The Nation Newspaper

Category: Transportation

  • Towards functional nationwide transportation

    Should states collaborate with the Federal Government to drive an effective mass transit that will be truly national? The berthing of a forum of Commissioners for Transportation, experts say, will help breed a healthy sector that could grow the economy, writes ADEYINKA ADERIBIGBE

    The gathering of Commissioners of Transportation in Abuja, last Friday, was the clearest signal that Nigeria may be on the way to getting it right in the transportation sector, a critical sector which drives the wheel of the nation’s economy.

    While the sector has witnessed tremendous support and sustained planning by governments world over for about six decades, transportation has been abandoned by successive governments in Nigeria, turning the sector into an all comers’ affair.

    This has made the sector almost prostrate, contributing a mere 4.5 per cent to the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2017.

    The maiden edition of the meeting of states’ transportation policy formulators was a fallout of last year’s National Transportation Council’s resolution, which served as peer review mechanism to drive the renaissance of transportation across the states, thereby reviving a sector largely seen as being in the woods.

    That explains why Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi’s charge is  that the greatest dividend such a gathering could give Nigerians was to bequeath a working mass transit to the people. For this to happen, all federating units must key into the policies and programmes of the Federal Government.

    The problem is that the nation’s transportation sector, like others, has been fraught with dysfunctional paradigms that have seen states working at cross purposes to one another, thereby making a national transportation master plan a messy piece of cake and unachievable.

    For instance, while for about two decades the National Transportation Council – Nigeria’s highest policy making organ, clearly stated that motorcycles should not be means of mass transit anywhere in the country, many of the states did not only permit same, but openly encourage it. There were instances where governors, who ought to drive the policy, continued to dole out motorcycles and crash helmets to the youth as empowerment tools.

    The resultant effect was the ugly kaleidoscope of commercial motorcycles called okada, which are now contesting space on the crowded roads in the cities. It is not out of place to see commercial okada operators migrating their services from hostile environments to favourable states.

    The effect of such odious practice, which cut across several states of the federation, is that national transportation policies and programmes have continued to be distorted as states’ fidelity to the policies is seen in breaches.

    For the past six decades, the nation’s transportation sector was more of a jungle, where everyone held sway. The result is that despitethe country’s population, which is put at about 180 million, Nigeria’s economy, until recently, the largest in Africa, is still driven by a monolithic motorised system of transportation, while other sub-sectors have been either moribund non-existent, or operating at a disproportional ratio to its full potential.

    For instance, while the road mode had accounted for over 75 per cent of both freight and passenger transportation in Nigeria, air, rail, and water modes have continued to jostle for the remaining 25 percent, with the air accounting for about 10 per cent, while the rail does about 12 per cent, leaving inland waterways with only three per cent traffic.

    Amaechi listed some of the programmes, which he envisaged greater collaboration, to include the development of Road Transport Operators Manual (RTOM), Road Crime Control System (RCCS), Introduction of Truck Transit Parks (TTPs) and the development of robust urban mass transit that would fully deploy the three modes of transportation.

    Road transport operators’ manual, road crime control system and the introduction of truck transit parks, will help stimulate the transportation sector, create jobs, relief the roads and assist in making the roads safer for all operators/users.

    This is aside the introduction of Green Transportation (walking, trekking, bicycle riding), and Amphibious vehicles, which could be used on the nation’s inland waterways being promoted by the government.

    According to experts, the time has come for a shared vision if government is determined to give Nigerians seamless transportation system.

    A logistics expert, Mr. Kelvin Joseph, urged the states to formulate right policies that would develop the road transport sub-sector, which according to him, was state’s constitutional responsibility.

    Amaechi said the Federal Government remains committed to the ongoing reforms in the rail, maritime, aviation, mass transit and road operations administration.

    According to Joseph, states must cue into the reforms and expand the transit modes available to the people linking one state to the other.

    Chairman of commissioners’ forum and Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Transport and Petroleum Resources, Mr Orman Esim,  said beyond peer review, the forum was also to ensure that there was uniformity in service delivery by state governments. He said issues such as multiple charges and taxes within states would soon be a thing of the past.

    Working Document

    From United Kingdom (UK), to Singapore, China and Australia, tiers of government in developed societies usually have holistic master plan encompassing  their transportation visions and aspirations.

    In the United States (US) for instance, states are required to regularly update a master plan co-ordinated by the Department of Transportation (DOT). DOT is a federal regulator.

    The federal regulator requires that each state must prepare and periodically update a state wide intermodal transportation plan that not only addresses how it will tackle specified factors, but covers a period of at least, 20 years as a condition to receiving federal transportation funding.

    In its 2005 to 2030 masterplan with the theme: “Strategies for a new age: New York State’s transportation Master Plan for 2030, an update of the state’s 1996 plan, the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT), envisaged the following parameters: 11 million licenced drivers, 10.5 million motor vehicles, riding over 113,000 miles of local, state and interstate roads and 17,000 local and state highway bridges.

    About 2.6 billion transit passenger trips are made yearly, including a daily average of 4.8 million subway riders. Over 488 communities are linked by intercity bus service, which serves 2.6 million passengers yearly.

    No fewer than 4,800 miles of railroads serve or connect 31 passenger rail stations and carry 78 million tons of freight yearly.

    Experts said a transportation master plan that would include the states, will help address the nation’s status as the biggest economy on the African continent.

    In a changing global economy, where travel demands of customers are becoming complex, new modes, they argued, needed to be introduced if Nigeria must continue to be relevant.

    Lagos State Vehicle Inspection Service (VIS) Chief Executive,  Dr Hafiz Toriola said an integrated master plan, which includes all modes of transportation, especially land, water and air must be pursued.

    He also canvassed the involvement of 36 states in designing masterplan that suits their environment, while the Federal Government sets the rules of integration, facilitates and coordinates inter-state involvement.

    He said: “There should be a devolution of power, which would see the Federal Government take full charge of all roads on the exclusive list, (Trunk A) roads, while states gain full autonomy to run all roads on the concurrent list (Trunk B) and local governments the residual (Trunk C) roads.”

    Former Dean, School of Transportation Studies, Lagos State University (LASU), Dr Tajudeen Olukayode Bawa-Allah, wondered why the government ought to be taken seriously in its bid to develop a transportation masterplan for the country.

    Executive Director, Safety Without Borders (SWB), Mr Patrick Adenusi, traced the mushrooming of illegal activities in the sector and the way all comers find their way into the sector to the absence of a master plan.

    Describing transportation as a major part of human activity, Adenusi wondered why the government had to wait till everything almost collapsed before it thought of regulating the sector.

    According to Adenusi, nobody goes into the aviation industry and buys an aeroplane to start operating it. The other sub-sectors of the industry, he said, ought to be strictly regulated as well.

    A master plan, mutually shared by the states, experts argued, will ensure that every state is maximally developed.

    The states must begin to evolve their plans and efficiently manage their physical development.

    According to Managing Director Planet Projects Ltd., Biodun Otunola, states must take ownership of the transportation systems in their states and develop systems that support their population.

    Conclusion

    The coming together of Commissioners of Transportation outside the nation’s highest advisory body on transportation, Otunola said, may be one of the ways to sanitise the sector and stimulate its growth across all states.

    Having someone like Amaechi to drive the change initiative in transportation may mean an unusual time for the sector and stakeholders will agree, is the only way to bring sanity to a sector that has long been abandoned and neglected by policymakers.

  • Will trucks, trailers ever leave Apapa?

    Trucks are still on the Apapa and adjoining bridges one week after the 48-hour ultimatum for them to quit. Residents and business owners are wondering when their nightmare will end. ADEYINKA ADERIBIGBE writes.

    The gridlock in and around Apapa was still there despite the expiration of the 48-hour ultimatum to truck drivers to quit.

    The trucks, which have taken over all available spaces and spilled over to the access bridges into the ports, have refused to move.

    According to experts, over 4,000 trucks and trailers head for Apapa daily. Many of them that can’t access the ports stay on the bridges and all available spaces while awaiting their turn.

    Investigations revealed that 50% of trucks on their way to Apapa are only going there to return empty containers. Many stay for upwards of two to three weeks before accessing the shipper’s terminal just to drop their empty consignment. Of the huge number of trucks invading Lagos and over-running its bridges, only 40 percent are petroleum tankers.

    Many of the truck drivers savagely abuse the environment, turning already clogged and silted gutters and drain channels into toilets.

    Their activity has continued to draw flaks and concerns even from experts. Structural experts say the continued dead weight of the trucks is negatively affecting the bridges. They urge government to carry out an integrity audit of the bridges to determine their healthy status.

    Beyond their negative impact on the health status of the bridges, concerned stakeholders  have also identified security breaches the trucks constituted.

    The Flag Officer Commanding Western Naval Command (FOC, WNC) of the Nigerian Navy, Rear Admiral Slyvanus Abbah, was more punchy. For him, they constitute soft target for insurgents or terrorists that might want to test the will of government to fight terrorism and put paid to insecurity. “No one knows where and when terrorists strike. Their actions cannot be predicted and that is why we cannot afford to have these vehicles parked on the roads for two to three weeks,” Abbah told equally apprehensive stakeholders at a meeting held to resolve the crisis at the dockyard in Apapa recently.

    Like the Navy, even the state government seemed more determined to drive them off the axis and the bridges.

    “We do not want to see tankers and trailers packed on the bridges anymore and the government is determined to put the full weight of all security operatives to enforce it, the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Transportation, Dr Olufemi Taiwo Salaam, had said.

    It was not the first time the Ambode-led government would attempt to clean the Apapa traffic. In 2015, it ordered their evacuation. Three years down the line, the situation has grown worse with the traffic on the axis, becoming a national shame.

    Even Ambode’s predecessor, Babatunde Fashola, tried to find a sustainable solution to the Apapa gridlock and save the nation the embarrassment the road had become. It failed.

    Apapa, according to transport and logistics experts, is a classic example of government’s failure to develop a masterplan to redistribute traffic on its flagship gateway.

    Two economic activity – international/export trade, and petroleum product lifting from the Atlas Cove impact on Apapa road everyday. The Apapa Ports and a cluster of 35 tank farms linked to the Atlas Cove have made a mess of Apapa.

    Salaam, said these activities have overstretched the road facility that has remained same since the 60s, leading to the spill-over choking transportation in the city.

    Apapa Ports, Salaam said, was only built to handle 30 million metric tons of containerised imports. Currently, it is handling 80 million. and unlike what obtains in the past, most of the shipping companies have no holding bay in accordance with the law.

    The absence of holding bays, where trucks can park and wait to pick up or discharge their containers, Salaam said, constitutes the greatest hindrance to the free flow of traffic on the axis as  the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) and the Nigeria Shippers Council (NSC), seem helpless in tackling the scourge.

    The other leg of the crisis is the petrol tankers’ activities at the tank farms in Apapa. The farms were licensed to operate by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), despite  that most of them had no holding bay.

    “While the law provides that, at least, each tank farm should have a bay that can hold 50 trailers, you find that apart from the major oil marketers, virtually none are fulfilling this aspect of the law,” Salaam further stated.

    Salaam agreed, that Apapa’s crisis came after the ports were concessioned about 16 years ago.

    “The new owners of the two Ports simply converted the holding bays within the ports to other uses  throwing the trucks to the roads,” he said.

    There is also a cartel/exploitative theory that has gone viral around the ports. Shippers demanded that an importer pay a cautionary deposit of N250,000 with a proviso that the empty containers be returned within seven days, or the deposit forfeited.

    “The blockage of the roads would make accessing the ports impossible thereby leading to the loss of the deposit and likely payment of demurrage by the importer on the extra days used outside the bay such should be deposited,” Sylvanus Okocha, a clearing agent, said.

    His position was corroborated by the Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO) National Chairman, Chief Remi Ogungbemi.

    Ogungbemi said his members’ problem is chiefly an accessible holding bay.

    He said his association had seen a space, but had been unable to acquire it because the owner was then requiring about N2 billion. He urged the govrnment to help by providing a bay for the vehicles with adequate conveniences for drivers.

    Ogungbemi said there would be sanity at the ports if the Hadiza Bala Usman led NPA directed shipping lines to utilise holding bays, and for Shippers Council to direct its men to return to the call up system to call drivers into the ports.

    Some importers believe that only the Federal Government can sanitise the ports and break the backbone of the cartel and forced the trucks to stay on the road.

    The dilapidated state of Apapa access roads, the inaccessibility of Liverpool Road and the virtual closure of Lillypond have left trailers heading to Apapa to lift fuel from the tank farms stranded on the roads.

    The effect is that trailers and trucks  have taken over all road networks in the area, spilling into adjoining roads, such as Funso Williams Avenue, formerly Western Avenue, and stretching to Ojuelegba and beyond.

    “The reality is that these bridges were built to carry light loads and not heavy weights as they are being currently subjected to,” Salaam said, expressing the government’s frustration. He disclosed that should integrity test be conducted on all the bridges, they may fail the test because for over a decade they have been exposed to carrying weights far above their construction capacity.

    To address this anomaly, the Permanent Secretary said the state had completed a holding bay that could accommodate 3,500 tankers and trucks at Sari-Iganmu in Orile. He added that another one that could take about 2,700 containerised trucks was being stabilised and would soon be made available for use.

    “This is further exacerbated by the fact that shipping companies do not only have loading bays to load, but have no bays to return to after discharging their goods. They all go to the ports. Come and see empty containers at the ports that’s when you’ll realise that the ports are being used as loading bay contrary to the standard global practice,” Salaam said.

    He said the government was determined to ensure that sanity returned to Apapa.

    But in doing this, Salaam said the NPA should assert its regulatory role and justify its existence as the recognised agency capable of sanitising ports’ operation.

    He praised the armed forces’ commitment to joining hands with the government to drive some sense into truck drivers.

    According to Salaam, some naval officers, in some instances, lead truck drivers out of the gridlock on the payment of an agreed fee. This practice, he said, goes on daily and has put in abeyance traffic plans and strategies the government had used to tame the hydra- headed gridlock.

    “We are committed to sanitising traffic everywhere in Lagos, Apapa inclusive. Our men are well trained and the Police have also continued to be well equipped to perform optimally, but they would not be able to confront deliberate breach by sister security operatives,” Salaam added.

    An Apapa resident, Bidemi Okunola, said many residents would heave a sigh of relief if the relocation could be actualised.

    “You would not understand what we go through here. Apapa has simply been cut off from the rest of Lagos by the activities of these truck drivers, who park at random on our streets blocking entries and exits and making commuting in and out a hell for residents,”she said.

    She said many residents, especially corporate bodies, had relocated to other parts of the state, and living had practically be come impossible.

    Okunola, who moved into Apapa when it was the toast of upwardly-mobile and business-savvy minds, lamented the sad turn of events.

    But Salaam assured that Apapa’s lost glory would soon return, only that it would require all agencies in the area to cooperate with the state.

     

     

  • Tackling metropolitan insecurity via ride-hailing app

    Transport apps are enabling Nigerians to cut through traffic gridlocks, reduce insecurity and create jobs, writes LUCAS AJANAKU

    With over 20 million people, Lagos is a thriving, bustling metropolis, similar to other vibrant cities in the world, such as Tokyo, Japan or New York. There’s a pulsating energy about the city that is hard to miss.

    “I love the hustle and bustle of Lagos. The nature of my job as a fashion designer means that I have to move around quite frequently at night. I need a safe, reliable, and affordable means of commuting – and for me the Uber app has all of these elements,” says Oguntuase Abioye, who works as a safety officer during day and runs fashion designing at night along Egbeda Road, on the outskirts of the city.

    Abioye is not alone in requiring reliable, affordable and safe commuting. Even reporters that work late have become victims of bus robbers called One Chance. Safety has become a topical issue in both offline and online discussions. Technology has opened up new means of economic opportunities for many people, but it has also brought with it some concerns about how safe and secure users are.

    To assure the safety of riders, organisations such as Uber, through constantly evolving and cutting-edge technology, have continued to put in place safety tips that has helped improve the overall travel experience for riders.

    The first is knowing the ride. Riders should always take the time to review the safety features available to them in the app. It’s important to remember that Uber rides can only be requested through the Uber app, so users should never accept street hail solicitations from those claiming to be with Uber.

    When riders are ready to request a ride, it is important for them to avoid spending unnecessary time outside alone with their phone in their hands. Instead, it is best to wait indoors until the app shows that the driver has arrived.

    Another important point is to know the driver. When a driver accepts a rider’s request, the rider is able to see the drivers first name, photo, license, number plate, vehicle type as well as its colour. Riders are able to see this from within the app itself on the map. The rider should always make sure that those match before they enter the vehicle and ensure they ask for the drivers name when they open the door. In case where the inside of the car is dark, riders are encouraged to politely ask the driver to switch on the inner light to help confirm identity.

    Share trip details. The technology has made it possible for all trips to be tracked using GPS. While en route, the rider is able to monitor his own trip in the app as well as share the estimated time of arrival (ETA) with their loved ones back home. This will help friends and family keep track of where they are on the trip and they can do this without necessarily downloading the Uber app.

    There is also the in-app help tool designed to help riders get a prompt response to their queries in the shortest time possible.

    The support system can be accessed by navigating to the “Help’’ section on the menu, which helps riders and driver-partners alike to express concerns they might have during a trip and get an instant response.

    It is important to follow intuition. When using ride hailing app, the rider should be aware of their surroundings, if they feel like something’s not right they should trust their instincts and use their best judgment. Riders should be cautious when sharing any personal information and should always confirm that the driver-partner is in fact the one they saw on the app, and if they ever feel they’re in an emergency situation, they are advised to alert the local emergency services immediately.

     

     

  • Can CCECC deliver Speed Train on schedule?

    Can CCECC deliver Speed Train on schedule?

    The rainy season, among others, may threaten efforts by the China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC), the firm handling the Lagos-Ibadan Standard Gauge rail line, to deliver on schedule. Will it meet the December deadline? asks ADEYINKA ADERIBIGBE.

    This month’s Lagos-Ibadan Standard Gauge Project Implementation Committee meeting  chaired by the Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi, is predictable: It would address the impact of  the rainy season on the delivery of the $1.5 billion project billed for December.

    CCECC’s pace had been bogged by several factors, which the Federal Government and the affected states were working hard to tackle.

    The fear is that the rain may throw spanner in the works and hinder the contractor from delivering.

    In the last eight months, the minister had been harping on the need to fast- track the project and that this was the only way to minimise the negative impact of the rain on it. He urged CCECC to complete the civil engineering works before the rain began.

    For him, the rains remained the only obstacle to the project because of where it is sited. It criss-crosses streams, creeks, swamps, rivers and rivulets around Lagos, Ogun and Oyo states and this would be difficult to access during the season.

    “My greatest worry,” Amaechi said during last month’s monitoring of the project, “is that the Southwest is a tropical belt with unpredictable rainy pattern. If we cannot get over 80 percent of the project done before the rain, it may affect our delivery as little or no civil works could go on during the rainy season”.

    The minister wished that the rain, like last year’s, might start in May. But nature again proved its unpredictability as it came three months earlier than meteorological predictions when it started few days after the visit.

    This means that the contractor must plan with the rain in mind.

    But how far has work gone? Not far, by Amaechi’s assessment.

    At several spots in Lagos, Ogun and Oyo states, Amaechi frowned at the slow pace of work.

    Thrice, the minister demanded explanations why work was not going on. He made the same demand too at DK 42, Kajola in Ogun State.

    Amaechi believed that all things being equal, much ground should be covered before June when the rain is expected to be at its peak.

    Though quick to remind Nigerians that the project was originally pencilled for completion in 36 months, Amaechi insisted the Presidential order is to deliver it within 18 months, which terminates in December. He is neither envisaging any shift, nor willing to allow any delivery extension beyond next January.

    Yet, with nine months to go, civil works, according to a source, who, preferred anonymity, is just about 50 percent completed between Ogun and Oyo, where the bulk of the work lies, and still slightly above that in Lagos.

    Though CCECC moved to site last June, track-laying ought to have started by last December. Unable to meet that deadline, Amaechi had alerted Nigerians of another shift to April. This, he justified by the huge challenge of securing the project’s right of way.

    According to Amaechi, with much of the civil works completed, track laying on the spectrum would be an icing on the cake.

    Besides the rain, some impediments have continued to affect realisation of the speed train. Among these are a web of oil and gas pipelines, belonging to the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, (NNPC), encroaching on the right of way of the project.

    Firms accused of delaying the project  are the Nigerian Gas Processing and Transportation Coy Ltd. (NGPTC), Nigerian Pipeline & Storage Coy Ltd., (NP&SC), a subsidiary of NNPC and Gaslink (Axxela Group), a private partner managing NNPC’s gas pipeline and the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN).

    Most of the pipelines, according to sources, require outright or partial relocation. This is yet to be done. According to sources, eight of the pipelines on the project’s right of way, especially around Apapa, belonged to Gaslink, while crossing the rail line also at Apapa are another eight pipelines belonging to MOMAN.

    While negotiations are said to be ongoing on the relocation of these pipelines, other impediments, especially in Lagos, include the relocation of some Army barracks and ancillary military facilities, especially the Nigerian Army 81 Base Ordinance Corps, at Ebute-Metta, the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) staff quarters/private estate at Ebute Metta, relocation of Lagos State Water Corporation water mains supply, at DK 21 (Iju waterworks), the relocation of Apapa/Ijora bridge and some power lines.

    Within Lagos alone, the speed train project is slated to consume two flyover bridges at Yaba and Costain, eight narrow gauge station buildings, eight NRC police stations and other ancillary facilities, such as living quarters  which must be removed.

    There are also the problems of acquiring more land to pave way for the relocation of the narrow gauge.

    CCECC’s Project Coordinator Mr Leo Yin at briefings identified inaccessibility of the site, failure to establish an acquired right of way, as well as delays in the removal of public utilities as factors that may affect the firm’s ability to deliver.

    Though the challenges are huge in Lagos, similar issues dog the pace of work in Oyo and Ogun states.

    Last week, in Oyo State, several communities went into a rage, protesting what they called “CCECC’s insensitivity to the disruption to their power supply and means of livelihood.

    They alleged that the relocation of some high tension cables on the right of way of the project within their communities three weeks ago had brought them hardship. Besides the electricity, they also want the contractor to stop the blasting of rocks within the area with dynamite, as this poses danger to dwellers in the densely populated surrounding towns and villages.

    CCECC’s Public Relations Consultant Mr Abdulrauf Akinwoye, however, denied that contractor was insensitive. He said CCECC would ensure that the problems would be addressed.

    Akinwoye told The Nation that CCECC officials met with the heads of the communities last Wednesday.

    He said: “CCECC regretted the disruption to the lives of the people. We want to assure them that the contractor is determined to ensure that it reduces the negative impact of the project on the people.”

    Yin said land transactions, especially along the Ibadan corridor, had not been firmed up. This, he said, had  impeded the pace of work.

    Similar problems were also encountered in Ogun State. Besides the  Ijoko flyover Bridge for which an alternative is yet to be provided, over 1,004 houses, almost the entire Workers Estate behind MKO Abiola Trade Fair Centre, faces demolition as it is on the rail line’s right of way.

    Noting that the Federal Government would spend a whooping N2.8 billion in compensation, the Amaechi-led committee advised a shift in the right of the way.

    According to the work plan, by January, CCECC should have completed 60 bridge piles, 10 culverts and the substructures of the super major bridges at DK 55, DK59, and DK 128 in Ogun, as well as the completion of the second loop and construction of the temporary line between 23+ 400 at DK 25, all these were still hanging.

    To ensure no further delays that could impact the delivery deadline, the minister set up a multi-sectoral inter-ministerial committee headed by the NRC Chairman Alhaji Usman Abubakar with a mandate to ensure that everyone is “on the same page to secure the project’s right of way”.

    This means the impediments will either be relocated or removed to ensure that work goes on. However, with nine months to go, Amaechi remained convinced that this is achievable.

    “Every other thing could impede the progress and delivery of the work, its not money,” Amaechi said, alluding to the fact that the Buhari government had paid its counterpart funding of the Lagos-Ibadan speed train rail project.

    Can the Chinese perform any magic in nine months? Amaechi believes they can.

  • Solving GE’s narrow gauge conundrum

    Solving GE’s narrow gauge conundrum

    American General Electric’s (GE’s) inconsistency, the Federal Government said has bogged down the Nigerian Railway Corporation’s narrow gauge network, but the GE has debunked the claim, saying that with its $2.2 billion investment, the rail sector will soon witness unprecedented transformation, writes ADEYINKA ADERIBIGBE

    Twice, the American firm, General Electric (GE) was penciled to roll out operations on the 1,100 kilometres Lagos-Kano narrow gauge track, one of its concessioned networks last year. But on both occasions, it failed. The first time was in May, while the second was December 2017.

    The Federal Government had in May, agreed to put the concessioned terms between both parties to the strictest test by taking it through Transaction Advisers, who will see through all the bobby traps and ensure that the nation avoided inchoate concessions.

    The development however stretched negotiations till November with both parties agreeing that operations begin in December. This again was botched.

    The Federal Government’s silence over GE’s failure to take off in December was however punctured by the Minister of Transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, who blamed GE for its “inconsistency”.

    “GE has been inconsistent,” Amaechi said last forthnight in Lagos, adding: “I don’t want to say they are not transparent, but they have been inconsistent in the whole transaction and that is impeding our progress on managing our narrow gauge.”

    Twice, Amaechi had tried to meddle in the transaction to speed up the process. On both occasions, Amaechi admitted failure of his intervention, saying: “Anytime I tried to fast-track the process and ensure that all obstacles are removed and they begin operations, but my interventions always compound the problems.”

    He pledged not to interfere again in the transactions but to leave all for “seasoned professional negotiators.”

    Under the originally agreed terms, GE, is expected to inject 20 locomotives and 200 wagons into the western line in the first phase of the preliminary agreement, which will span 12 months and take these to  100 and 1,000, respectively, after taking over the entire networks (both Western and Esastern lines).

    In a swift reaction penultimate week, GE denied all allegations of inconsistency. GE said it remained committed to changing the ugly narrative of the narrow gauge rail freight and passenger transit business in Nigeria.

    Its Executive, Business Development, (Transportation, Nigeria) Mr. Eyo Ekpo, told The Nation that the consortium is still “actively engaged in negotiations with the Federal Ministry of Transportation” and looks forward to finalising the terms of a long-term concession agreement for the national narrow gauge rail system.

    Though he refused to disclose the “confidential details” of CE’s discussion with the government, Ekpo, however, disclosed that in the last one year, GE and its consortium partners – Transnet, SinoHydro &APM Terminals, have not only negotiated in good faith, but have invested significant resources. “We have been transparent and diligent in meeting all requests from the government at no cost to the Federal Government,” Ekpo said.

    According to him, both parties – GE (and its consortia) and the Federal Government, are at a critical juncture of the project and it expects all contractual agreements to be finalised and fulfilled by the parties before the commencing execution

    “The Minister (of Transportation) is fully engaged and we are actively awaiting the government’s written assurances to move forward to project implementation,” he added, insisting that the corporation and its partners are committed to working with the Federal Government in revamping and revitalising the nation’s narrow gauge system.

    An insider, who refused to be named, corroborated GE’s position on the project. He said “the firm cannot be toying with a project as sensitive and dear to the government. The firm and its partners he further disclosed are committing $2.2 billion to the narrow gauge and that is not a joke.” It is as determined as the Federal Government to get the necessary agreements signed for actual work to begin.”

    The Buhari government is focussed on making the railway work because it is regarded as the bedrock of modern mass transit across the world.

    The dawn of the fourth republic have seen successive governments  massively invest on railway modernisation, (which saw it delivering the Abuja-Kaduna standard gauge with Buhari commencing the construction of the $1.5bn Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge rail line).

    To continue the rehabilitation and modernisation of the railway, the government chose to seek fresh funds, especially, to standardise the  narrow gauge.

    Getting new investor(s), government reasoned, will enable it to concentrate on delivering more standard gauge network across the country. Starting with the abandoned Itakpe-Ajaokuta-Warri standard guage line, which started 36 years ago, Buhari espoused a vision to connect all state capitals, bringing speed train closer to Nigerians.

    Though  bidders for the narrow gauge started in 2013, the Buhari administration fast-tracked the process and announced in 2016, GE as its preferred bidder.

    The bold move was sequel to appreciable legislative support by the National Assembly, which was set to repeal the obnoxious Nigerian Railway Act of 1954, (which made private investment in the nation’s rail system impossible).

    Experts said by inviting GE, the Buhari government attempted to push the nation into global reckoning because it will encourage other big players in the sector to see the viability of playing for profitability in the Nigerian market.

    If the transaction sailed through this murky waters, the government will focus more on building more efficient standard gauge network.                  With an adequate link of the nation’s productive centres, the narrow gauge will assist in the rapid development of the agriculture, mining and steel sectors which had remained comatose for over three decades and link same to the sea for export, thus rebuilding Nigeria’s export potentials.

    The greatest gain of this transaction, is that continuous rehabilitation of the narrow gauge network will no longer be government’s headache. Outside Lagos-Kano route, which include Lagos, Abeokuta, Ibadan, Ilorin, Kano, Funtua, Zaria, and Kaura-Namoda, the GE will also take over the Port Harcourt-Maiduguri route, which include Port Harcourt, Aba, Umuahia, Enugu, Makurdi, Jos, Gombe and Bauchi to Borno State.

    To Amaechi, the rehabilitation of the two corridors will help stimulate export potential. “The narrow gauge will essentially encourage freight movement. We have over 30 million tons worth of freight on the Lagos-Kano route for which presently we are moving slightly above 1000 tons. While the Port-Harcourt-Maiduguri route is currently moving nothing, we are anticipating 11 million tons on that route,” he said.

    Besides freight, Amaechi also foresee an upsurge in passenger traffic, as more modern coaches replaces the unsightly ones currently in use to move passengers.

    The new proposition is a departure from what obtained with the narrow gauge under the management of the NRC. Intercity shuttle, presently epileptic, with the rusty coaches, will give way to business minded operators out to make profit.

    “The old way we do things is absolutely unacceptable. The railway system will not be able to attract any quality passenger traffic with such tradition. We must look at fast-tracking things at the railway,” Amaechi said.

     

  • 2017: Still a long walk home

    2017: Still a long walk home

    How did transportation fare in 2017? Nigerians seem to agree that a lot needs to be done, writes ADEYINKA ADERIBIGBE

    How did the transportation sector perform in the outgone year? The narrative for many Nigerians remained largely the same, with huge road infrastructure deficit starring across the country.

     

    State of roads?

    The Federal Government’s star road projects, among them the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, which was the nation’s busiest and ‘most lucrative’, remained untouched despite the lip commitment to completion in 2017.

    The Lagos-Ibadan Expressway wasn’t the only one abandoned in 2017. Fory-four other highway constructions, 66 roads and 45 bridges scattered across 34 states listed by the Minister of Power, Works and Housing (PWH) Babatunde Fashola, remained largely the same way they were two years ago.

    These roads include: Kano-Katsina Road (Phase 1: Kano Town at Dawanau Roundabout to Katsina State Border); Sokoto-Tambuwal-Jega-Yauri Road; Ilorin-Jebba-Mokwa-Bokani Road; Ilorin-Kabba-Obajana Road (Sections 1&11); Ibadan-Ilorin Road, Section11 (Oyo-Ogbomosho); Lagos-Shagamu-Ibadan Dual Carriageway, Sections 1&11; Lagos-Otta Road; Apapa/Tincan Port, NNPC Depot (Atlas Cove) to Mile 2 Access Road; Apapa-Oshodi Road;  Third Mainland Bridge; Apapa/Tincan Island Port-NNPC Depot Access Road; Benin-Ofosu-Ore Ajebandele-Shagamu Road; Obajana Junction-Benin Road Phase 2: (Sections i-iv); and Sapele-Ewu Road Sections 1&11 Second Niger Bridge; Onitsha-Enugu Expressway (Amansea-Enugu State Border); Yenegoa Road Junction-Kolo-Otueke-Bayelsa Palm and Bodo-Bonny Road with Bridge. Odukpani-Itu-(Spur Ididep-Itam)-Ikot- Ekpene Federal Highway Sections 1&11.

    Others are Ikom Bridge; Enugu-Port Harcourt Dual Carriageway Sections I-IV; Calabar-Ugep-Katsina Ala Road; Vandeikya-Obudu-Obudu Cattle Ranch Road;  Oshegbudu-Oweto Road, Oju/Loko-Oweto Bridge with approach roads;  Nasarawa-Loko Road, Abuja-Lokoja Road Sections I&IV; Suleja-Minna Road Section 11. Kaduna Eastern Bypass; Kano-Maiduguri Road Section 1-1V; Hadejia-Nguru-Gashua-Bayamari Road and Kano Western Bypass.

    Those listed as critical economic routes include: Zaria-Kano Road, Abuja-Lokoja Road (Sections I-IV); Ilorin-Jebba-Bokani Road, Ibadan-Ilorin Road (Sections 1&11); Lagos-Shagamu-Ibadan Road (Sections1&11); Benin-Ofosu-Ore-Ajebandele-Shagamu Road; Obajana-Benin Road (Sections I-IV). Also on the list are: Onitsha-Enugu Road (Section 1&11); Enugu-Port Harcourt Road (Sections I-IV); Calabar-Odukpani-Itu Road (Section1); Calabar-Ugep-Katsina Ala Road (Sections 1&11); Alesi-Ugup (Iyamoyung-Ugup) Road; Ogoja (Mbok Junction) Abuochichie Road; Otukpo Township Road; Kano-Maiduguri Road (Sections I-V); Kaduna-Zaria Road and Kaduna-Katsina Road.

    Also listed for repairs by the minister are roads across the nation’s agricultural belt: Sokoto-Tambuwal-Jega-Kontangora-Makera Road (Sections 1&11); Makurdi-Naka-Ndoka-Ankpa Road; Akure-Ondo-Ore Road and Benin-Sapele Highway. Rubber Research Institute of Nigeria-Iyanomo Road; 9th Mile-Enugu-Port Harcourt Road; Abakaliki-Afikpo Road Sections 1&11;  Mile-Oturkpo-Makurdi Road; Ogboko (Yandev Junction)-Katsina Ala (Ugbema Junction) Road; Wukari-Mutum Biyu-Jalingo-Numan Road; Section 1 Numan Jalingo Road; Gombe-Numan Road; Maiduguri-Dutse and Kano-Zaria Road.

    The 63 roads slated for the emergency intervention cut across the six geopolitical zones. North-east: Construction of bridge at km 32 along Billiri-Filliya in Taraba and the repair of Billiri-Filliya Road in Gombe, Potiskum-Agalda-Gombe State Border (S/B) and Potiskum-Kari-Bauchi S/B Road in Yobe State. Also included are: Tella Road and Bridge; Abutment and Apawa-Junction-Zing-Adamawa (State Border) in Taraba State; Bauch-Darazo-Kari Road in Bauchi State; Numan-Lafia-Gombe State Border Road, Numan-Jalingo Road; Numan-Guyuk (Borno State Border); Ngurore-Mayobelwa Road in Adamawa State, all in the Northeast.

    In the Northwest are such roads as: Birnin Gwari Road in Kaduna, Kebbi-Argungu-Sokoto (State Border) Road in Kebbi State, Gusau-Chafe-Katsina Road in Zamfara, Rimawa-Sabonbirnin-Niger Republic Road (Section 1), Rimawa-Sabonbirnin-Niger Republic Road (Section 2) and bridge embankment in Sokoto State, Gumel-Mallam Madori-Hadeija Road, Birnin Kudu and Babaldu-Malumuwa-Bauchi S/B Road, among others, in Jigawa,Yayasa Bridge in Kano and Dusinma-Kankara Road in Katsina State.

    Northcentral: Makurdi-Lafia Road and Makurdi-Gboko Road in Benue, Okene-Kabba Road and Kabba-Omuo Road in Kogi, Ajase-Offa-Erinle-Osun State Boundary Road in Kwara, Keffi Abuja Road and Keffi-Gittata-Kaduna S/b Road, Nasarawa-Toto-Abaji Road in Nasarawa and Jebba-Mokwa Road, Bida-Lapal-Lambata Road and Makera-Tegina Road in Niger State are listed for repairs

    In the Southwest are; Ibillo-Isu-Epinmi-Akungba Road and Owo-Akure Road in Ondo; Ilesa-Ijebu-Ijesa Road, Ijebu-Ijesa-Ekiti S/B and Ibadan-Ile-Ife-Ilesa Road, Osun S/B-Ilesa in Osun, Ibadan-Ile-Ife-Ilesa Road in Oyo, Ijebu-Ode-Epe-Ibadan Road in Ogun and Ikorodu-Shagamu in Lagos.

    In the Southeast; Abakaliki-Oferekpe Road in Ebonyi, Nsukka-Adani-Anambra S/B Road in Enugu State, Umuokpor section of Ikot Ekpene-Aba Road in Abia and Ihiala-Orlu-Umuduru Road, Owerri-Okigwe, among others.

    For the Southsouth; Ikot Ekpene-Ikot Umoessien-Abia S/B Road in Akwa Ibom, Ebiama-Yenegoa Road in Bayelsa, Auchi-Igarra-Ibillo-Ose Bridge Road and Benin-Ofosu-Shagamu Road in Edo, Ebouchichie-Gakem Road in Cross River, Benin-Asaba Dual Carriageway, Asaba-Illa-Ebu-Edo S/B Road, Igbodo, Benin- Asaba Expressway and Warrri-Sapele-Edo S/b Road in Delta State among others are slated for intervention.

    Over 45 bridges, according to the list, are also slated for rehabilitation over the next three years. They include: Two bridges along Sokoto-Gusau Road,  Murtala Mohammed Bridge, Koton Karfe, River Ebba to Cheche Bridge, Jebba Bridge,  Third Mainland Bridge, Nine Lagos Bridges and flyovers, Lagos Ring Road Bridge Abutment, Ijora 7-Up Bridge, Ijora-Apapa Bridge by Leventis and the burnt Marine Bridge.

    Others are Utor Bridge, Niger Bridge at Onitsha/Asaba, Onitsha-Owerri Bridge, Ibagwa Bridge, Ikom Bridge, Itigidi, Makurdi Bridge, Quata Sule Bridge, Katsina Ala Bridge, Buruku Bridge, Abuja-Abaji Bridge Section 11, Loko Owotu Bridge 21. Ibi Bridge, Kudzum Bridge, Gombe-Michika-Maraba Bridge, Gamboru Bridge, Katanko Bridge, Jaji Bridge. Others are, Borno/Adamawa State Border Bridge, Falani Bridge, Sumaila Flyover Bridge at Silver Jubilee and Tambuwal Bridge, in Sokoto.

    Though some of these roads and bridges are at various stages of rehabilitation and many others’ fate are still hanging, a transportation scholar and erudite administrator Dr Tajudeen Bawa’Allah, still scored the Federal Government high in its ambitious move to touch every geo-political zone of the nation with one project or the other.

    “The Federal Government scored very high marks in my assessment on the transportation sector. While the Ministry of Works is fixing the road infrastructure, the Ministry of transportation is taking bold steps in repositioning the sector,” Bawa’Allah said.

    Like last year, he said giant steps have been taken to give the sector the needed fillip, adding that when this finally comes on stream, it would ease transportation modes.

    Bawa’Allah, a former Managing Director of Lagos State Transport Corporation (LSTC) and ex-dean LASU School of Transportation, praised the synergy between the Ministries of Transportation and Power, Works, adding that the two hold the keys to getting the nation out of economic woods.

    But another logistics expert Patrick Adenusi said the Federal Government’s scorecard of less than 45 percent execution on all its projects had compounded Nigerians’ nightmare in 2017.

    Citing the Apapa-Oshodi-Tin Can Island road repair, Adenusi said failure to get this crucial project off the ground weas hurting the economy as 80 percent of travels were still executed on the roads. He wondered why this critical road would still be on the drawing board after consortia of firms, led by Dangote Group signified intention to bankroll its repair.

    “One would have expected that the Federal Government move with more speed on the roads repairs. But they might have been encumbered with paucity of funds, occasioned by the slash of their budgetary allocation by the National Assembly,” he said.

    Bawa’Allah also praised the government for its determination to tackle the rot that had bedevilled the sector. He said the soon-to-berth National Transportation Policy, as well as other instruments, such as the National Road Fund Bill, the repeal of the Nigerian Railway Corporation Act 1954 Bill, and the National Transportation  Commission Bill, would help to reposition the sector soon.

     

    Rail sector strides

    Arguably, no sub-sector succeeded in gripping the attention of the government in the outgone year than the rail sector.

    With the flag-off of the Lagos-Ibadan Standard Gauge rail tracks by then Acting President Prof Yemi Osinbajo last March 7, the Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi ensured that the 18 months delivery deadline was sacrosanct.

    Monthly, since last June, Amaechi led members of the project’s implementation committee to review the contractor’s progress and ensured all encumbrancesm especially in built up areas within Lagos, were removed.

    When completed, the Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge, with a branch line at Apapa is expected to be major boost to cargo and passenger train traffic on the west line. Being the second lot, the third and final lot i.e. Ibadan-Kano (which would complete the modernisation of the Lagos-Kano Western Line) is expected to kick-off in the first quarter of next year.

    The Federal Government last month also took delivery of two locomotives and 10 first class coaches for its Abuja-Kaduna standard gauge rail line, which has been using locomotive to run commercial operations on that route since it started commercial operation in 2016. The new acquisition, which is yet to be inaugurated by President Muhammadu Buhari is expected to boost passenger traffic along the line, which lately has been recording huge and unprecedented patronage.

    As government continued its strides with the modernisation of the nation’s railway corporation’s assets, it also kick started negotiations with General Electric (GE) to concession to it, the corporation’s narrow gauge’s fixed and rolling assets.

    Lagos example

    Unlike her federal counterpart, Lagos State government last year consolidated on her strides in the transportation sector, with the delivery of 114 inner city roads, spearheaded by the local governments, while another 181 roads are ongoing across the 20 local governments and 37 LCDAs in the state.

    These are besides the delivery of  some flyover bridges –Jubilee Bridges at Lekki and Abule Egba, and Bola Tinubu Bridge at Ekoro, construction of multiple laybys, roads expansion and modern bus termini that are springing up across the state. The Abule-Egba-Oshodi BRT lane extension is being complemented with the ongoing Oshodi bus terminal and multi-storey car parks and shopping malls, which further complemented by the Murtala Muhammed International Airport Road-Oshodi remodelling, all of which are to be delivered by next December.

    Governor Akinwunmi Ambode is set to crystallise his road sector transformation with the introduction of bus reform, which is set to replace the rickety yellow buses with 5000 new medium to big capacity buses in the next three years.

    Ambode’s strides in the road mode is being further complemented with the purchase of new ferries for the LagFerries, which is to complement the dredging of the waterways, and the development of new water routes aimed at pushing passenger traffic from one million to 2.5 million in the first instance and about five million in the next five years. Though its blue light rail has suffered a five years delay, government insisted the project is on course with the first phase set for delivery by 2018.

    Bawa’Allah praised state government’s various strides on the transportation sector. He said Ambode might have woken to the reality that the sector could transform the state’s economy.

     

     

     

     

  • Clouds over GE’s rail concession

    Clouds over GE’s rail concession

    With barely 12 days to the end of this year, it is doubtful if the anticipated General Electric’s (GE’s) $2.2 billion investment in the nation’s narrow gauge will become a reality,writes ADEYINKA ADERIBIGBE.

    The much-expected take-off of the management of the Nigeria Railway Corporation’s (NRC) narrow gauge rolling stock assets seems to have suffered another still birth.

    The preferred bidder, American giant General Electric Corporation (GE), in line with the preliminary agreement signed last month ought to have rolled out 20 locomotives (engines) and 100 wagons by now.

    This is besides huge investments worth about $2.2 billion it is expected to have injected into the narrow gauge stream beginning from 2019, (that is if both parties decided to go ahead with the main contract after the initial 12 months preliminary agreement).

    Last May, the Federal Government announced GE as winner of the controversial bid.

    Making the announcement after  the Federal Executive Council’s (FEC’s) nod, Transportation Minister Mr Rotimi Amaechi, gave the impression that GE was ready to restart the almost moribund tracks.

     

    Journey from 2015

    Determined to reverse the railways’ motorised format, the Buhari government embarked on a massive upgrade.

    Though the revamp started before Buhari, the government gave it the desired fillip with its renewed commitment which not only saw to the completion of the rehabilitation of the old rotted rail track network,  it also got an unprecedented scale up in the modernisation agenda, with the completion of the Abuja-Kaduna standard gauge track system on July 26, last year.

    Weeks before the kick off, it commenced the construction of the $1.5 billion Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge project, which file had been gathering dust on ex-President Goodluck Jonathan desk.

    With its determination to see the project delivered next December, the Buhari government seems prepared to set an uncommon record of completing the project in 18 months.

    Because most of the impediments to a functional train system had been worked upon, it wasn’t difficult for the government to get the National Assembly committed to the need to revamp the moribund and unsustainable transportation system.

    One of the tasks that was urgently attended to was the repeal of the Nigerian Railway Corporation Act 1954, passed since September, last year, by the Senate but had been awaiting amendment of the House of Representatives.

    Notwithstanding the delay to the anticipated amendment of the NRC Act from the lower house and its eventual harmonisation by the two chambers, the Federal Government began to shop for private sector investors to take over some of the assets of the corporation under a concessionning agreement aimed at improving the travel experience of Nigerians most of who have lost hope in a revamped and effective rail system comparable to others abroad.

    The plan, again, was not wholly Buhari’s. Rather, it emanated from the Obasanjo administration which envisioned it as part of the corporation’s 25-year masterplan.

    Without starting the process all over, Amaechi, contrary to opinion, announced the handing over of the narrow gauge over to GE on a concessionnaire basis.

    Initially, the firm was to take off on last May 29. Rather, what commenced were series of meetings by the Transaction Advisory Committee (TAC), which included the GE, the Ministry of Transportation, a group of  consultants, and the NRC workers.

    At the end, the Minister announced this month as take-off of the preliminary agreement.That would be pretty much after all the technical details had been agreed to. As at last month, Amaechi insisted it would take GE only a few weeks to move their stocks in from South Africa, adding that by this month, Nigeria would begin to experience the GE’s expertise.

    The minister insisted that bringing in private investors into the railway was in line with global best practices.

    “While the government owns the rail tracks, investors are usually encouraged to own the rolling stocks, both passengers and cargoes. This brings efficiency and removes all the ills that had bedevilled our train system to perform as a good transportation alternative since the 60s.”

    If allowed, it would allow the government’s focus on building more efficient network, especially the standard gauge. With its links to the nation’s productive centres, the narrow gauge will assist in the rapid development of the agriculture, mining and steel sectors and link same directly to the sea for export.

    Again, the continuous rehabilitation of the narrow gauge network will no longer be at any cost to the government. Outside Lagos-Kano route, which includes Lagos, Abeokuta, Ibadan,  Ilorin, Kano, Funtua, Zaria, and Kaura-Namoda, the GE would also take over the Port Harcourt-Maiduguri route, which includes Port Harcourt, Aba, Umuahia, Enugu, Makurdi, Jos, Gombe and Bauchi to Borno State.

    To him, the rehabilitation of the two corridors would help activate freight movement.

    “The narrow gauge will essentially encourage freight movement. We have over 30 million tons worth of freight on the Lagos-Kano route for which presently we are moving slightly above 1000 tons. While the Port-Harcourt-Maiduguri route is currently moving nothing, we are anticipating 11 million tons on that route,” he said.

    He foresees an upsurge of passenger and cargo traffic on the narrow gauge spectrum as the rehabilitation will encourage movement of cargoes and passengers.

    The new proposition is a departure from what obtained with the narrow gauge under the management of the NRC. Intercity shuttle, as being run, is epileptic with the rusty coaches, driven by aging locomotives that take no fewer than 72 hours travel time between Lagos-Kano.

    “This is absolutely unacceptable. The railway system will not be able to attract any quality passenger traffic with such tradition. We must look at fast-tracking things at the railway,” Amaechi said.

     

    Concessioning

    The corporation, according to Amaechi, remained the way out of the rot in the railway, adding that for Nigerians to embrace the railway, they must see improved services.

     

    Docile workforce

    The minister at a meeting with the NRC workers came short of accusing them for the slide in the corporation’s fortunes.

    He said a staff audit conducted by the GE showed that only 20 percent of the nation’s population are qualified and could be engaged by the narrow gauge’s new operator.

    He added that GE insisted on the government handing over a zero-staff system to allow it recruit its staff, while it would give NRCworkers a consideration for the first year only.

    “Thereafter, workers have a choice to either voluntarily opt out or stay on with the old structure with the NRC as the regulator,” Amaechi told the workers.

    Although the minister was able to extract the workers’consent to proceed with the concession at the meeting,their leadership insisted that the condition of service remained thorny.

    The workers’ union former president, Comrade Raphael Benjamin Okoro, said while the union had no issue to grind with how the government chooses to dispose its property, it should proceed with caution.

    He said the workers were worried about the haste with which the government was proceeding with the concession, which contravenes the provisions of the NRC 1954 Act, yet to be fully amended by the National Assembly.

    Okoro said: “Until the law is amended, any action taken to unbundle the railway like they did to other national assets will be unconstitutional and if this government wants Nigerians to believe that it is sincere, it must hasten slowly because we have it on good authority that the real reason behind the haste was to strip the railways of its huge asset base scattered across the country.”

    Okoro, who put the entire work force at about 15,000, however, urged the government to put in place a robust severance plan to address the workers’ worries.

    One of the thorny issues holding back the take-off of the agreement The Nation gathered revolves round the absence of an enabling law permitting privatisation or concessionning.

    With the House of Representatives failing to pass the concurrent bill repealing the NRC Act, moving ahead with the agreement would be, Okoro warned, “ultra vires, null and void.”

    Besides, the source added, the government seemed to have cut the sail off the GE’s antics to limit its cargo operations to Lagos, merely shuttling the seven kilometre-distance between Apapa and Ebute-Metta, an operation he said, the corporation has started running.

    “The government wants to know why the GE with its competence and capacity is restricting its operations to Lagos, while millions of tonnage could be taken to Kano from the same Lagos,” the source disclosed.

    Besides, the government has stripped the concessionnaire of taking over the corporation’s properties spread all over the country. Railway’s assets in property are in excess of the value of the concessionned terms and governments think it would be unwise to sell the entire enterprise, including its property.

    Shorn of an avenue of making quick returns on its investment, and the absence of an enabling law, the GE might have decided to apply the break on the deal.

    The source disclosed that the American corporation seemed to have lost interest in the long haul as the government originally intended, adding that with the plan not taking off this month, it might take much longer before Nigerians begin to see any GE locomotive or wagons on its narrow gauge.

    “I don’t see the plan taking off even within the first quarter of next year. It may be longer, because the government is not in a hurry to strip the corporation to feed any foreign exploiter,” the source added.

    As it stands, the government seemed bent on protecting the nation’s assets. What is not clear is whether an enabling law would be passed to give the needed backing to the move and if the concessionnaire is ready to accommodate all government’s demands as contained in the transaction advisory.

    While all these last, the nation continues to bear the brunt of lack of development in the railway sector alone, as the government continues to shoulder the cost of modernising its fixed and rolling stocks.

  • Curbing the menace of roof top train riders

    Curbing the menace of roof top train riders

    The death of five persons riding on top of a train in another accident in Lagos has provoked fresh calls for a lasting solution to the problem, writes ADEYINKA ADERIBIGBE

    But for an impending probe by the House of Representatives, the accident would have been swept under the carpet.

    Five persons died and four others were injured  at Fagba level crossing in Lagos last month when the train on which they were travelling  collided with an articulated truck.

    In a motion passed last Tuesday, the lawmakers said failure to investigate the November 16, derailment would amount to negligence, as several other accidents like that had gone unreported in the past.

    “We can’t go forward without looking back,” was the way the House Majority Leader Femi Gbajabiamila put the lawmakers’ intervention, adding: “Doing nothing about it will be tantamount to negligence.”

    Last month’s accident came barely a year after scores of passengers fell to their death at Agege, as a Mass Transit Train Service (MTTS) carriage collided with a truck at the level crossing.

    In another instance, several rooftop riders were also killed when the brakes of a Kano-bound train failed at the foot of the River Niger at Jebba, in Moro Local Government of Kwara State last year.

    The Green Chamber’s further mandate to its Committees on Police Affairs, Information, National Orientation, Ethics and Values and Land Transport to interface with the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) on how to provide railway level crossing barriers, highway codes and alarm system arrangements at level crossings across the country, to curb incessant deaths, is not, therefore, misplaced.

    The resolution followed a motion sponsored by Hon. Akinwunmi Nurudeen Olaitan and Hon. Jimoh Abdulraheem  Olajide, both of APC Ifako-Ijaiye Federal Constituency, Lagos, on the need to curb incessant deaths at railway crossings.

    By insisting that the rail’s 2018 budget should focus on the need to provide security and ensure safety of passengers and pedestrians, the lawmakers may have been goaded to protect the right of every Nigerian to life, irrespective of their economic status.

    There has been growing concern over the increasing train  accidents over the years, leading to avoidable deaths, especially of rooftop riders, who find their way to the roof of the rail cars because of the congestion of the coaches and other spaces inside the train.

    Between 2013 and 2016, no fewer than 1,000 deaths were recorded nationwide on the major arterial trunk – the Lagos-Kano line, better known as the western line – with over 70 per cent of them unreported.

    Even when they were reported, the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) soon dumped them into trash bin without  baiting an eyelid on how to prevent a repeat of same.

    That explained the happiness of transportation experts on realising that the lawmakers are keen on getting to the root of such incidents, with the intention of preventing the frequency of reoccurence.

    The  need to prevent derailment is not unconnected with the huge net effect such usually have, depending on the the size and type of train – cargo or passengers – involved in the incident.

    Most of the accidents involving trains and vehicles are caused by failure of vehicle drivers to abide by highway codes and the absence of railway level crossing barriers, given that most crossing locations are among the busiest points on the transportation network in most city centres across the country.

    This explained why the lawmakers said an alarm system to appropriately signal the approach of a train needed to be put in place to alert vehicles to clear out of the train’s right of way.

    The right of way is granted to the train because of its peculiar breaking system which, depending on its weight and speed, requires a long distance, longer than that of the vehicle to prevent an accident.

    Most times, it is the roof top riders, who suffer heavy casualty during a derailment. Unfortunately, these set of travellers are, according to the “standard practice”,  not covered by any insurance policy of the Corporation in case of an accident.

    “All our passengers and goods are insured. Anyone, who bought our tickets, is covered against any form of accident,” a top official of the Corporation said at the weekend.

    He, however, declared that the policy does not extend to anyone who is not inside the train’s coaches. In other words, roof top riders are not covered under such policy.

    “In fact, they are regarded as criminals out on illegal, suicide mission,” the official declared as a matter of fact, adding that the Corporation had over the years been sanitising its systems to ensure that it eliminated the practice.

     

    Enduring practice

     

    On most days, the coaches on all the MTTS are usually filled beyond capacity, with passengers spilling to occupy all available spaces, including the locomotive gangway or the fire coach (generating set).

    Despite regular raids by men of the Nigerian Railway Police Force and other security agencies, the hikers, banking on the relative affordable rate and the stress of road congestion, usually flood the train for a ride to their destination.

    “It is a menace we are at a loss on how to really tame,” another top official, who refused to be mentioned said. Despite spirited efforts to sanitise the rail system, the rooftop rider seemed set to continue their suicide mission.

    While it is normal to assume that the practice subsists because of the lure to enjoy a free ride and to most often escape the  eagle eye of ticketers and scouts patrolling the coaches to fish out illegal riders and prosecute them, many of the riders, The Nation discovered during a recent investigation, actually have valid tickets, yet enjoy riding on the roof of the train coaches for other reasons.

    One of the reasons riders often choose to ride on the roof of the coaches are the unhygienic conditions of the coaches. Many of the coaches used for either the MTTS or the Lagos-Kano intercity shuttle are not conducive for human transportation.

    To avoid the stuffy interiors of the coaches, many passengers, therefore, make their way to the roof tops where they are certain of enjoying “fresh air,” or get themselves exposed to pilferers, who targets unsuspecting victims to disposses them of their belongings, especially cash.

    There are, however, those other set of riders, who are regarded as hardened rogues who ride on the roof of the coaches to take hard drugs as the train speeds along its rotted rail.

    Transportation Minister, Rotimi Amaechi, has never hidden his concern to see the Corporation tackle the menace. Rooftop riding is a world-wide phenomenon identified as pervasive among the poor. The majority of those, who opt for this illegal and risky ride are assumed to be poor and unable  to pay their fare by rail to their destination.

     

    Generation at risk

     

    The Nation‘s recent  investigation showed that 70 per cent of those  involved in this risky ride, especially on the Iddo-Agbado route, falls within the ages of 21-35 years. It was also discovered that 60 per cent of them are either artisans, hawkers, or those learning a trade and over 90 per cent of them are gruff. Interestingly, about 50 per cent of those who sit on trains’ rooftops have valid tickets on them.

    Though risky, riding atop trains  has become the acceptable way of life for majority of people in this class. Whether on the Lagos-Ogun MTTS, or those riding between border communities on the inter-state Lagos-Kano shuttle.

    The Ijoko-Agbado-Iddo train, which leaves the Ogun State suburb at about 6am, as well as the Iddo-Alagbado-Ijoko trains, which returns at about 6.00 p.m., are usually filled to capacity. For them, the train is the cheapest means of transportation. That explains why on many occasions, the Ijoko bound train, which leaves the sleepy town at dawn  for Iddo, are usually filled beyond capacity before getting to Agbado, with many passengers, who cannot secure a seat hanging on any available space for the bumpy ride.

    The menace of rooftop riding is, however, usually minimised in the mornings due to the fear of arrest by men of the NRC Police Command. Hell, however, is usually let loose in the evenings, when the security agents are expected to have “officially closed” for work,  as scruffy-looking ‘boys’, suspected to be returning from “work”, take over to display this menace, which begins from 6.00pm as witnessed recently untill the last shuttle at about 9.00 p.m.

    Some of those, who spoke with The Nation insisted that the uncomfortable nature of the train coaches supplied by the NRC on those routes might have been responsible for the sustained surge in the number of riders, who sit on rooftops.  Muftau, a motorcycle mechanics, who plies his trade at Iddo, said he would most times leave his seat on the second class coaches to sit on rooftop to escape suffocation inside the stuffy coach.

    Muftau said the Second Class coaches are no better than a manger, with many of the passengers, including beggars, and all manner of stench oozing out of the coaches. “I ride on the roof to escape the odour that comes out of the coaches at times, and though it is unsafe, I found out that I could breathe better each time I ride on the rooftop of the train,” Muftau, who has been using the MTTS train since 2011, said.

     

    Poor enforcement

     

    Despite the prevalence of roof top riding, the NRC Police Command said, last year alone, no fewer than 1,000 rooftop riders were arrested and prosecuted with offenders facing the full wrath of the law. The Command said it would not be intimidated by anyone or group of hoodlums in maintaining law and order on the train.

    But riders point to the fact that many  times police officers collude with illegal riders to perpetrate their act. The Police said the long arm of the law would soon catch up with the bad legs tarnishing the image of the Force. The Police said it would continue the onslaught on roof riding even as the Corporation comes up with a blueprint to arrest the trend.

    “The NRC knows what to do to abate this menace and we can only assure Nigerians that the Police is ready to put this menace in check,” a Police source, who would not want to be mentioned said.

     

    NRC’s plan

     

    The NRC sources said the solution may just be at hand with the impending takeoff of the General Electric (GE) and the takeover of the narrow gauge for the running of the corporation’s entire rolling stock.

    The GE is expected to roll out this month, with about 100 wagons and 20 locomotives on the narrow gauge, a field it expected to jointly run with the NRC in the first 12 months until a more permanent agreement is further sealed. With the GE coming with many wagons in the first instance and coaches much later on, the problem of inadequate numbers of coaches, a result of demand outstripping supply, would be adequately addressed.

    NRC Managing Director, Mr Fidet Okhiria assured that the management, under his leadership, would not rest on its oars until the issue of rooftop riders is erased on all its routes.

    Okhiria, said the NRC would be embarking on enlightenment campaign to combat the menace.

    “The NRC had in the past embarked on enlightenment campaigns to drum the awareness of the dangers inherent in rooftop riding to all its intending passengers. We would also strengthen efforts to secure the train stations and tracks to ward off hoodlums.

    But perhaps the most enduring solutions would be the development of a more robust intervention being canvassed by the lawmakers. Maybe that can put a stop to the wanton loss of innocent lives, most of who might be caught in the web of experiencing train alternative for the first time before meeting their death.

     

  • Resolving Apapa’s perennial traffic nightmare

    Resolving Apapa’s perennial traffic nightmare

    Will the Federal Government’s initiatives on the Apapa gridlock relieve traumatised businesses and residents? ADEYINKA ADERIBIGBE asks

    The Buhari administration did what no previous government had done about the Apapa traffic. The Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, after a breakfast meeting with captains of industry on how to resolve the traffic congestion of Apapa, hopped onto a helicopter and had an aerial reconnaissance of traffic in the area.

    He may not have revealed to anyone yet his feelings when he was high up there, but when he landed, he ordered the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, and the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA)  Managing Director, Hadiza Bala Usman, to take a holistic look at the components of the causes of the gridlock and “find a quick solution to decongesting traffic in the area”.

    When the Buhari administration came in over two years ago, decongesting Apapa was top on the list of its priorities. But Apapa has remained a sore thumb, despite the huge successes of the government’s efforts on the ease of doing business in the country.

    The traffic is killing rather than easing business. Besides, a generation of Nigerians, particularly from the ’90s, are gradually losing touch with Apapa, which was  once a bustling centre of commerce. Apapa, up till the ’90s, was a beehive of commercial and social activities, being home to Nigeria’s two major sea ports- Apapa and Tin Can. It also has the popular Apapa Amusement and Recreation Park together with its enchanting night life. It was, indeed, a place to be for tourists, young and old.

    In the last two decades, however, Apapa has been shorn of all its glorious past as the area has degenerated, leaving a web of collapsed roads, which ensnare residents in intractable traffic daily.

    The gridlock has practically crippled businesses and killed tourism. It has also affected private lives. Many residents have relocated from Apapa to escape the nightmare that has made life hellish for many of them.

    The two critical roads that service the area – Wharf Road and the Apapa/Oshodi Expressway are terribly bad and inaccessible to port operators, commuters, motorists and the public. This development has also led to huge economic losses.

     

    Huge losses

     

    Apapa’s arterial roads’ neglect by both the Federal Government and the Lagos State has led to huge economic losses. Man hour losses to the congestion, a permanent feature in the area, is said to be in excess of one trillion naira, while the estimated weekly loss to the economy is about N140 billion.

    Apapa accounts for more than 80 per cent of all import and export activities in Nigeria. Fashola, at the meeting with Osinbajo, disclosed that the Apapa Ports have witnessed inordinate expansion in capacity over the years. The ports, which have the capacity for handling 34 million metric tonnes of cargoes per annum, now process over 80 million metric tonnes of cargo per annum.

    The net effect of the over stretched and unbridled expansion is the congestion, which according to him was made worse by lack of traffic management systems.

    The President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, had, at a media chat recently, described Apapa as a national embarrassment.

    He said the Federal Government loses N140 billion weekly and more than N20 billion daily to the traffic congestion occasioned by the deplorable roads.

    The Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) said it generated N898 billion revenue in 2016, a marginal drop from the N904 billion it generated in 2015. This reduction, according to a source, is due to the difficulty in accessing foreign exchange and the removal of the 41 items which forced down the level of activities within the ports.

    The bulk of revenue generated by the Customs yearly comes from the two ports in Apapa. An investigation into the activities at the Port by the Senate showed that Nigeria has generated about N37 trillion from the sector over the years. The probe also indicated that if all the leakages are blocked, the port can conveniently finance the nation’s budget.

    According to the Senate, Customs alone generates over N800 billion annually, but the government finds it difficult to use N11 billion, a meagre fraction of the N800 billion, to carry out repairs on the roads leading to the two ports.

    Principal Partner, Adeyemo Fagbamigbe & Co, a firm of Chartered Surveyors and Estate Managers Mr Olajide Adeyemo, said it is unfortunate that the government would wait to see the entire Apapa locked up as it is presently before getting serious to unlock its traffic and upgrade its infrastructure.

    He said the traffic gridlock on the two major roads to the two ports  has made any investment unattractive  in the area. Developers who are looking for quick returns on investment, he said, will not be interested in investing in Apapa because the place is unattractive and anyone, who invests in the area will be tying down investment.

    Corroborating Adeyemo’s view, a security expert Mr Aderemi Ajose, described Apapa as “a tragedy and an investor’s nightmare.”

    A developer who does not want his name published said three years after his firm finished developing terrace apartments for a client in the area, the houses have remained unoccupied.

     

    The challenges

     

    Many Nigerians have traced the genesis of the crisis at Apapa to the privatisation of the Ports, which saw the concessionning of ports facilities to private firms. With the takeover of the holding bays inside the ports by private firms, the containerised trucks and trailers, belonging to private operators, with no capacity to own holding bay, have resorted to parking on the roads.

    The situation is compounded by deplorable road network, which has made Apapa inaccessible.

    The collapse of the only truck road into Apapa -the Apapa/Oshodi Expressway, has forced trucks to now access Apapa through Ojuelegba, leaving a trail of traffic gridlock on the old Ikorodu road.      Founder of Safety Without Borders, Mr Patrick Adenusi said coupled with the bad roads, Apapa is crippled by total lack of traffic management.

    “For the past seven weeks, I have been directly involved in controlling traffic at Apapa. Many tanker drivers do enlist the support of military officers, to drive against oncoming traffic. Just last Thursday, I insisted that no such would happen at Marine Beach. I stopped all those being aided by military officers from moving and forced them to take the right route. So, I believe if we have a better traffic management and ensured that everyone sticks to it, the gridlock would reduce.” he said.

    Adenusi said the government should be commended for at least, waking up to its responsibilities to do something urgently about Apapa before it becomes cut off from the rest of Lagos. “Imagine the magnitude of any tragedy that would be recorded if nothing is done to contain the traffic and government leaves the two main accesses to the area totally impassable?,”he asked.

     

    Comprehensive

    solutions

     

    Stakeholders, who met with Osinbajo at the stakeholders meetings, which included Alhaji Aliko Dangote, for the Dangote Group; Chairman, Honeywell Group, Dr. Oba Otudeko; and BUA Group Chairman, Alhaji Abdulsamad Rabiu, made commitments to intervene in the road repair as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). While the Dangote Group, in collaboration with Flour Mills of Nigeria will carry out palliative works and reconstruct some major sections of the Apapa road, which is expected to be completed by June/July 2018, Honeywell Group will construct a trailer park, while BUA Group will carry out construction works on the Tin Can road.

    Tasks to be discharged by the Ministry of Works and the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) include: stopping all shipping companies from operating holding bays within the Apapa Port location, and the stoppage of tanks farms operations within the Apapa area.

    The NPA is to begin the process of licensing access to trailer parks and port location via a call up system to all trailer driver and operators, and the  publication of an advertisement seeking for expression of interests from private sector to operate trailer parks and holding bays within the Tin Can Island area.

    The NPA and the Ministry are to cap their intervention with the establishment of a task force to manage the flow of traffic within the Apapa and Tin Can Island environs.

    Lagos State Acting Commissioner of Police, Mr Imohimi Edgal, said the Task Force, which is made up of all arms of the security forces and traffic management, have met and visited Apapa to assess the situation. This, he said, is a prelude to the taking off of the controlling the traffic in and out of Apapa in line with the Presidential order by the Vice President.

    The National Chairman, Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas (NUPENG) Alhaji Salmon Oladiti, described the decision to establish trucks parks at strategic locations across the country as one that would greatly reduce pressure on the road and promote the lives of all drivers.

    Oladiti said the PTD will not only support such initiative, but will work with any investor in ensuring that it becomes successful because it would have positive impact on the lives of its members.

    “The decision is timely and would further help to develop land transport system in the country,”he said, adding that drivers must be made to feel like human beings and treated as such. “It would ensure that no driver sleeps on the road,” Oladiti said.

     

    Challenges

     

    Adenusi said the road promised by Dangote is, however, being hampered by unforeseen challenges.

    “A gas pipeline presently lies right on the road. The pipeline, which belongs to a major gas firm supplying gas to industries within the port, is presently preventing works on the road. He said presently, a new redesigning is being done to relocate the gas pipeline to make way for the continuation of the project,” he said.

    While efforts are being made to tackle the main Apapa roads, Adenusi also urged that similar attention be given to fixing the Apapa/Oshodi Expressway.

     

    Conclusion

     

    Experts called for the extension of speed rail services into the ports terminals with appropriate policy directing patronage by terminal operators and shipping agents.

     

  • Resolving Apapa’s perennial traffic nightmare

    Resolving Apapa’s perennial traffic nightmare

    Will the Federal Government’s initiatives on the Apapa gridlock relieve traumatised businesses and residents? ADEYINKA ADERIBIGBE asks

    The Buhari administration did what no previous government had done about the Apapa traffic last week. The Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, after a breakfast meeting with captains of industry on how to resolve the traffic congestion of Apapa, hopped onto a helicopter and had an aerial reconnaissance of traffic in the area.

    He may not have revealed to anyone yet his feelings when he was high up there, but when he landed, he ordered the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, and the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA)  Managing Director, Hadiza Bala Usman, to take a holistic look at the components of the causes of the gridlock and “find a quick solution to decongesting traffic in the area”.

    When the Buhari administration came in over two years ago, decongesting Apapa was top on the list of its priorities. But Apapa has remained a sore thumb, despite the huge successes of the government’s efforts on the ease of doing business in the country.

    The traffic is killing rather than easing business. Besides, a generation of Nigerians, particularly from the ’90s, are gradually losing touch with Apapa, which was  once a bustling centre of commerce. Apapa, up till the ’90s, was a beehive of commercial and social activities, being home to Nigeria’s two major sea ports- Apapa and Tin Can. It also has the popular Apapa Amusement and Recreation Park together with its enchanting night life. It was, indeed, a place to be for tourists, young and old.

    In the last two decades, however, Apapa has been shorn of all its glorious past as the area has degenerated, leaving a web of collapsed roads, which ensnare residents in intractable traffic daily.

    The gridlock has practically crippled businesses and killed tourism. It has also affected private lives. Many residents have relocated from Apapa to escape the nightmare that has made life hellish for many of them.

    The two critical roads that service the area – Wharf Road and the Apapa/Oshodi Expressway are terribly bad and inaccessible to port operators, commuters, motorists and the public. This development has also led to huge economic losses.

     

    Huge losses

     

    Apapa’s arterial roads’ neglect by both the Federal Government and the Lagos State has led to huge economic losses. Man hour losses to the congestion, a permanent feature in the area, is said to be in excess of one trillion naira, while the estimated weekly loss to the economy is about N140 billion.

    Apapa accounts for more than 80 per cent of all import and export activities in Nigeria. Fashola, at the meeting with Osinbajo, disclosed that the Apapa Ports have witnessed inordinate expansion in capacity over the years. The ports, which have the capacity for handling 34 million metric tonnes of cargoes per annum, now process over 80 million metric tonnes of cargo per annum.

    The net effect of the over stretched and unbridled expansion is the congestion, which according to him was made worse by lack of traffic management systems.

    The President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, had, at a media chat recently, described Apapa as a national embarrassment.

    He said the Federal Government loses N140 billion weekly and more than N20 billion daily to the traffic congestion occasioned by the deplorable roads.

    The Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) said it generated N898 billion revenue in 2016, a marginal drop from the N904 billion it generated in 2015. This reduction, according to a source, is due to the difficulty in accessing foreign exchange and the removal of the 41 items which forced down the level of activities within the ports.

    The bulk of revenue generated by the Customs yearly comes from the two ports in Apapa. An investigation into the activities at the Port by the Senate showed that Nigeria has generated about N37 trillion from the sector over the years. The probe also indicated that if all the leakages are blocked, the port can conveniently finance the nation’s budget.

    According to the Senate, Customs alone generates over N800 billion annually, but the government finds it difficult to use N11 billion, a meagre fraction of the N800 billion, to carry out repairs on the roads leading to the two ports.

    Principal Partner, Adeyemo Fagbamigbe & Co, a firm of Chartered Surveyors and Estate Managers Mr Olajide Adeyemo, said it is unfortunate that the government would wait to see the entire Apapa locked up as it is presently before getting serious to unlock its traffic and upgrade its infrastructure.

    He said the traffic gridlock on the two major roads to the two ports  has made any investment unattractive  in the area. Developers who are looking for quick returns on investment, he said, will not be interested in investing in Apapa because the place is unattractive and anyone, who invests in the area will be tying down investment.

    Corroborating Adeyemo’s view, a security expert Mr Aderemi Ajose, described Apapa as “a tragedy and an investor’s nightmare.”

    A developer who does not want his name published said three years after his firm finished developing terrace apartments for a client in the area, the houses have remained unoccupied.

     

    The challenges

     

    Many Nigerians have traced the genesis of the crisis at Apapa to the privatisation of the Ports, which saw the concessionning of ports facilities to private firms. With the takeover of the holding bays inside the ports by private firms, the containerised trucks and trailers, belonging to private operators, with no capacity to own holding bay, have resorted to parking on the roads.

    The situation is compounded by deplorable road network, which has made Apapa inaccessible.

    The collapse of the only truck road into Apapa -the Apapa/Oshodi Expressway, has forced trucks to now access Apapa through Ojuelegba, leaving a trail of traffic gridlock on the old Ikorodu road.      Founder of Safety Without Borders, Mr Patrick Adenusi said coupled with the bad roads, Apapa is crippled by total lack of traffic management.

    “For the past seven weeks, I have been directly involved in controlling traffic at Apapa. Many tanker drivers do enlist the support of military officers, to drive against oncoming traffic. Just last Thursday, I insisted that no such would happen at Marine Beach. I stopped all those being aided by military officers from moving and forced them to take the right route. So, I believe if we have a better traffic management and ensured that everyone sticks to it, the gridlock would reduce.” he said.

    Adenusi said the government should be commended for at least, waking up to its responsibilities to do something urgently about Apapa before it becomes cut off from the rest of Lagos. “Imagine the magnitude of any tragedy that would be recorded if nothing is done to contain the traffic and government leaves the two main accesses to the area totally impassable?,”he asked.

     

    Comprehensive

    solutions

     

    Stakeholders, who met with Osinbajo at the stakeholders meetings, which included Alhaji Aliko Dangote, for the Dangote Group; Chairman, Honeywell Group, Dr. Oba Otudeko; and BUA Group Chairman, Alhaji Abdulsamad Rabiu, made commitments to intervene in the road repair as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). While the Dangote Group, in collaboration with Flour Mills of Nigeria will carry out palliative works and reconstruct some major sections of the Apapa road, which is expected to be completed by June/July 2018, Honeywell Group will construct a trailer park, while BUA Group will carry out construction works on the Tin Can road.

    Tasks to be discharged by the Ministry of Works and the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) include: stopping all shipping companies from operating holding bays within the Apapa Port location, and the stoppage of tanks farms operations within the Apapa area.

    The NPA is to begin the process of licensing access to trailer parks and port location via a call up system to all trailer driver and operators, and the  publication of an advertisement seeking for expression of interests from private sector to operate trailer parks and holding bays within the Tin Can Island area.

    The NPA and the Ministry are to cap their intervention with the establishment of a task force to manage the flow of traffic within the Apapa and Tin Can Island environs.

    Lagos State Acting Commissioner of Police, Mr Imohimi Edgal, said the Task Force, which is made up of all arms of the security forces and traffic management, have met and visited Apapa to assess the situation. This, he said, is a prelude to the taking off of the controlling the traffic in and out of Apapa in line with the Presidential order by the Vice President.

    The National Chairman, Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas (NUPENG) Alhaji Salmon Oladiti, described the decision to establish trucks parks at strategic locations across the country as one that would greatly reduce pressure on the road and promote the lives of all drivers.

    Oladiti said the PTD will not only support such initiative, but will work with any investor in ensuring that it becomes successful because it would have positive impact on the lives of its members.

    “The decision is timely and would further help to develop land transport system in the country,”he said, adding that drivers must be made to feel like human beings and treated as such. “It would ensure that no driver sleeps on the road,” Oladiti said.

     

    Challenges

     

    Adenusi said the road promised by Dangote is, however, being hampered by unforeseen challenges.

    “A gas pipeline presently lies right on the road. The pipeline, which belongs to a major gas firm supplying gas to industries within the port, is presently preventing works on the road. He said presently, a new redesigning is being done to relocate the gas pipeline to make way for the continuation of the project,” he said.

    While efforts are being made to tackle the main Apapa roads, Adenusi also urged that similar attention be given to fixing the Apapa/Oshodi Expressway.

     

    Conclusion

     

    Experts called for the extension of speed rail services into the ports terminals with appropriate policy directing patronage by terminal operators and shipping agents.