My 2011 in retrospect

Ever since I became a journalist, December has always been a busy month for me.
This is d month when i get to write review of the Judiciary, Transport and sometimes the Political section in the year (check my notes for 2009 & 2010),
Every December we have to work tirelessly as our editor breath down on our neck and bellow "have u finished your review? Remember u av to start work on d preview too" .
Oh yes, we also have to turn ourselves to Octopus and Preview d coming year.
These were not easy for me, so d natural thing is to always spend Xmas and New year in d office since u have to meet up wit deadline.
However, this year things became so different. While my media colleagues are struggling wit there reviews and previews (someone even called me to send him my own preview for 2011) here I am, in new and different settings:
I don’t have any editor to submit any review to, i don’t have anyone breathing down on my neck to meet up wit deadline, suddenly, after such a long time, I actually find myself eager to travel for Xmas and new year without having to think of any preview...
However, despite d fact that there is no editor to submit my Law, Transport and Political review, I have decided not to be lazy and write a different form of Review on Fb, wit my Fb friends as my editor and Fb being my newspaper....
Meanwhile, Am gonna have to disappoint people expecting me to talk about Nigeria in 2011 cos dia is nothing to write about apart from Boko Haram and numerous Crises coupled wit Fuel subsidy uproar and other things. (oh, sorry, I will av something to write about if u allow me to compile d numerous Grammar bomb thrown by Madame Patience).
So wit dat in mind, am prepared to review situations around me all through d year.
DIS IS MY 2011 REVIEW...

JANUARY : After an Indifferent new year, I had prepared for a new challenge in d new year. 2 months earlier, I had just changed job from one media house to another and being d Law and Transport editor dia, I had decided to concentrate fully on my job wen a call came in.
I had to change Job again for d second time in 3 months but this time, I had to change Profession as well as location...
It was a tough decision to make... At last I gave in, packed my loads bid farewell to Lagos into d unknown, I started a journey that will take me all thru 2011....

FEBRUARY: Settling down in Abj has not been as sweet as expected.
Coping wit new friends, a new job entirely, and a new environment was not easy... D only thing dat was not new in my life in Feb was Temmy Cara.
By d way, INEC registration was still ongoing so I wanted to exercise my right to vote  but after staying in queue consecutively for 1 weeks, I gave up and went home. At least I tried my best, Just dat Uncle Jega refused to register me .

MARCH: Settling down fully in Abuja, making new friends, understanding new colleagues and working my way to d top of d Ladder.
However, News of d death of my Head Tutor in Abj Late Mr Ogunseni hit me wit such a force. Late tutor was a like a father figure to me during my two month acquaintance wit him. He was a strong voice in persuading me to make d switch to Abuja. His death almost had me having a rethink but I had to continue... Meanwhile, election was brewing so fast. Accusations and Counter accusations were being thrown by Goodluck Jonathan of PDP, Nuhu Ribadu of ACN, Mohamnadu Buhari of CPC and others in TV debates.

APRIL : Election started in earnest, Started wit d National Assembly and Gubernatorial and d wind of change was really felt across as CPC and AC battled it out wit d ruling party PDP. Iyabo Obasanjo, Ayo Fayose, Alao Akala, Dora Akunyili and even former President Olusegun Obasanjo all felt d heat. (still wondering how Jonathan den went head to beat his opponents hands down... But since I was not allowed to vote, I cant complain much)
Then came the introduction of election violence into 2011 election. Riots in Kaduna, Bornu, Jos, Adamawa and Gombe left a lot of pple homeless and dead....
I lost a brother in dis senseless bloodshed as Late Pastor Gbenga Felix Afolalu was killed in Kaduna...
Meanwhile, I also took my relationship a step further in dat month as I took my parents to Temmy Cara's house for proper introduction....

MAY : Generally boring... Life goes on. Still trying to adjust to Abuja lifestyle and has gone 4 months without writing a news....
Swearing in came and went... We are yet to av a feel of what and who we voted for.

JUNE: As uneventful as May, d only event dia was d birthday of my Mum Mrs FM Adewumi (Uncommon FM).
Meanwhile, Boko Haram became a house hold name... Even a new born babe knew who they are

JULY : Nothing.... I was virtually rusted now having not written any news for over 6 month... Abj is taking its toll on me.

AUGUST: Just 2 events worth mentioning, my cousin Oluseyi Taiwo's wedding (6th) and my Birthday (15th)

SEPTEMBER: By now, dia is nothing to write again about Nigeria apart from the usual talk about Boko Haram, Oil Deregulation, Fuel subsidy among others, we are now reaping the fruit of our vote.
Meanwhile, my training continues and is becoming difficult...
Had to travel to Lagos and noticed a different kinda Lagos... Fashola is really living uo to his promise.
Unfortunately, I also heard the news of the death of one of my brother, Engineer Kayode Daramola in a motor Accident,... May his soul rest in peace

OCTOBER : Independence ..... expected another bomb blast, but it went well, training went on smoothly and now, am getting used to Abuja.... even liking it... may be I will stay there after all, while we move closer to our mission.
Went to Federal High Court for 3 weeks Court attachment.... (funny how lawyers and others gazed at my colleagues and I as we clutch on to a special type of machine they have not seen before)

NOVEMBER: went as peaceful and uneventful... as we look forward to December which will hold something special for my Colleagues....Training continues..... by now it has taken everything away from me.... been trying to get back to writing ways by writing on a topic of interest.

DECEMBER: What a way to start the month! passed through screening at FJSC, traveled to Lagos to attend a wedding of two special media colleagues Gbenga Soyele (Compass) and Shola Adeko (Channels TV). i feel like doing mine immediately, anyway, will have to wait few months more.
Now Am looking forward to a brand new year. 2012  here we come!

PS - My Special thanx to my Facebook friends for their love all through the year.... you made this year worthwhile for me... your comments, messages, Pokes, wall posts and calls are appreciated.....Space will not allow me mention names but know that you are all appreciated. I love you all.

WHAT DO WOMEN WANT

The idea came to my mind shortly after a chat wit Temmy Cara... I realised dat i av not really known WHAT WOMEN WANT.... Forget d MEL GIBSON's Theatrical Version of WHAT WOMEN WANT... And Dont even think of JOE'S song.... I WANNA KNOW... Bcos u will neva kno unless u take time to do a analytic researchso i did d laziest work eva.... In d wake of Information technology and global embrace of Social Network, i started an online research of WHAT WOMEN WANT....

I went to my facebook, Twitter, 2go and Nimbuzz Account and just updated my Status to "WHAT DO WOMEN WANT? As usual, topics like dat will always raise few dusts and mine neva failed to disappoint, dis first generated a little arguement among some of my colleagues in my office as dey all give dia opinion on WHAT WOMEN WANT....My elder Sister Oluwafisayomi Oloruntimehin who understood wia i was coming from cud not help commenting on my status wit a very short comment:"Women are special so, count yourself lucky guyyyyyyy!"

Another Respondent, Giovanni wud not agree dat women are special... According to him, no man can kno d way of a woman or What dey want cos dia (women) way are like snake upon d rock... As if to buttress his point, Giov propounded an arguement dat Women needed to be lied to "wen u tell a woman d whole truth, she takes advantage of it and slips down but wen u lie to her, she is always on her toe making u feel like a king..."while i beg to differ on dat point, experience showed how some women wud not believe any truth u tell dem but swallow d lies u tell Hook, line and Sinker.

Mr Sunday Ologbon corroborates Giov's point wen he enthused dat Women needs care, love, Affection but above all dey needed 2 be lied to...Being still a bachelor who is aspiring to drop my "Bachelor degree" For a "Master Degree in family life", i was taken aback by Mr Sunny's comment considering d fact dat he is a Married man.... Can he be speaking from Experience? Is he really saying i sud start lying to Temmy if i need to satisfy her? WHAT DO WOMEN REALLY WANT? I prodded further, Timehin Adefemi... A friend and clanmate cud not tell me what i wanted to kno as he returned my question wit a a more puzzling answer... According to him, "Just like u, all men keeps asking same question everyday bcos women are so unpredictable".

If Timehin's response was puzzling, Femi Francis, my childhood friend threw a bombshell wen he declared dat Any man who says he understand what women wants is a fool.... B4 i cud recover from my Shock, Femi added dat Women themselves do not understand themselves... now, b4 u start castigating my friend for his comment, i Want u to Kno dat Femi lived in UK, married to a beautiful wife, had 2 lovely babies, and like me, had 3 sisters in his family wit his mum & dad bubbling in gud health so Femi may av been an expert in d women ministry to make such a comment. And just so u kno, Femi is not alone in dat assumption, Engineer Oladimeji Olutimehin stated dat The truth is no woman knows what she wants as Anyone that comes which fits her for that moment goes. Engineer Dimeji added dat women rely so much on emotions which swings like a pendulum. "be urself b4 a woman and u will win her. Trying to please will make u weak in her eyes. You have to show u are d man wisely though" He concluded..... Mmmm... Words of wisdom...

Another respondent, Bro Odunayo Ayomovich was more direct as he stated dat Women wants and needs depends on emotion, according to him, "you can't studied women ahead. As Events at a particular time will trigger it" but his final words "Afi k'Oluwa ko wa yo" (May God save us from dem) shows dat he too is still trying to fathom WHAT WOMEN WANTS..

Not wanting to be outdone in d debate, women lent dia voices as Olubukola Folasayo, a friend and sister said All women want is to be RESPECT & 2 b heard.... As if trying to use my page to pass across her msg and Be heard, Sayo fiercely added, "damn those men who dont respect us!".Chichi (not real name) was of d opinion dat women want parity and Equal opportunity and argued dat dey had been denied dose opportunities in d society....I find it funny to think someone felt women are not given opportunities in society....

Maybe dose same pple av forgotten dat d women we gave little opportunities in society often misuse it...Lets assuming we want to overlook d opportunity given to Eve by Adam which brings u to our present situation, but other women like our one time SPEAKER, MINISTERs (Save Madam Okonjo Eweala) etc..B4 i move outta line wit d topic on ground, lemme tell u what TEMMY herself said on d issues... According to her, "God will help us to know what we really want & may God grant all our (GOOD) heart desires. She howeva had d last word, "men sud remember dt without women, dey are incomplete...Yeah... I think we (men and Women) complement each other.... Dat's why we were made for each others (Genesis 2:24).... But I still believe that the real answer lies with WOMEN, they only can tell us WHAT THE REALLY WANT...

Why do i stop being a MOSES?

A conversation wit a close friend of mine spurred me to write dis piece.
My friend called me to seek my view on d situation in Nigeria. To his surprise, i was busy watching a movie.
"What has happened to u?" He asked...
"Dis is not d Felix i know." he added...
"tell me d Felix u kno" I prodded him..
"D Felix i kno will not keep quiet in d face of adversity... He is always d Moses dat will want to kno why d fire is burning and d grass is not consumed" he Enthused.
"Mmmm..... Being d Moses....." i mused....
I wondered what being a Moses had helped in Nigeria... Lots of Moses in Nigeria had either lost dia lives or been made a scapegoat....
What av i really gained in being a Moses?.....
I remembered many Moses close to me who are no more....
Edo Ugbagwu (may his soul rest in peace) of THE NATION Newspaper was someone who wud want to kno why d grass failed to burn. He was my very gud friend and really inspired me wen i started journalism but alas his life was cut short wen Hired Assasins visited his home in 2010.... KEN SARO WIWA was another MOSES who was executed for being a Moses....
Dat reminds me, I remembered PROF DORA AKUNYILI (am talking of d Nafdac woman o, not d Information woman) She was another Moses i admired, what did dis led her to?....(Ask Anambrians)
Yes.... Lets come back to me being a Moses, what did i gained in being a Moses in d first place? After being a journalist for majority of d 20s of my life, I was ready to take d bull by d horn with my write-ups, i remembered lots of stories i had written which had endeared me to some Corporate organisations or even turned me to a dia foe..... I remembered d death threats i recieved from Some aggrieved sections due to some of my piece..... (My piece - OYO STATE- THE MADNESS CONTINUES.... Readily comes to mind).
I remembered how many times i had to hide out of Lagos for fear of assassination.
During d 2007 election, i remembered how i Fueled my car and went round 3 local govts in Ekiti state just to be at d thick of event and was almost Lynched by some party supporter....,
will u blame me if i chose not to be a Moses.... (as some of my friends will say, , "now u av joined d Abuja bandwagon, u will sound like dem")....
Will u blame me wen after queuing up to get registered for almost a week?, INEC refused to register me just bcos dia Machine failed to capture my fingerprint?.....
What will i use to vote wen i was not registered?
how will i comment on a process dat i did not participate?.....
What is dia to talk about? A man was stabbed recently on d eve of d election, while trying to argue on who is d beta candidate....
Two of my Abuja Colleagues nearly went for dia jugulars in d wake of d presidential election just in d process of analysing who won and who did not win.....
I wondered what dey will gain from dat wen D winner and losers av gone on wit dia lives.....
Nigeria politics is likened to d English PREMIER LEAGUE where supporters will nearly set themselve ablaze over who is beta btw ROONEY and TORRES while d duo are catching in on dia Cool millions.
D bush is burning in Nigeria but I must be circumspect in what i say or how i react to d situation.
I must not be made a scapegoat while dose in d seat of hegemony enjoy d nation's treasury.
For d time being, i think i will like to be what i can be beta.... I WANT TO BE FELIX

Forced Wedding

During a wedding reception; d groom was called upon to give his vote of thanx to his guests... He stood up. Walked graciously to d MC, took d mic, den he dipped his hand into his pocket, brought out a long list, adjusted d rim of his specs, cleared his throat and began to read his vote of thanx: 1. I want 2 1st of all thank Lord Almighty for creating my wife & 2 also thank d pastor & his wife 4 lending us dia wedding rings.2. Special appreciation to my landlord who lent us his car.3. I am most grateful to my boss 4 approving the loan i used 4 d wedding.4. Big thanx 2 d committee of friends for the appeal fund dey raised on my behalf.5. Also to my brother's wife, thank u 4 lending us ur wedding gown.6. Am so grateful 2 d cake designer for d cake. I promised 2 return it 2moro morning as agreed without cutting or eating out of it.7. Special thanks 2 my friends who brought food from dia homes 2 help me feed you all. Please 4 dose who were served food good luck & 4 dose who didnt get any, well we will make it up 2 u during our child dedication ( hopefully next year).8. Very big thanks 2 my parents 4 bringing d village cultural band to supply d music as well as entertain us all here 2day.9. Not forgetting d church marriage committee, thank u 4 persuading my wife to marry me.10. Appreciation 2 the married men in d church 4 rushing me into dis marriage.11. D women are not left out, thanks a lot for teaching my wife how to dance.12. To d youths, thank u 4 sweeping & decorating dis venue with palm fronds.13. I am also grateful 2 my teenage friends for helping with the Zobo drink14. Appreciation 2 my co-tenants for contributing money 4 d cameraman15. Well, I wish u all safetjourney & I pray u don't experience what I suffered 4 this wedding. Thank you

Only If

(Inspired by an emotional life story)
If u can keep ur head wen all about u're losing theirs & blaming it on u.
If u can trust ursef wen everyone doubt u, But make allowance 4 dia doubting too;
If u can wait & not be tired by waiting,Or being lied about, dont deal in lies,Or being hated, don't give way 2 hating, & yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream not make dreams ur master;
If you can think - & not make thot ur aim.
If u can meet wit Triumph & Disaster & treat dese 2 impostors just d same;
If u can bear 2 hear d truth you've spoken Twisted by knaves 2 make a trap 4 fools,Or watch d things u gave ur life to, broken & stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:
If u can make one heap of all ur winnings & risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss & lose, & start again at ur beginnings & never breathe a word about ur loss;
If u can force ur heart & nerve & sinew 2 serve ur turn long afta dey are gone & so hold on wen dia is nothing in u except d Will which says 2 them: 'Hold on!
If u can talk with crowds & keep ur virtue Or walk with Kings - nor lose d common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt u,
If everyone count with u ,but none too much;
If u can fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds' worth of distance run, urs is the Earth & everything that's in it, & - which is more - you'll be a foreva UNTOUCHABLE

Fear: the Painted devil and silent killer

FEAR cripple all intents.... It turns a dwarf into a giant... According to Shakespeare, "dia is nothing to FEAR but FEAR itself"... Ur FEAR is only d DEVIL u av painted... As u live ur life, what are d things u FEAR most? FEAR OF D UNKNOWN... LACK OF PREPARATION... INSECURITY... Or UR ILLUSION... Dont let dem limit ur achievement.. STARE DEM IN D EYE and u will get ur victory over dem...
D things we hate d most av often turned out 2 be d trigger of our fears.. Our heart skips a beat wen we see dose things... Stare closely @ ur fear & u will realise dat it has no leg & is incapable of wrecking havoc...
Dont also give ample reason 4 Illusion to thrive & dominate ur life.. It is just a figment of ur imagination. As long as d illusion of fear thrives, ur mind cannot be at its creative best... What are d things u hate & fear most? Stare dem in d eye & u wud gain d freedom from dem...
Everyone has a mountain 2 climb. Find a way around urs if u cant climb it. What eva happened 2 u is forgone conclusion... U cant change yesterday but ur 2moro.. U can effect +ve changes in ur life cos Ur genes are dat of a winner & u av paid d dues 2 reach higher height.. As u face new challenges, always remember dat dia is no omelet witout breaking of eggs. Dont be discouraged,... Dont eva quit, cos quitters neva win &winners neva quit.. Dia may be forces ready to side track u but u need 2 be strong & succeed bcos u're d sunshine & no one can cover d sunshine.
D secret of getting ahead is getting started, d secret of getting started is breaking your complex, overwhelming tasks into small manageable task & then starting on d first one......be prayerful & commit it all to GOD

2011: Transport to a new Era

In this write-up, Felix Adewumi takes an in-depth look at the likely scenarios in the transport sector in 2011

Background

The year 2010 ended on a not too high note following some last minute changes in the transport sector.

There was a 12th hour changes of baton at the Nigerian Port Association (NPA) when Mr Omar Suleiman replaced Mr Abdulsallam Mohammed as the Managing Director of the Nigerian Port Authority coupled with the sack of Mr Temisan Omatsaye as the Director General of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, (NIMASA) when he was arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and replaced with Mr Ziakade Akpobolokemi

These two changes go a long way in causing a major upset in the transport sector and there are high hope that 2011 will usher in a wind of change.

NRC contract scam

2011 started abruptly as 2010 ended with the arrest of Engineer Adeseyi Sijuade, the managing director of Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC).

The arrest followed a report sent to the EFCC by the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) after an investigation by the SSS into allegations of manipulations in contract awards for the rehabilitation of the Nigerian railway lines.

The contracts under view concern the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt to Maiduguri line. The tenders which were invited since March 2010 have not been awarded nearly a year after because of the alleged manipulations and corruption involving Mr Sijuwade to award contracts to predetermined companies connected to his family with no evident track record using fake documents and insertion of documents after bidding had closed in flagrant violation of the Public Procurement Act.

Sijuade was appointed in 2009 and with the contract scam rocking the corporation, many believe that 2011 will go a long way to determine the interest of the government in completing the rehabilitation project.

100 locomotives for rail transportation

With the hope of reviving the dwindling significance of the rail sector, late President Umaru Yar’Adua had in the 2009 budget, earmarked N8.3 billion to be spent on modernization of locomotive coaches and wagon as well as rehabilitation work and procurement of railway equipment in 2009.

While listing rail rehabilitation as one of the key project to be funded by the 2009 budget, the president stated that his administration remains steadfastly focused on its vision for Nigeria as encapsulated in the seven-point agenda and the vision 2020.

Realising the importance of following his promise with action, Alhaji Isa Bio, former minister of transport who was given the mandate to turnaround the fortune of the rail transport system in the country started an intense rehabilitation process in the sector had stated that the government will provide 100 locomotive engines before the end of the tenure of Yar’Adua in 2011.

Although Yar’Adua was not able to complete his tenure with his death in 2010 and Bio was also moved from the transport ministry to Sports Ministry, Goodluck Jonathan and Alhaji Yusuf Suleiman who succeeded them as President and minister were saddle with the mantle to complete the task

However, despite the promise of the minister to complete the purchase of 25 locomotives engines before the end of 2010, the year 2011 came with only five locomotives being shipped into the country.

Bio only succeeded in purchasing five locomotives before he was replaced with Alhaji Yusuf Suleiman during the demise of Yar’Adua and with only six month to the end the Yar’Adua/Jonathan administration, the target of 100 locomotives by 2011 is still far off despite the huge sum of money diverted into such project.

Change of Batons and effects

The transport sector has been going through several changes in leadership every year and those changes have a way of affecting the sector.

In the transport ministry, Mrs Diezene Allison-Madukwe was replaced with Bio in 2008 as the minister of transport, with Bio coming in, he started with a new agenda for the transport sector but was himself replaced by Suleiman in 2010.

In the Nigerian Customs Service, Hamman Ahmed was replaced by Bernard Shaw-Nwadialo as the Customs CG in 2009 after staying there within just a year while Nwadialo spent just three months before handing over to Abdullahi Dikko in 2009.

The Maritime sector was also not left out as Ade Dosunmu was replaced by Temisan Omatsaye as NIMASA director general in July 2009 with Omatsaye himself being replaced with Akpobolokemi in December 2010.

At the NPA, Abdulsalam Mohammed was recently replaced by Omar Suleiman as the Managing Director of NPA while Mr Adeseyi Sijuwade replaced Mazi Jetson Nwankwo at the NRC.

While all these changes was going on, there is still the fact that they have its effects on the transport ministry as each change of baton leads to a different change of plans and idea for the incoming sets.

Building the Ajaokuta Warri line and other rehabilitation project

With a tender sum to N31 billion to Messrs Julius Bergers (Nigeria) Plc and N2 billion for Team Consultant for the contract work of Ajaokuta-Warri rail line, and other rail work, the process of a rejuvenated rail system in Nigeria was expected to be really on track in 2010.

The scope of the Ajaoukuta-Warri project which initially was to cover the awarded contract of the completion of 22 km track distance left out of the 254Km Ajaokuta-Warri line has now been widened to accommodate the rehabilitation of the entire 254km of the Ajaokuta-Warri line.

There were also expectation of construction of six stations; reconstruction of undermined bridges and culverts; major remobilisation of the contractor to site and the security management.

There is also the rehabilitation contract of Lagos-Jebba which had been awarded to CCECC at the cost of N12.3 billion as approved by the Federal Executive Council (Fec) on October 7, 2009. The contract which was expected to be completed within 10 months is still ongoing.

Besides, there is also the contract awarded within the ambience of the holistic rehabilitation of the corporation such as the supply of 100 tones telescopic crane for the recovery of damage wagons and rolling stocks, lifting jacks and hydraulic jacks, coupled with the supply and installation of 100kva generating sets for mechanical workshop.

Rail concession

After an initial failed attempt to revitalise the rail system, the Federal Government under the tenures of former president Olusegun Obasanjo and Yar’Adua had shifted their minds on rail concession

The ministry of transport which announced the plan pointed out that there is need for modernization of the Nigerian Railway System which is still based on the prevailing technology at its inception early in the century.

According to the ministry, the needs are great, and the government is looking for investors.

There was much talk about the concessioning of railway sector in 2009. The activities of railway concessioning include remobilization of transaction advisers, electronic assets, register for NRC assets, concession project team, work plan for concession and re-structuring of the corporation.

The concession team was said to have completed negotiations with the transaction advisers and World Bank has issued “No Objection Certificate” for work to start off.

On the concessioning, update electronic registrar of NRC assets was also said to be completed in 2009.

According to laid-down plan, concession will be successfully carried out and completed on Eastern line by December 2010 while institutional and management restructure of the corporation will be completed in the first quarter of 2010, yet nothing has been heard about it.

Easing Lagos Traffic congestion

Giving the setup of the country, with Lagos being Nigeria’s most populous city, and becoming the centre of commercial and industrial activity, Traffic congestion has become a very daily thing, as vehicle moved at snail pace all over the State.

Movement in cities like Lagos is mainly road-based, either by private cars or rickety buses as statistics shows that there are 11 vehicles to every kilometres of road nationally while in Lagos there are about 222 vehicles to every kilometres and every efforts to solve this traffic debacle in the past had failed.

The Lagos traffic congestion has been linked to the activities of danfos and molues drivers who flout traffic regulations at will, pick up passengers in illegal places and abandon their vehicles when broken on the road to cause traffic snarl

The effect of this could be seen in the movement of goods and people in the country, causing significant waste of the city’s economic production resources

It is believed that with the arrival of the new locomotive engines and when the train is operational and effective in the country, it will be a great boost to the efforts at solving traffic congestion.

In 2010, analysis showed that a train which carry people from Okokomaiko in Lagos State to Marina carries a projected annual passenger capacity of 200 million people, while more than one million passengers could use the a train passing through Agbado to Marina daily.

It is an unrivalled fact that the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) scheme, an initiative of Lagos State government and Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (Lamata), contributed greatly to the reduction of traffic as it was reported to have moved about 9.7 million people within the first 100 days of operation.

There has been the urgent need to redesign, expand and renovate the Nigerian railway into an efficient nationwide network serving both industrial and agricultural zones and facilitating development of the cash-crop economy in the hinterlands and a far-sighted approach is needed for dealing with the traffic snarls and urban sprawl in the new industrial and commercial zones across Nigeria.

Many had argued that if the country had only placed more emphasis to railway before, maybe the much sought solution to traffic congestion will have been finally found.

Looking ahead

Even thought the year 2010 had not been fulfilling for the transport sector, there is high hope that it has set a high target for itself in 2011.

Despite the drama being played out at the transport sector, the importance of the sector cannot be over emphasised.