Amaechi opposes railroad construction becoming politicized

Hon. Chibuike Amaechi, Minister of Transportation, has stated that one of the major challenges facing the government’s efforts to stimulate the economy is the politicization of railway projects.

He emphasized that ethnicity is a major impediment to the country’s development, noting that rail projects across the country are being built with an emphasis on stimulating the economy rather than ethnicity.

Amaechi, who spoke as a guest lecturer at the Department of Economics’ annual Public Lecture at the University of Lagos over the weekend, said that transportation involves logistics and is responsible for driving a nation’s economy.

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“Virtually everything we do involves transportation,” he said. It is a critical component in the globalization of economies, and it opens up new opportunities for other industries. As a result, if you don’t create logistics, you won’t be able to create employment.

“Nigerians are overly ethnocentric. You consider yourself first as a member of your ethnic group, then as a Nigerian. We have a small Nigerian population, and ethnicity is putting a strain on railway construction costs. ‘I’m a Yoruba man, I’m a Hausa man, I’m an Igbo man,’ you hear. The Yoruba man is pleased that we have completed the Lagos-Ibadan railway; the Igbo man will be pleased once the railway is completed to Enugu. It’s what I refer to as the politicization of railroad construction.

“Railroads are fueled by economic activity, not by tribalism. The economics of a railway’s construction, or how many tons of cargo it can transport, is what determines its design.

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“Ethnicity is not a viable option. Those who fan the flames of ethnicity are those who used to benefit from the government but no longer do,” he said.

Amaechi also stated that financing is a barrier to railway development, as Nigerians continue to complain about loans.

“We are now constructing the Kaduna-Kano rail line from the budget while still negotiating the loan for Ibadan to Kaduna because the plan is Lagos to Kano,” he explained.

“So far, the Federal Government has laid out plans for the construction of Lagos-Calabar at $11.1 billion, Ibadan-Kano at $5.3 billion for a single track, Port Harcourt-Maiduguri at $3.02 billion for narrow gauge reconstruction, $12 to $13 billion for standard gauge approved by the President with additional spurs, Abuja-Itakpe at $3.9 billion in addition to the central line, and Lagos-Ibadan compatriots at $3.9 billion.