In this article, Austin Maho of our editorial team examines the resurgence of railway transportation in Nigeria and the role Chinese funds and technology is playing under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in reviving our once moribund and decrepit rail network
Abuja/Kaduna railway line, north west Nigeria is the first standard gauge passenger railway line in the country and the whole of the West African Subregion.
Since its commissioning in 2016 the railway line has become the lifeline, the game changer for passengers who regularly commute between Nigeria’s capital city of Abuja and Kaduna, the once administrative capital of Northern Nigeria, a distance of about 182 kilometers.
The railway is a lifeline because of the security situation on the road between Abuja and Kaduna. The increasing insecurity associated with kidnappings and armed banditry on the road means commuters now have a safer alternative. A game changer because it is the first passenger standard gauge railway line in operation in the country; a major outcome of the increasing bilateral cooperation between China and Nigeria under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Since the railway line commenced commercial operations in July 2016, it has been high excitement for passengers. Many are dazed by the experience. The ambience, the air-conditioned coaches, the courteousness of staff, safety, and timeliness of the operation. The rail-line has increased business volumes along its route, created jobs and boosted people to people connectivity.
The 187 kms Abuja/Kaduna railway line is a segment of the 1,100 kms Lagos/Kano railway line. The railway line was built by CCECC through a concessionary loan from China and has become a symbol of China/Nigeria growing relationship through infrastructural development under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Speaking recently with Daybreak Nigeria, a frequent user of the train services, Mrs. Ilamosi Osahon, could not contain her excitement when asked to share her experience. She said she has been using the train services for almost two years and that it has brought her peace of mind and increased the volume of her business.
“I am a business woman and deal in textile. This railway line service has been a great boost to my business, I now travel in safety and comfort and it is cheaper too. I have been in business for over 15 years transmuting by road between Abuja and Kaduna, the roads were bad, added to the situation was the state of insecurity on the road, my business slowed down significantly because I had to consider my safety and didn’t want to become a victim of kidnappers, the coming of the railway line was a great relief and a great lift to my textile business. I want to thank the federal government for making this happen and bringing back the railway. I hope they would extend this kind of services to other parts of the country”.
Umar Mohammed, another frequent user of the train services also added his voice wondering why it took successive governments, so many years to, “understand the importance of effective railway services to economic development”
Nigeria as at 2016 had only about 3,505 kms of narrow gauge lines and they were all decrepit, abandoned and barely in use. The only 276kms of standard gauge line that connects Nigeria’s steel complex in Ajaokuta, Kogi state with Alaja in the city of Warri in Southern Nigeria was not designed for passenger transportation, and was incomplete.
The railway modernization programme of the federal government of Nigeria was designed to revolutionary the railway network of Nigeria by totally overhauling the network, changing the old and decrepit narrow gauge with the more modern standard gauge.
Two key projects form the bedrock of the railway modernization project.
At the core is the 1,100-kilometre freight and passenger line that runs between Lagos and Kano. There is also the coastal line that runs between Lagos and Calabar, with branch lines linking other parts of the country.
The Abuja/Kaduna train service started commercial operation on July 27, 2016, following the smooth completion of the railway line by China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) and the mother company China Rail Construction Company (CRCC) a Chinese construction giant that has been building complex infrastructural projects in Nigeria for several decades.
The completed Abuja/Kaduna raikway line is part of a larger network that runs from the coastal city of Lagos to Kano in northern Nigeria.
The new line is integrated into Nigeria’s railway modernization masterplan, which will eventually replace the colonial narrow gauge with the more modern standard gauge system in most parts of the country, allowing for better, safer and faster railway network in the country.
Another major segment of the project is the 153 kms Lagos/Ibadan railway line. Apart from offering passenger service, a major advantage of the rail service is helping to decongest the major port in Nigeria, the Apapa port which have defied all attempts at decongestion over the years and has become a major clog in the economic development of Nigeria. Goods which ordinarily should be cleared within few days take months. This is primarily because the port is not linked to a railway line. The Lagos/Ibadan railway line addresses this challenge and allow goods from the port to be freighted by the new standard gauge rail line to all parts of the country. There are ongoing construction works extending the line to Maradi in landlocked Niger republic from Nigeria.
An industrialist’s, Anslem Ebeleme, sees the extension of the railway line to Nigeria’s premier port in Apapa as cherry news: “for me this is the best decision of government in tackling the Apapa port gridlock as it would ease movement of goods, boost trade and turnover. Cost of production would be reduced and this would trickle down to prices in the market”
From a historical perspective, the existing railways in Nigeria were conceived and constructed by the colonial administration.
“The British colonialist built the narrow gauge rail network across the country for the export of agricultural produce from the hinterlands to the port from where they were exported out of the country. The goal of the colonialists was to open up the hinterlands for exploitation of raw materials to feed the industrial needs of England and other European countries. It is easy to understand why these rail network were no longer viable and abandoned after the imperialists left the country”. Said Frederic Oniawu, a former staff of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC).
The renewed push towards railway development in Nigeria, this time around has a different focus,it is to build connectivity for real development on a sustainable basis.
Good enough, Nigeria is partnering with China through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). China is providing the needed support through funds and the technology to actualize the vision.
China’s transnational economic network otherwise known as the Belt and Road Initiative was announced by President Xi Jinping in 2014. Many countries including Nigeria have signed up to the initiative as a result of the immense benefits it offers for investment inflows from China to member countries.
Connectivity brings people together, it makes trade easier and by far cheaper which further creates prosperity and better standards of living for a win- win development which is the primary goal of the BRI.
According to Chinese President Xi Jingping the BRI: “…is China’s plan for participating in global open cooperation, improving the global economic governance system, pushing forward global common development and prosperity and advancing the building of a community of shared future for mankind”
The African continent is the next frontiers of growth and development, but without the right investment in infrastructure especially roads and rails that aid connectivity, African would lose the momentum and again lose the prospect of growth in this century.
China through the BRI is leading the charge in changing the African narrative in terms of investment and development. The BRI has become a positive response to the developmental needs of African countries. Where the West have failed, China is filling the gap by providing concrete solutions to a problem of development that has held African countries down for many years.
There is a common saying among the Chinese that, “If you want to get rich, build a road” it embodies China’s own domestic experience where massive infrastructural development was central to the rapid development of China. By providing the technology and funds for railways, roads and bridges, China is sharing its growth strategy with developing countries through the BRI platform.
The ongoing massive investments by the Chinese in railway development and other projests in Nigeria is a game changer that would bring about great benefits and prosperity to Nigerians and reduce endemic poverty and unemployment which has led to a general state of insecurity in the country.
As if to underscore the importance of railway transport to the Nigerian economy, passenger traffic on the Abuja/Kaduna railway line has been on the increase, from less than 1000 daily passengers in 2017 it ballooned to 3,7000 as at October 2019. According to the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Ameachi in June 2021: “the actual number of passengers that the service can take for the sitting capacity is about 1,000 plus but we are carrying 3,700 daily” He said.
The surge in passenger traffic necessitated the procurement of more coaches and the commencement of hourly service on the route. This has brought succor to commuters and reduced ticket racketeering. The Nigeria government through the BRI has shown a determination to extend the benefits of railway transportation to other parts of the country.
Evidently, the BRI has become a partner for development and by focusing on connectivity through infrastructural development, unimpeded trade, financial integration and people-to-people cooperation, Nigeria has joined the rest of the BRI countries in promoting and advancing the Silk Road spirit in the modern era.
