nwuba, aviation strategist/consultant, representatives from  FAAN, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority(NCAA), Skypower Aviation Handling Company (SAHCO) Plc, Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO)Plc, Nigerian Customs Service, National Agricultural Plant Quarantine Services, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Association of Foreign Airlines Representatives in Nigeria, Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents andNigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC).

Besides submitting its roadmap to FAAN management, the AviaCargo  Committee last week embarked on a fact-finding/field tour of the Lagos Airport to identify challenges faced by operators.

Uko said the tour had become necessary to match action with words on what was needed to grow cargo development for the industry.

During a visit to SAHCO, which Uko described as the first interface with players in the cargo handling value chain, its Managing Director, Mr Basil Agboarumi, noted that though the industry has enough capacity to tackle emerging challenges, there was the need to propel change in the right direction.

Agboarumi said: “Air cargo is a money-spinning venture, because cargo does not complain, but the resources intended to turn the tide for growth in the industry apeears to be wrongly directed.

“There is the need to rework the cargo value chain to address issues of imbalance, because the industry appears to be import driven. Export of cargo is having serious challenges. As a company, we would need more land to develop a warehouse for cargo export. Often times, cargo aircraft fly into Nigeria and return empty. There should be concerted efforts to address this and related challenges.”

On his part, Group Chief Executive Officer, NAHCO Plc, Mr Indranil  Gupta, lauded the AviaCargo Committee for its visit, urging the members to come out with short-term inteventions and quick fixes in resolving the challenges militating against air cargo growth in the country.

Gupta said the Federal Government needs to look inwards on how grow air cargo export, insisting that an enabling environment, creation of right policies and infrastructure remains key in fixing gaps in the sector.

He said: “We need to draw up an action plan to fix the sector to have a major impact. Part of it is to ensure trade facilitation agencies, including Customs Services, work 24 hours and seven days of the week.

“We need to upgrade technology in the industry to enhance efficiency, which will invariably spin up value  and create jobs. I am optimistic about Nigeria’s place in air cargo business.”

Gupta said NAHCO Plc was completing an export processing and packaging centre at the Lagos Airport to push its dominance in the value chain and accelerate the ambition of creating a hub for West Africa.

During the AviaCargo Committee’s visit to the MMIA Command of the Nigerian Customs Service, its officials urged the Federal Government to create a national Plan and Strategy to grow air cargo with a template that would drive cargo processing/packaging and procedures for global standards and acceptance.

They said there was the need for players in the value chain to push for the improvement of air cargo export by creating checklists that would  position the MMIA as a pilot facility.

They said: “Developing air cargo export in Nigeria requires that the operators, regulators and facilitators consolidate a window to train people on packaging. If the goods are not properly packaged, they would be returned from the international market. To this extent, packaging remains a key comjponent in driving the air cargo value chain.Timing is also critical in the air cargo processing chain.  Added to this is the issue of certification and regulatory clearance by approved bodies incliding NAFDAC.”

They, however, called on the AviaCargo Committee to draft the Customs Service into its mandate.

In transportation, Lagos State leads. But experts wonder why a critical decision such as the berthing of her transport policy is still thorny. ADEYINKA ADERIBIGBE writes that experts are asking why the idea, which was proposed to the government in 2019, is yet to translate to a policy.

Lagos State couldn’t have been luckier in the transportation space. The state, beyond doubt, is doing far more than others in the federation.

  Since the take-off of the Fourth Republic, successive governments have prioritised transportation, and the Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration made transportation and traffic management, the first of its six pillars of focus under the THEMES agenda.

The administration’s strides on the sector – with the bus reforms, which has seen the introduction of the First Mile and Last Mile (FMLM) transport sector reforms, which has seen the ban/restriction of commercial motorcycles popularly called okada in no fewer than 25 (10 Local Governments and 15 Local Council Development Areas), out of the 57 council areas, the setting up of a parking authority, to regulate parking by commercial and religious bodies, the introduction of computerised vehicle inspection to ensure that all vehicles on the state roads kept within the basic minimum safety standards and the strengthening of the Lagos State Traffic Reform Law of 2018 among others have gone to establish the state as a go-to state for sister states that is trying to see how to make the sector work.

Sanwo-Olu raised the bar, when he led President Muhammadu Buhari to inaugurate on January 24, this year, the first phase of the Lagos Blue Rail Line, as well as to witness the signing of second phase completing the 27km contract from Marina to Okokomaiko.

Sanwo-Olu has vowed to make  ready, before May 29, the Red Line element of the Rail mix. The rail mix was part of the intermodal transportation to which the government, like  its predecessors, seemed irrevocably committed.

Similar milestones are being recorded in the waterways where the government has been playing for bigger stakes, establishing a world-class waterways control room at the Head Office of the Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA) in Lagos. This is apart from the regular distribution of life jackets for all classes of waterways users, whether babies, teenagers, young, old, men and women, which was yearly done across its five divisions of Ikorodu, Badagry, Ikeja, Lagos Island and Epe (IBILE).

LASWA just concluded the distribution of life jackets and distribution of safety awareness materials to enlighten riverine communities of their responsibilities on the waterways.

The charting of more waterways routes, the introduction of modern ferries, and the development of modern jetties with the support of the French development agency (AFD), compliments the series of initiatives under the Bus Reforms (LBR), which sought to make public sector transit more attractive, and remove more people from being captive to okada/tricycles, the small capacity rickety mini buses called Vanagon and the ubiquitous maxi buses known as the Molue or personal car shuttles.

Much as the government continued to receive accolades for doing just the right things to get public sector transportation back on track and to regain its lost glory, many wonder why the government is yet to give the state a transportation policy. Stakeholders and experts argued that the absence of a policy for the sector 56 years after its creation is the reason the sector has remained almost intractable despite efforts by the government to bring it under control.

In the commercial sector, various vehicles clogged Lagos roads and security operatives are finding it difficult to bring all operators and actors under control, because of the absence of a policy that regulates the minimum permissible means of transit for the people of the state.

The impression created is that nobody in the government circles cares about what is used for commuter services as there is no policy that drives all its regulatory forays and puts all actors in the sector in check.

The absence of a policy, according to stakeholders, have for a long time been the bane of the transportation sector in Lagos. Simply put, a transport policy is a law, regulation that contains the procedure, administrative action, incentive, or voluntary practice of the government and other institutions in the sector.

The IGI Global further define transport policy as a document, which decides the distribution of transport resources and plans their implementation, while transportgeography.org said transport policy deals with developing a set of constructs and propositions that are established to achieve specific objectives relating to social, economic and environmental conditions, and the functioning and the performance of the transport system/sector.

Like Lagos, the closest Nigeria got to producing a transport policy was in 2010, when the Federal Government produced a draft national transport policy, which among other things, provided for an adequate transport system that would meet the needs of Nigerians. The draft provides for a safe transport system that would minimise accidents and destruction of property and an environmentally sound system that would check transport related environmental pollution through the establishment of appropriate regulatory standards.

In 2021, the then Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi had said the Federal Government had set up a committee headed by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to work out a transport policy for the country, yet, as the Buhari administration winds down in next month, the policy may be one of the debts it failed to pay Nigerians, despites its huge strides in the transportation sector.

In the same vein, the Lagos State Government, despite her strides in transportation, may not deliver a transport policy to guide the sector before the end of the tenure in May.

Many of the experts who participated in drafting the policy which was submitted to the former Akinwunmi Ambode administration in May 2019 are bitter that their efforts have continued to gather dust in the chambers of the government despite the potential of the policy changing the narratives of the developments in the sector.

They recalled that an assembly of local and foreign experts in all gamut of transportation and in all the modes – pipeline, road, water and air were put together by the then government to help the state in putting together a policy to govern the transportation sector. The then Commissioner for Transportation Mr Ladi Lawanson who convened the policy committee in 2018, had said the desire to develop a policy for the sector was to address all challenges plaguing it.

He said the state is already bearing the weight of its 23 million population with 93 per cent of them being active road users who made an average of 40 million trips daily.

Lawanson said the absence of the policy has been weighing against the development of the sector in the state.

Stakeholders are however beginning to wonder why a government which seemed determined to improve the lot of the sector had continued to dither its implementation.

The Commissioner for transportation Dr Frederic Oladeinde recently told our correspondent that the government had been reworking the document and will soon come up with a robust document. Checks however proved otherwise, as no committee has been set up in the last four years by the Sanwo-Olu government to rework the transportation policy. All the experts who gathered to put the submitted reports together, also denied been contacted anytime in recent time to rework the document.

Oladeinde (who was at the time, a director in the Lagos Metropolitan Transportation Authority, LAMATA), was a member of the panel of experts who drafted the policy.

A member of the committee, who teaches in one of the universities pointedly said he stopped asking when he realised he keeps getting the same response from the government each time he called to find out what was delaying the policy document.

He said: “I have had cause to ask the commissioner on no less than three occasions why the policy is being delayed and the answer has been the same – that the government is reviewing it to make it more robust. My question is: if the main document took us less than six months to put together, why would amendments, which are just meant to make it more robust, take the government four years?

The don who preferred anonymity said he has stopped bothering himself saying it could just have gone the way of the government. “They called us to work for them, we have done the work and we have submitted. Whatever they like, let them do with it after all it is their property,” was his terse response when this Correspondent prodded him recently, admitting however that the document would need to be reviewed with the addition of rail systems into the transit mix in the state. “When we put the document together the Blue and Red Rail Lines were mere conjectures, but right now it is real and the Blue line is already carrying passengers.”

However he said the state would have gained tremendously if the policy had been implemented since 2019, adding that the Sanwo-Olu administration ought not to consign the document to the dustbin simply because it did not author it, as amendments could be done to reflect current developments in the sector.

He urged the government to quickly conclude whatever review it was doing on the document in the last four years and release it to guide the sector in the next four years.

Another member of the panel, Prof. Samuel Odewunmi wondered why the Lagos State government has been delaying the implementation of the very critical policy.

Odewunmi who drew the nexus between transportation and the economy said Lagos has lost much ground due to its failure to implement the policy. He added that ordinarily, such a policy could be amended every four or five years to reflect prevailing transportation trends and develop the state’s capacity to holistically address transportation needs for her ever growing population.

Odewunmi who drew the institutional framework of the policy concluded that it is safe to assume that the Sanwo-Olu administration will be most willing to bequeath to the sector, a policy that could drive it optimally, equitably and professionally.

He said what the state badly needed now that election is behind it, is the total professionalization of the Ministry of Transportation and the development of a governing instrument that would make the ministry the supervisory authority over all agencies operating in the sector.

Odewunmi who wondered how, and why a big state like Lagos, with over 23 million people would be operating without a road map, adding that a weak road map is far better than no road map, adding that the state would continue to run in cycles until the road map is deployed.

He also called for the ironing of scope of responsibilities between the Ministry of Transportation, LAMATA and the Ministry of Works, adding that while 80 percent of the scope of work of the later revolves round road works, it exercises no authority over the regulation of road activities, a development that has continued to generate friction.

Odewunmi, a former dean, LASU-SoTL, said “political wire pulling might be behind the continued hesitancy of the government to release the all important document that has the potential of transportation.”

For experts, a nexus exists between transportation and the economy. According to them, to move the economy, you need to fix transportation.

The way to go, they said, is a properly planned public transportation system. “There is the need to open up the transportation system, expand the infrastructure base and target the masses, who need one form of public transportation or the other to move every day,” Dr. Oladayo Timothy said.

Managing Director, Planet Projects Ltd., Mr Biodun Otunola observed that at least nine of the 23 million population in Lagos State use public transportation daily”.

Describing public transportation as “a leveler between the rich and the poor,” and an infrastructure that cannot be provided by a single individual, Otunola, whose firm is helping Lagos State to address traffic management especially in urban areas said the answer lies in the government focusing on providing “safe, convenient, comfortable and affordable” mass transportation alternatives for the people.

“The road is where the rich and the poor meet. Both classes of people are usually held in traffic congestion. The future is not in the provision of “free education or free health”, but in providing innovative solutions to traffic congestion, which is the challenge facing modern day governance across the world.

Lagos State left no one in doubt it would continue to consolidate its investment on transportation as its attention is primed on multi-modal option, writes ADEYINKA ADERIBIGBE

LAGOS State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu practicalised what it meant to hit the ground running. Barely 24 hours after he was declared winner of the just-concluded gubernatorial election, he was on the road monitoring projects. For him, there is no better way to prove his appreciation than to set out for more hard work.

He rolled up his sleeves last Monday, and toured the Red Line Rail corridor. By his assessment, the project was about 75 per cent completed. He promised to2 sign-off on it and hand it over to Lagosians before he begins his second term on May 29.

Right optics

He had just 65 more days to fulfill that dream. The Red Rail Line would be the best place for Sanwo-Olu, who just scaled the toughest political battle of his life, to begin the second phase of his tour of duty in Lagos.

For stakeholders, it showed the governor’s commitment to the THEMES Agenda which placed transportation as the first critical pillar of concern for his government and for which he has given his undivided attention since 2019.

The Red Line is the second venture of the Sanwo-Olu administration, in changing the transportation narrative from dependence on mono-modal transportation system to multimodal modes of transportation, where incidentally, the state has huge comparative advantage.

He believes transportation planning would reduce the nightmare on the road and bring relief to motorists.

Besides palliating, improving and expansion of critical roads among other initiatives, prime attention was given to the rail because of its mass transit potential. The first phase of the Blue line will account for about 250,000 passengers daily, and when the second phase is completed move about 1.5million passengers daily.

The Red Line is projected to have the same capacity for passenger traffic. This undoubtedly will bring huge relief to a city where at least about 80 percent of its 22 million population rely daily, almost exclusively, on road transportation mode for much of its 56 years of its creation.

On January 24, President Muhammadu Buhari, inaugurated the 13km first phase of the Blue Line rail, which runs from the Marina Interchange Terminal to Mile 2.

The President also witnessed, same day, the take-off of the second phase of the project, with the signing of the contract between his host, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and the Chinese contractor, Messrs China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), which would take the project from Mile 2 to Okokomaiko (on the Lagos-Badagry Expressway), thus completing the 27km Lagos Blue Line rail project.

Test-running of passenger operations on the Blue Line began on February 10. The operation, LAMATA’s Communication Consultant Mr Kolawole Ojelabi, said will run for two months; during which passengers’ feedbacks will be collated (from all categories of Lagosians, who have ridden the Blue rail), process same, and come up with an operational template for the rail system in the state.

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Sanwo-Olu goes into history books as the governor that berthed the first electric rail by any subnational government not only in Nigeria, but Africa. Though its delivery shilly shallied for 11 years, stakeholders agreed the waiting was worth it.

Sanwo-Olu’s tour of the Red Line came 96 hours after President Buhari signed an amendment bill moving the railway from the exclusive list (where it has domiciled for 68 years) to the concurrent route.

Sanwo-Olu described granting more autonomy in key areas like electricity, railways, and the judiciary as just what the state needs to take charge of her own growth.

“Like the autonomy granted electricity, the devolution of powers for railways under the constitution fifth alteration bill No 32 will help trigger local economic growth and development. It’ll open up investment opportunities and improve the mobility of goods and services,” the governor stated on his verified Twitter handle @jidesanwoolu last Wednesday.

The amendment of the Nigerian Railway Corporation Act 1955, which had been before the National Assembly since 2005, removed the shackle that had held the railway development down for so long, as state governments can now invest in rail systems without undue interference from the centre.

Lagos State, Africa’s first megacity leads in this regard. It has been on the burner since 1983, when the late Governor Lateef Kayode Jakande backed by World Bank funds had tried the metroline rail. Though derailed, the Asiwaju Bola Tinubu administration had revived the dream in 2002 and through dogged pursuit; the state, by May, would have two light rail systems to reset transit patterns in the state.

The successes of the two systems, the Transportation Commissioner Dr Frederic Oladeinde said, would set the tone for the development of the rest. Lagos has five other colour-coded rail systems (Green, Brown, Purple, Yellow and Brown), a mono rail in the works. These are to complement the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) initiative which had been introduced since 2008, which has redefined road transit in Lagos.

But experts said just as the Blue and Red lines have become rail flagship, the Green line should be developed. The Green Line is meant to link Lekki to Marina.

They argued that the imminent take-off of the Lekki Free Trade (LFT), the Lagos State Airport (approved by the Federal Government last year), the Deep Blue Maritime Safety project and the Dangote Petroleum and Fertiliser Plant, along the Lekki corridor, it makes economic sense for the government to urgently commence work on the Green Line or attract private investors to off-take or redistribute anticipated traffic that would manifest around that area as a result of the massive developments envisaged there.

place was built up, it would encounter a similar challenge being faced in other metropolises of the state.”

For him, if motorists are already going through harrowing experiences right now with those developments not yet fully in place, one can imagine what that corridor could be turned into in the next five to 10 years, when all of the industrial entities are on stream and people begin to commute only on the available road that leads in and out of that axis.

Waterways

While the Sanwo-Olu administration has assured that the Lekki axis would not be left unattended, the government is also determined to increase its stakes in waterways commuting. On the waterways, the government is not only a regulator but a player, a development many private operators have condemned as skewed against fair competition.

The Lagos State Waterways Authority’s (LASWA) General Manager Mr Damilola Emmanuel said Lagos waterways is the safest in the country, as a result of the initiatives the administration has injected to reposition it.

Emmanuel said from an insignificant number when it took off in 2019, passenger count on Lagos waterways is hitting two million monthly, and efforts are on to increase the share of passenger traffic even further.

He said besides procuring modern ferries which has increased passenger-confidence on water transit, the government last year inaugurated a fully digitalised central control centre at LASWA’s headquarters, where all activities on the state’s waterways could be viewed on closed monitors.

Emmanuel disclosed that efforts are in place to further boost water transportation in the state as Agence Francaise de Developpement (AFD) France’s Development Agency is partnering with the state government to chart a new course in waterway transportation and develop a robust water transit and build riders/passengers’ confidence on the water.

He said AFD, which has partnered the state government in developing the Marina and Mile 2 interchanges on the Blue line, is determined to partner the state in rewriting and repositioning water transit in Lagos and soon, passengers would have the opportunity to use Lagos waters for transit, tourism and leisure.

Emmanuel said the government is working at channelling at least three jetties, and to replace wooden jetties with concrete ones in its bid to make waterways safer, especially for riverine dwellers.

Opportunities

Experts agreed the government got its priorities right, concentrating on transportation this time. Redistributing traffic to other modes, they insist, would help reduce pressure on the roads, a situation which would ensure roads last longer, but also reduces traffic related tension and stress.

Odewunmi argued that Lagos roads are among the most ‘horrible’ in the world, in terms of user experience.

For him, while road travels are supposed to be pleasant and pleasurable, such experiences are a ‘luxury’ in Lagos.

This is one of the cardinal things the Sanwo-Olu administration had been working on these past four years and committed to change, he just might, given the limitless opportunities waiting to be tapped on all fronts leaving the local economy as the greatest beneficiary.

The constitutional amendment of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) will transform rail investment in the country, writes ADEYINKA ADERIBIGBE

No one saw it coming, but last Friday, when President Muhammadu Buhari assented to the amendment to the Nigerian Railway Act 1955, as one of 16 amendments to the constitution, it left none in doubt where the country is headed in terms of transport infrastructure development.

Until last week, the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), arguably Nigeria’s longest surviving government business had a stranglehold on the rail sub-sector of the economy holding down its development for 68 years, when it became transformed or longer, 125 years, since the first tram ran on rail tracks in Lagos in 1898.

The NRC is, perhaps, the last state- owned enterprise to which the Federal Government has exclusive rights.

By moving rail development from the exclusive to the concurrent list, the government demonstrated its commitment to the consolidation of the Nigerian Railway Development Masterplan.

In 2006, the Federal Government, as part of the reposition agenda of the rail development set 25-year revitalisation, rehabilitation and modernisation master plan for the rail system.

History

The NRC had a rich history dated back to 1898, when the first railroad in Nigeria was constructed by the British colonial government.

After existing for 14 years, the Lagos Government Railway and the Baro-Kano Railway were amalgamated on October 3, 1912, paving the way for a nationwide rail service under the name Government Department of Railways (GDR).

With the passing of the NRC Act of 1955, the company gained its name as well as the exclusive legal right to construct, own and operate rail service in Nigeria. The country’s rail network peaked in 1964, shortly after Nigeria’s independence. Shortly after, the NRC went into a long spell of decline, inept management, and lack of maintenance of rail and locomotive assets.

In 1988, NRC declared bankruptcy, and rail traffic stopped for six months. After that, trains resumed, where the tracks were usable, but by 2002, passenger service was discontinued.

In 2006, the rehabilitation phase started on the old narrow gauge with the addition of new locomotives with foreign assistance.

In December 2012, regular scheduled passenger service was restored on the Lagos-Kano line.

Some growth

The NRC recorded N2.12 billion naira (approximately €4.664 million) revenue in the first half of 2021, an increase of 31 per cent over the same period in 2019, which recorded the previous record revenue. At the same time, revenue from freight transport was down, with gains coming mainly from passenger transport between Lagos and Ibadan on the new standard gauge.

Infrastructure and operations

NRC operates a network of 3,505 kilometres (2,178 mi) of single track lines 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) gauge, as well as 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1?2 in) from Abuja to Kaduna.

None of the NRC’s lines is electrified. 157 kilometres are double-tracked. These are located between Lagos and Ibadan. The rail lines are mostly built of rails with a weight per metre of 29.8 kg, 34.7 kg or 39.7 kg. In total, the NRC network is almost 4,000 kilometres long. The government is considering converting the rail network from cape gauge to standard gauge.

Cape gauge lines

The NRC operates a 3,505-kilometre Cape Gauge network consisting of the following lines: Lagos-Agege-Ibadan-Ilorin-Minna-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano, 1,126 kilometres. Ifaw-Ilaro, 20 kilometres Minna-Baro, 155 kilometres Zaria-Kaura Namoda, 245 kilometres Kano-Nguru Kaduna-Kafanchan-Kuru-Bauchi-Maiduguri, 885 kilometers Kuru-Jos, 55 kilometres Kafanchan-Makurdi-Enugu-Port Harcourt, 737 kilometres Under construction is the 1,443-kilometre Eastern Rail Line from Port Harcourt to Maiduguri since March 9, 2021, with construction, including renovation or reconstruction of the lines. The project also includes new branch lines to Owerri and Damaturu, increasing the total length to 2,044 km. Completion is scheduled for next year.

Funding for the Lagos-Calabar rail line along the Nigerian coast to be built by the CCECC was released in early 2021, but the start of construction appears to be deferred until after the Nigerian general election in 2023.

The Buhari Administration had intended to connect states capital to the NRC network and to take it further to connect Nigeria to the capitals of landlocked nations among them the Niger Republic.

In February 2021, construction began on a link from Kano to Maradi, the second-largest city in Niger. The project handled by Portugal’s Mota-Engil SGPS SA, with planned inauguration in the year. The project, which is yet to take-off, is, arguably, the first rail system in Niger.

Standard gauge

From a history of two major trunk narrow gauge lines criss-crossing the country, the Buhari administration would be leaving three standard gauge networks – Abuja-Kaduna (AKTS), Itakpe-Warri (IWTS) and Lagos-Ibadan (LITS) Standard Gauges.

The oldest standard-gauge line is the original 217-kilometre line from Otukpo-Ajaokuta, which serves the steel mill, the contract of which was further extended to Itakpe and to Warri. An earlier standard gauge line of 51.5 kilometres operated between the Itakpe mines and the Ajaokuta steel mill. On September 29, 2020, an extension, the Warri-Itakpe Railway, was opened by President Buhari in a virtual ceremony.

In 2018, employees of China Civil Engineering Construction working on the project were attacked twice by bandits. Passenger trains have been running on the standard gauge line since October 2020 and freight trains since April 2021. There are also plans for an extension from Ajaokuta to Abuja being handled by the Infrastructure Concessionnaire Office. This would give the line a length of 500 kilometers. Another planned line runs from Port Harcourt to Makurdi over a length of 463 kilometers, while the Federal Government funds the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt-Maiduguri narrow gauge from fiscal allocation to the Federal Ministry of Transportation.

Construction of the Abuja-Kaduna line by the Chinese construction company CCECC began in February 2011, and it was finally inaugurated on July 26, 2016 at  a cost of US$870 million.

The 186.5-kilometre line, which begins in Idu 20 kilometres west of central Abuja, requires two hours of travel time for high-speed trains with a maximum speed of 100 km/h. In August 2020, NRC reported that about 50% of the revenue of its entire rail network (about 4,000 km) would be generated by the standard gauge.

Indeed, the highway between the two cities is a constant target for kidnappers. A train journey is thus the safer alternative to a car for residents of both cities.

On 28 March 2022, the Abuja-Kaduna line was the target of a terrorist attack in which a large number of passengers and train staff were killed or kidnapped. The line was shut down. All abductees were released after seven months and the corridor was eventually reopened in November, 2022.

The Lagos-Ibadan double-track line which started since March 2017 was inaugurated at the new Lagos Central Station on June 10, 2021, becoming the first major capital project ever to be completed in its first construction cycle.

It is 157 km long and passes through Abeokuta. It is the first double-track standard gauge line in West Africa. All compartments (standard class, business class and first class) are air-conditioned and have three overhead screens. The window seats are equipped with power outlets and USB charging stations. Criticisms include the fact that tickets are not available online and only for cash payment, and that there are only two trips a day in each direction. There is however praises for the punctuality and cleanliness of the trains.

All trains are diesel locomotive operated. The railways own nearly 200 locomotives, of which up to 75% are not operational. It also owns about 54 shunters, 480 passenger coaches and more than 4900 freight wagons; less than 50% of the coaches and wagons are in serviceable conditions, Wikipedia added.

New Opportunities

Rail experts argued that NRC’s new status would help consolidate the gains of the past 14 years and lay a solid foundation for the Master plan.

NRC’s Managing Director Engr Fidet Okhiria said the amendment to the NRC 1955 Act would help attract more investments in the rail sector.

To date, Lagos became the first to massively invest on the rail system and its strides arguably may have strengthened the call for the amendment of the draconian Act which consolidated rail investments and management in NRC.

On January 24, 2023, President Buhari inaugurated the Lagos Blue line, while the Red Line is slated for commissioning by May.

Lagos took the sail off the Southwest zone’s attempts to come up with a regional rail system which it toyed with between, 2006-2007 and packaged by the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria Commission (DAWN).

The Federal Capital Territory Authority (FCTA) also came up with a light rail, while the rail system proposed by Rivers State under former Governor Rotimi Amaechi has become a relic despite achieving a 60 percent completion rate as at 2015.

Nigeria, with a population netting 220 million had five states among them – Bayelsa (2.27m), Nasarawa (2.52m), Taraba (3.06m), Kwara 3.2m) and Gombe (3.25m) with the least population. What this means is that should any of the states in Nigeria decide to invest in rail systems, all has the population to push it.

Former Dean School of Transport and Logistics of the Lagos State University (LASU-SOT-L) Prof Samuel Odewunmi believed the states are sitting on new opportunities.

According to Odewunmi, Lagos appears to be the first to benefit from the new form of NRC, which according to him have been using party affiliations to forge ahead with its train system initiatives. “Now, it has been constitutional back up to operate outside the goodwill of the federal government.”

Same, Odewunmi said, goes for Rivers and FCTA which have started some investments in monorail system.

The Professor of Transport Studies said the amendment now opens up the potentials of train systems for the six geo-political zones. “All the geo-political zones can go into rail network systems within their regions and unlock new IGR to grow their respective regions and states.”

According to Odewunmi, the law now empowers states to own, design, and operate rail systems and they can operate, link and synchronize rail systems opportunities.

Experts are back to the drawing board on how to prevent crashes such as the type that shook Lagos State to its foundation last week. ADEYINKA ADERIBIGBE reports

Though the Lagos State Government has assured that it would leave no stone unturned to get to the root of the accident that shook the state to its roots in the early hours of last Thursday, when an Ijoko-Iddo Mass Transit Train Service crashed into a bus load of government workers at a level crossing at PWD area of Shogunle. The incident has, again, presented an opportunity to rework issues of safety on all transportation modes, especially the road.

Many Nigerians, especially transportation and logistics stakeholders, would, for instance, like to know why the driver of the bus (who is said to be in police custody), who obviously is not a first-time user of the road, would chose to drive across a level crossing in disregard to the danger of an approaching train that was blaring its horn.

The driver, who was said to be undergoing series of assessments, including psychiatric tests, had the temerity to say the vehicle had developed a fault, which prevented him from speeding to safety at the level crossing, thereby leading to the accident, which led no fewer than six workers to their graves and 79 others with various injuries.

His excuse flies in the face of accusations by workers that the driver refused  entreaties to wait and allow the train to pass before continuing their journey, only for him to drive across the level crossing, leading to the crash.

The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) said elaborate level control management procedures such as deploying mechanism  and level crossing staff who work at level crossings across the country were in place to prevent accidents.

In a statement by the Deputy Director Public Affairs Yakub Mamood, urged motorists and road users to strictly “observe caution signs and instructions from officials when approaching level crossing and completely stop their vehicles when directed to do so by level crossing keeper and officials to ensure seamless movement of trains and safe crossing of motorists and pedestrians.”

He added that the railway has the right of way in any city that has the benefit of train services, hence railway track must be kept free from walking and trading.

According to him, all level crossings are manned 24-hour, and advised drivers and pedestrians to comply strictly with instructions given by NRC staff members at level crossing.

Not strange phenomenon

Statistics from United Kingdom and the United States showed that 95 percent of rail accidents occur at level crossing.

What is a level crossing? Simply put, a level crossing is the intersection between the road and the rail corridor. At such intersections, vehicles using the road are expected to wait while the train finally evacuates from the road and failure to do so often results in crashes.

According to Datablog, 13 people died last year and 145 motorists (almost three motorists per week, narrowly avoided potentially fatal collisions with a train. Quoting RSSB, Datablog said, over 3,200 incidents of misuse of level crossing was recorded in the UK, last year.

In a data taken between 2008 and 2009, while recorded incidents of misuse of level crossing was 3495 in 2008, it dropped to 3244, in 2009. While collision between vehicle and train  was 19 in 2008, it dropped to 14 the following year.

The UK Office of Rail and Road (ORR) in a release dated September 29, 2020 indicated that there were 12 passenger fatalities in 2019-20, a decrease from 17 in 2018-19. Seven occurred on the mainline while five occurred on London Underground.

Though train accident, especially at level crossing wasn’t an entirely strange, what makes the latest accident in Lagos topical is that it is one with the highest causality figure in recent history in Nigeria.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, however, believed the accident is completely avoidable. He assured Nigerians that the incident would be investigated and the driver brought to book if found culpable.

Among others, he declared three of morning, suspended all official engagements for three days and ordered flags to be flown at half-mast in honour of the victims of the accident. 

Safety specialist Patrick Adenusi agreed level crossing accidents is not peculiar to Nigeria, but he believed “it is worse here because according to him, government officials at all levels are the worst traffic offenders available anywhere”.

For him, while running on Red is a grievous offence anywhere, it is seen as the norm in Nigeria and government officials are the worst offenders who break traffic law with impunity.

He said level crossing accidents accounts for over 90 per  cent accidents in Europe, but it is gradually reducing in the last few years in the United Kingdom and United States in recent times.

Adenusi, Executive Director of Safety Without Borders (SWB), said: “It is not an offence here to find the police and other arms of the security forces driving against traffic which is seen as a way out of traffic jams that is prevalent in most parts of the state.

Lawlessness is part of our daily lives in Nigeria, not only in Lagos. It is bad that we still have human beings as flaggers at our level crossings but when drivers don’t obey human beings how will they obey lights and other signs.

Accidents, according to Adenusi, presents an opportunity for the government and stakeholders to strategise on how to better make the roads safe.

He wondered how the driver would obey simple rules when he has been conditioned to believe that you can break the law at will with no consequence.

Besides, “the government need to do more in the installations of signages on our roads and ensure that users know how to interpret them. On most of our roads there are no signages, no speed limit signs, nothing. We are used to shoddiness.”

He said the government must ensure that commercial drivers go through more rigours to acquire and to hold drivers licence. He wondered how many of Nigerian drivers could pass drivers tests in the UK or the US with the manner many drive on the road. “It is very clear that the process of recruiting drivers in this country is skewed and needed to be streamlined to ensure that only those who are qualified are put in care of vehicles that plies the road.

“Nine out of 10 times, accidents are avoidable only if drivers know what to do when they are behind the wheels.”

Adenusi argued that driving is safer when there is communication between the road and the driver. Sadly, most Nigerian roads are dumb and communicate nothing to the driver. Most times, the driver need to interpret what to do on the road, unfortunately the government is doing nothing.

“One thing this accident has brought to the fore is that every driver on Lagos roads need to go through some training and retraining for recertification. At regular intervals drivers must undergo training just to keep them abreast of the trends.

Former Commissioner for transportation Dr Kayode Opeifa said a detailed investigation is necessary to interrogate why a driver who is not a first user of the road could be so reckless and put over 80 passengers in harm’s way.

Opeifa, the Executive Director of Sustainable Mobility and Access Development (CenSMAD) agreed that the accident is a wakeup call for the government to do a safety audit of all modes of transportation and do everything possible to make transportation safe for all.

Opeifa commended the government for ceding to stakeholders demand for a central safety investigation body for all transport modes, adding that this accident which is the first since the transformation of the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) to the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB), would be a test case for the efforts to make all modes of transportation safe for all classes of users. He said the NSIB should do a safety audit and recommend what is to be done to make all roads, especially the level crossing safe not only in Lagos, but across the country.

He said the Lagos State government way back in 2017 came up with the Drivers Institute initiative which mad it mandatory for all road users go for recertification at least once a year and that over the years, the Institute’s recertification has become acceptable minimum to be on the roads in the state.

Opeifa, recalled that the Chartered Institute of Transport Administration (CIOTA) at a National Transportation Summit called for far reaching reforms aimed at ensuring the safety of all modes of transportation, added that safety remained a major factor in air transport sector, adding that such needed to be introduced on other modes of transportation.

He wondered why drivers who are responsible for the lives and destinies of several people other than theirs, are recruited without any certification by any regulating authority, a development which he said could constitute danger to road users.

He said safety is everyone’s business and should not be left in the hands of the government. He said it is condemnable that government drivers who ought to be examples to others are becoming bad examples for others.

He said since 2007, all rail fixed stock designs are designed not to have level crossing adding that Ijoko-Iddo has about 10 level crossing which is all being worked upon to be replaced by either an overpass or an underpass, adding that that particular corridor, the state government is expected to complement the Federal Government with the construction of overpasses.

Opeifa said by the time the Red Line light rail construction on that corridor is over, all the level crossing would be addressed.

He said the drivers institute initiative of the state government need to be nationalized, and urged the Federal Roads Safety Corps to champion the cause of ensuring that all professional drivers have the requisite certification like all professionals to be on the road as professional drivers.

A United State Rail consultant who preferred to be called Adeife while commiserating with the government urged that overpasses must urgently be constructed at all level crossings especially in Lagos which is almost actualising its dreams of activating train shuttles especially along the corridor.

Stakeholders in the energy sector have proffered decentralisation and advocacy for renewable solutions as a progressive step toward ending energy poverty in Nigeria.

This was the consensus at the Clean Energy Session #CES2023 hosted by Black Voice Media in collaboration with Africa Nxt Conference.

Guided by the theme: “Bridging the energy gap in Unserved and Under-served communities in Nigeria,’’ the session featured conversations on clean energy as crucial in the drive to provide alternative energy.

Moderated by Collins Teke, Broadcast media veteran and Founder of Black Voice Media, it also initiated more awareness about clean energy solutions while tackling energy poverty and climate change.

CEO Energy Investment company -All On Caroline Eboumbou stated the current energy supply gap in Nigeria is at least 180,000 MW with the country barely generating 5000MW.

She said due to this supply gap, 49 percent of Nigerians have no access to power supply, creating hindrances to opportunities from renewable energy.

She called for more collaboration among stakeholders to improve energy distribution.

Addressing the misconceptions about Solar energy, Damilola Asaleye, Vice President, Renewable Energy Association of Nigeria (REAN) and co-founder Ashdam Solar, stated that Renewable energy should be embraced more because it is cheaper compared to other energy sources thereby providing more chances for an efficient energy supply.

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Founder, D’SUON Energy Chukwuebuka Obimma stated that energy poverty cannot be solved without addressing the needs of rural communities because they remain a vital component of industrialisation while Charles Ubong Akpan, COO of Salpha Energy noted that convincing Nigerians to switch to solar Energy has been a major challenge for energy solutions companies calling for more sensitisation.

Panelists agreed on the need for more decentralisation of renewable energy solutions and advocacy at the grassroots to aid the drive to end energy poverty in Nigeria.

Commenting on the potential outcome of the session, Founder of Black Voice Media Collins Teke said: ‘‘The discourse is meant to enhance a shift in vulnerable communities and improve livelihood. The transition of energy renewables has the potential to improve Africa’s growth hence the need for individuals and institutions to stay committed to achieving the Social Development Goal of providing access to affordable and sustainable energy.

‘’With efficiency between the public and private sector, alternative energy will become more accessible creating a means for job creation, clean fuel reducing poverty while being a potential for national development ’’.