While the vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima was in Beijing, China, recently, to ascertain amongst others the extent of funding of Kano-Abuja and Maiduguri – Port Harcourt rail projects, some coaches at the Maiduguri rail terminus, Borno State, the home state of Shettima disappeared.
It was indeed an irony.
This was the discovery of the Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Zulum when he paid an unscheduled visit to the terminus.
Alarmed at the mysterious disappearance of the coaches, Governor Zulum in a state of unbelief cried foul.
The governor, in his characteristic eyes wide-opened and ears to the ground sensing the mischief and shady deal, pointed out that he would dig deep into the matter.
The questions that rattled sane minds are who is robbing “Peter to pay Paul”? Who is robbing Borno State to pay who? Who is trying to frustrate the efforts of the Federal Government, Borno State government and others concerned in the resuscitation of the rail system in Nigeria more so putting Maiduguri terminus in perpetual state of redundancy?
Recall that in its bid to resuscitate the ailing rail system in Nigeria as a major tool to stimulate Nigerian economy, the Buhari’s administration signed a number of agreements on many rail projects with the China government.
The contracts were awarded to China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation.
These included the Lagos-Ibadan and Abuja – Kaduna rail projects. The ground breaking ceremony of the rehabilitation of the N96 billion Maiduguri – Port-Harcourt Eastern Narrow Gauge railway projects was performed on March, 9, 2021.
Reports have it that since the launch of the projects, China which was expected to provide 85 percent of the costs “has yet to do so due largely to cutbacks and commitments”.
Nigeria has since provided the balance of 15 percent.
“The move by the Federal Government to bring back the rail system into the transport system of the nation is a welcome development”
Already some of the rail projects contract agreements between Nigeria and China have been completed. These include Lagos-Ibadan and Abuja – Kaduna.
During his recent visit to China, Vice President Shettima who represented President Bola Tinubu at the Belt and Road Initiative Forum was assured by the Chinese, President XI Jinping, that China was ready to full funding of the railway projects which has been slowed down showed as well provide money for completion of Abuja – Kano and Port Harcourt – Maiduguri rail projects.
Aside the latest disappearance of the coaches at the terminus which provoked Governor Zulum’s anger, a similar incident occurred several years back in the same terminus when there was an interregnum or a break in its operations and some unscrupulous persons took advantage and made away with some coaches, but later retrieved.
The Maiduguri terminus is very strategic both locally and internationally. According to an observer of the rail system in the country from the 70s down to date, the Maiduguri train terminus was a major revenue earner for the Nigerian Railway Corporation at the peak of its operations especially, in the seventies and eighties.
While the goods, passengers and services from the neighbouring countries of Chad, Niger, Cameroun and far Central Afrique and North Africa transited from Maiduguri terminus to other parts of Nigeria and beyond, the same applied to products and passengers from Nigeria that passed through the terminus into Maiduguri for onward road journey to neighbouring countries and beyond.
The observer noted that the role performed this period by the terminus was a symbolic projection of the role Borno played in the trans-Saharan trade where Borno served both as end point and transit route for movement of goods, traders, people and services from various parts of the world especially, from Central and North Africa.
Locally, Borno State is the largest producer of livestock, beans, wheat, garlic, fish from Lake Chad, hides and skin, red pepper, groundnuts and others and these were transported from Maiduguri terminus into various parts of the country by rail until the incarceration of the rail system in this part of the country for some years now.
Happily, the move by the Federal Government to bring back the rail system into the transport system of the nation is a welcome development.
This will help in the provision of alternative transport systems which are cheaper, safer and reliable for goods and services.
Provision of a durable and well secured rail system of transportation will reduce a number of accidents on the highways; reduce the hazards and security challenges of passengers travelling by roads apart from providing jobs for thousands of Nigerians.
For now, the Maiduguri rail terminus said to be the biggest in terms of land mass and a great revenue earner for the rail establishment is lying low in dormancy.
Izekor is a journalist and public affairs analyst and writes at victorizekor@gmail.com
