By Chris Paul Otaigbe
At last, I was able to make the trip by rail to Ibadan from Lagos. I had tried severally, but unsuccessfully to experience the four-month trial run, of the about to be completed Lagos-Ibadan Rail line, a free ride, provided by the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) for passengers plying the two Southwest States.
At the last attempt, I had made it to the station with my crew and we got to the Iju train station at exactly 4pm, the time it was advertised to take off. On the dot of four that evening, the engine had started running as the horn blared the train ahead. We watched breathlessly as the two-coach locomotive advanced into motion for its onward journey to Ibadan. It was not a day one wants to be remember considering the race my crew and I ran as if in 100-meter race to the tape. We breasted the tape but lost the train ride.
I learnt my first lesson in Nigerian time and the rebirth of the Nigerian Railway transport service. This was not going to be the Nigerian ‘African time.’ Although, I felt the frustration of losing the train but then a patriotic joy welled up inside of me to appreciate the fact that a Nigerian public service agency would have nothing to do with the usual Nigerian indiscipline toward keeping to time.
So, I determined to make December 20, 2020 a date with destiny. Our determination paid off as we got to the dingy looking Iju Train station as early as 8am beating all to be the first of the passengers to make it to the take off point for the train ride and it was going to be with the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi.
We were later joined by other journalists and at about few minutes to 10am, the train took off to Agege to pick the Minister and his entourage and off we went.
Amaechi came in a simple designed Ankara top in the company of Tonye Cole, the former gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the last governorship election in Rivers State. But he is more remembered as the Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Sahara Group. Among Amaechi’s entourage was the Managing Director of the Nigerian Railway Corporation, Fidet Okhiria, a bulky, dark completion man but agile on the job.
Our first stop was at the Alagbado Station with the Minister inspecting state of work. Even though the building construction is ongoing, the challenge was that communication equipment and signals were not on ground yet. The Minister was anxious to know what was causing the delay but the Chinese contractors could not provide a convincing excuse. But from their knowing smiles and Amaechi’s understanding but unsatisfactory reciprocal laugh, it was clear both parties understood each other. But they knew that regardless of the inadequacies of today, the goal was in view and meeting that target was not negotiable.
The next stop was the Kajola station. Here, the Minister met a more organized setting and he was satisfied with the level of work. In his interaction with the contractors at this site, the issue of local content came to the fore as he would elaborate later during the press briefing, he held at the tail end of the inspection. But one point struck me about how his mind is working for the project and the patriotic passion that was propelling him to ensure the project delivers on time and on spec. He directed the contractors to use the best materials for the tiling and all other finishing on the building for the station strictly for the larger public use. In other words, only the best material must be used on areas where the mass of the passengers would be staying, so that they are seen to be better and stronger than fittings and furnishings for the individual offices. Considering the lackadaisical attitude of the average public works contractor, in connivance with some unscrupulous public servants, to the choice of materials deployed to infrastructure meant for the mass of the people in Nigeria, this was profound. It showed the depth to which this Minister understood the rot in the system and was primed to prevent it from staining this particular public project on his watch.
At the Papalanto substation, the usual round of inspection with Amaechi’s eye for details on the minutest of material or work. However, at the Abeokuta station, work seems to have been abandoned and the disturbed Minister drew the attention of the contractors to the evidence he saw in a particular part of the building. The first of the two Chinese contractors could not provide a satisfactory answer and so Amaechi thought, perhaps they do not know the difference between an abandoned project and pausing a job for a brief defined period. So, he called the smarter of the two who speaks manageable English. He asked him what an abandoned project is… the young man looked around for a moment as if the answer to the Minster’s question was going to come to him form the breath of the Minister’s inspection team. Then he offered an answer: “An abandoned project is where you have grass… plenty of grass…” and everyone, including the Minister exploded into laughter. The truth, as he would later confess was the fact that this particular site is understaffed and the ones working here had gone for the Christmas holiday.
At the Omi Adio substation, work was truly ongoing as workers were at work unlike the last two stations and the Minister had less complaints this time.
On his way back to the train, the journalists who had been with him all through requested an audience with him because it was time to hear from him concerning what he has inspected thus far. From the way Amaechi related with the journalists, it was clear most of them had been on his inspection team since the inception of the project.
The Press briefing
When he was asked if he was happy with the pace of work, he said “ there are two things to do; either you get angry because they are not working at the pace you expect them to work or they have their timelines which they intend to keep to. They said the minor stations would be ready by February and the major stations in April. In which case, you can commission in April or you speed up the process and force them to complete it in February.” He said. Although, he disagrees with the speed at which the Chinese contractors are running the project, but he concedes the fact that this month’s inspection tour would be the first time the team would get to the Ibadan axis of the project. “You would agree with me this is the first time we are taking a ride to the Ibadan major stations. I think we should appreciate them…for at least completing the 156 kms of the project. The rest two or three kilometers are not part of the contract which is actually from Apapa to Ibadan. They have done well in laying the tracks to the end of the 156 km and so the extra two or three appear to be extras which they have volunteered to do by themselves. Have they done well with the stations… here and there…” he told the journalists. At the Kajola station, the issue of local content component for the project was brought to the fore when it turned out that the Chinese imported virtually everything from windows, doors to tiles and he asked “why should they be importing tiles? If you are looking for good quality tiles, you can find them in Nigeria. They are even importing doors! Why should we be importing doors, why should we be importing windows… you could as well import cement or blocks… so, we are encouraging them to as much as is possible buy materials that are Nigeria and of good quality so that we can create jobs for Nigerians. What you saw in Kajola is a trial run of our local content which has to do with the tiles, the windows, the doors.”
He then promised that if those Nigerian-made materials meet the quality that befit the standard of the project, they would be used for all the stations.
On a lighter note, Amaechi could be impatient with people who display glaring ignorance. One of the journalists asked him a question he probably had answered so many times. Having restrained himself, he then joked, in response and said “You know why I’m going to answer that question… because you have suffered with us on this project. You have been with us from the beginning. Otherwise, we have discussed the challenges we have been having on the project in Lagos. Now that things have been improved you are asking if it has been improved. At the beginning, we had issues of gas pipes, water pipes, sewer pipes… it was worse when we got to the Seaport. We had to fly in some engineers and new technology from Italy.
Most of the pipes were owned by the NNPC and the damage it would have caused if we had lifted those pipes out of the way… maybe by now, we may not have fuel supply for a long time in Nigeria.” The Minister explained.
The Ministry had to fly in new contractors who had the technology to first detect and identify the location of the pipes and then run the rail in a manner that they do not impact the pipes.
As for meeting the deadline, he is sure that would not be a problem. “We can take March and April as trial period to see what is going on in the different stations. Even though they can complete the job ahead of the time, they are fixated on their April deadline. But as client I have a say and that is why we are going to push for them to work round the clock. Now, their excuse is the Christmas celebration.” He said.
During the inspections, his worry about the pace of work was that the project may drag till the next administration by which time, it may have gotten to a near completion only for the next President to cut the tape and claim credit “for a work I have been suffering for all these while…. But it really does not matter so long as Nigerians get the Mass Transit transportation that would deliver quality service to them. That is all I am after.” Said Amaechi.
However, he said he is determined not to allow this pace of work affect the Ibadan to Kano rail project. This much he told the team of managers of the project. He said he would have to hold another round of meeting and another round of discussion on a more proactive and speedy approach to the Kano-Ibadan rail line.
After the briefing he headed back to the train with his team, prominent among them was Tonye Cole, who was always by his side during the whole ride. The oil and gas businessman turned politician made very useful contribution especially during the local content aspect where he was able to let the contractors who had concluded none of the quality of materials, they needed could be gotten in Nigeria, know of the availability of such in the country.
While he was being escorted back, it was an opportunity to have an interview session with the MD of the NRC, Fidet Okhiria. He was asked if he would be flexible in scheduling the trips and he replied “you can only have flexibility when you have enough coaches so that you can time your trips. What you have now is just one train running up and down. When we have four or five trains running daily then you can have the flexibility. That is why you have the stations where you can bypass. Luckily for us, we have double lines there. One can be said to be up line while the other can be said to be downline.” He said. Now, that the Ibadan axis has been achieved and Agege area have been reached, the NRC boss said “We set targets and we meet them…”
In January, he said the corporation is expecting a set of DMU coaches made up of eight different classes. The executive, the VIP and the normal standard coaches. “We are expecting another different set of 32 coaches. After that we are expecting another set of two DMUs and ten locomotives in January.” Said Okhiria
All in all, the maximum limit of passengers that can board the train per trip when the project gets into full swing may not be more than six hundred and eight (608) according to Engr. Okhiria’s calculation “Six multiplied by eighty-eight plus fifty-six added to twenty-four… That is the full set of a Train.” He said.
Concerning the pricing of the fare per trip. The NRC chief executive said the fare would be fair on Nigerians. “We don’t want to stress Nigerians that much. We would make the fare fair for them…”
As we made our way back into the Train, I had made up mind to have as many interviews as I could possibly get to get the response and observation of non-government members of the entourage.
One of them was the Lagos State Chapter Chairman of the Trade Union Congress, Gbenga Ekundayo.
He told me, he had met with the Minister the week before the inspection tour “and he said we should have a little chitchat with the Railway MD. I had a talk with the MD and he said we should come on the trip to see what they are doing on the rail, their plans, how they are moving… The prospects of rail transportation and the opportunity to see how we can plug in the interest of workers for the future. So, that is why we are here today.” Said Ekundayo
The first thing he observed was that the Minister was always complaining concerning the pace of work. “The workers on site were not enough, as it were. At a point I had to ask him if there were no detailed timeline for the delivery. The reply I got was the delivery timeline was actually April. But he was only pushing to see how they can deliver by February.” He said.
The TUC Chairman had seen some level of commitment to see that the nation gets delivery at the right time and also observed the crew looking at every detail trying to ensure that what is delivered is what is needed… that can stand the test of time. “It is commendable. One would only pray that as we do this at this stage that we can transfer that to the maintenance of the infrastructure when it is completed and delivered.” The TUC Comrade said.
On how it would impact on his members he said “the first point to note is that Lagos State, particularly, is congested. People look for where to stay and when they have found that, transportation becomes a big challenge. Criss-crossing Lagos comes with its timeline, sitting in traffic for long hours. Your productive hours are actually spent in the traffic. Often times, people get to (their) office with some brain fatigue and so your productivity is impacted. One hopes that in the nearest future, people can actually go on the train so that while it would minimize travel time, it would reduce stress people go through while travelling. That can also eventually reflect on productivity.” Said Ekundayo
He also intends to speak with people in authority to see how proper housing can be built around some major terminals, so people can live close to the terminals, “drive to the terminal, park your vehicle, board the train, go to work smoothly and come back with little or no hassle the same way. That is what happen around the world. That is what you find in most parts of the world where things work. You don’t need to live in the city center. You can actually live in the suburb if the infrastructure is there.” Said Ekundayo.
According to the Labour leader, it is not enough to pay us the salary “and you can see the lengthy fight to get the minimum wage signed and eventually the consequential adjustment that we are now dealing with at State levels. We have kept on telling our States that the minimum wage salaries would amount to nothing if the regular infrastructure are not there. People have to spend so much to do what needs to be done. So, this is one of the infrastructures at a minimum that is required… Mass transportation to convey people from point to point. It is a welcome development and we are hoping it would be completed in good time.” He said.
Looking into the future from the rail project point of view, the role the TUC Lagos State Chairman sees his body playing is to generate mass housing for workers so they have a roof over their heads.
One would have expected that Tonye Cole, Executive Director and co-founder, Sahara Group, should be seen in his private jet and not in a public train. He explained what he was doing on the ride as a guest of the Transportation Minister on the journey to Ibadan. “Am on this trip for two reasons: one, to see for myself what you call the rail revolution in Nigeria and just to make sure that everything that is said, would happen, must happen. We believe in Nigeria and that Nigeria is filled with people who when they put their minds to something, they achieve it.” He said.
When the Minister was setting forth on this gigantic project, he never imagined the challenge he encountered on the Lagos end of the contract. “The pipes, the sewer, water, houses we had to demolish and the compensation we had to pay and we didn’t get the kind of cooperation we needed from Lagos.” Said Amaechi.
Watching him all through the inspection, it was clear that the passion Amaechi has brought to the job was deeply personal as if he is on a journey to prove a point that would put his enemies to shame. So, it is natural for one with this kind of state of mind to develop some anxieties, fear among others. But he said he has no such emotions for the Lagos Ibadan project. In fact, he sleeps soundly for an average of four hours every day.
Where he harbors some anxieties is the Ibadan to Kano phase of the project and that is because the implementation has not fully taken off. “Once we start all that anxiety would fly off…” he asserted.
But his frustration with the Lagos axis especially the exhausting experience with the Apapa axis was the fact that he never got the level of support he expected from the previous administration of the State. “But I am happy with the support I am getting from the current Governor.” He said.
The Federal Government will be deploying 350 wagons and 36 coaches on the Lagos-Ibadan rail line and would be increasing the frequency of free train rides on the route from December 21, 2019.
According to Okhiria, the Managing Director of Nigeria Railway Corporation, the Federal Government had also concluded plans to connect the already constructed Warri-Itakpe railway to the Abuja-Kaduna line.
Okhiria, also said the e-ticketing service on the busy Abuja-Kaduna route would start before the end of 2019.
The trial run on the Lagos-Ibadan line was done on Saturday and it was just made up of two coaches. The Corporation will continue to do a return trip every day, where the train leaves Ibadan by 9.00 a.m. and leaves Lagos by 4.00 p.m.
After 21st December, the train will be running two return trips. The Railway Agency he said would be doing this at a fair loss, “stressing the track so that if there are errors in the formation or any other thing, it will come out before the full commencement of commercial operations in April.” Said the NRC MD.
Between Lagos and Ibadan, the Corporation had replaced over 5,000 clips and close to 10,000 bolts and nuts on the track. Without those things on the tracks, accident can occur. “We know the volume of passengers on a train. So, vandalism of rail infrastructure has to stop,” Said the NRC Chief Executive.
Okhiria said, “We are also planning to continue the construction from Ibadan to Kano and the contract has been signed and arrangements are in place to commence construction.
“The target date of completion for this project is three years from the commencement of construction because it is going to be segmented so that the contractors can work simultaneously.”
One of the very major challenge facing the rail sector in Nigeria is vandalization of rail infrastructure.
For a Project that started with $1.6 billion and now ending at over $ 2 billion, Amaechi sure has a billion reasons why he must put in his all because it is about the most ambitious, he may have taken on yet. “When I was Governor, my annual budget, salaries and all was N600 billion. This project, at over two billion dollars is way beyond my budget as Governor of a whole State, yet I am just a Minister. You can see it is good to work for the Federal Government.” He joked.
The December 20 tour was not the first in the series of the monthly inspections the Minister had embarked on since the inception of the Lagos-Ibadan rail line project. But it was the first time, they would be making it to the Ibadan end of the project. Before now, they used to stop four kilometers away from the Oyo State capital.
The Abuja-Kaduna rail service is over three years now, it launched into commercial operations and the results and responses have been that of a mixed grill. Some passengers have accused the managers of the Abuja-Kaduna rail service of hoarding the tickets. They even alleged that some cartel of touts may have hijacked the ticketing on that route and now reselling them tto the highest bidder. In other words, the tickets on that routes have become the new racket.
If Abuja-Kaduna is already witnessing this ugly trend, the Lagos-Ibadan route which may overwhelm the operations in terms of passenger traffic may quickly collapse into a worse state of racketeering if a solution is not found on time to tackle decisively the growing menace on the Abuja-Kaduna route. Although, one of the ways to curb the racket is the e-ticket option which is meant to kick off before the end of the year, even that may not be full proof.
In Brief…
Still on the railway project…Coach privatisation as a way out of future passenger upsurge
As a way to arrest and accommodate comfortably the imminent deluge of passengers that may overwhelm the Lagos-Ibadan and indeed other rail services across the country when they commence commercial operations, Mr. Wole Adebayo, President of the KAFTAN Media Group, Publishers of KAFTAN Post, has said the way out is to allow private companies or individuals to buy coaches or wagons.
He made this known in a session with KaftanPost.com over the weekend at his Lagos office.
According to him, allowing private companies to have their coaches means there would be lots of coaches and wagons to accommodate passengers and goods. This may create the competition that would force down the price, while it would increase the frequency of the ride
LAWMA determined to enhance PSP services
The Managing Director of Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), Dr. Muyiwa Gbadegesin, has reiterated the agency’s determination and commitment to improving the waste management services rendered by private sector participants (PSP) through robust government assistance to sustain their businesses.
As a sign-post of greater things to come the way of these entrepreneurs, Dr. Gbadegesin presented consolatory cheques to three PSP operators whose compactors got burnt on active duty.
Gbadegesin made the presentation during an interactive session with PSP operators at LAWMA Ogudu Zonal facility, noting that the authority would not relent in its efforts towards providing a business-friendly environment for the waste collectors, as well as a climate of partnership and collaboration.
Speaking further, the LAWMA MD hinted that the authority would, early next year, take delivery of new compactors being procured by the present administration in a determined effort to tackle the challenge of waste management in the State.
Baseline survey, participatory appraisal of agriculture farm estates to begin in Lagos
The Lagos State Government has announced the commencement of a three-week baseline survey for agriculture and participatory appraisal of farm estates and settlements would soon commence in Lagos State.
A disclosure by the Commissioner for Agriculture, Prince Gbolahan Lawal revealed that the main objective of the baseline survey is to obtain comprehensive information on the production of value chains, current production capacity, assessment and valuation of inputs and agricultural development programmes through systematic monitoring and evaluation.
Lawal pointed out that the survey was necessary in order to assess the potential impact of the five-year road map for Agriculture in the State, stressing that data would be collected from all the 20 Local Governments and 37 Local Council Development Areas in the State.
“In line with the T.H.E.M.E.S Agenda and development of a five-year agricultural road map for the State, there is the need to carry out a baseline survey that would provide necessary information for the implementation of the initiative and serve as a benchmark for measuring the success of the road map in order for this initiative to be successful,” Lawal said.
Relations of deceased civil servants receive insurance benefits
Relations of deceased civil servants in Lagos State recently received death insurance benefits in excess of N93million from the State Government.
The Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Rabiu Onaolapo Olowo in his keynote address at the event, condoled with 35 relations of the deceased but also congratulated them for being alive to receive the entitlements of their late family members.
He urged the beneficiaries to put the money collected to good use, just as he restated the determination of the State government to continue to prioritize the welfare of its workforce.
Olowo affirmed that the government remains committed to the payment of the monthly salaries of its active workforce as well as prompt remittance of pensions of its personnel on a monthly basis.
