Probe again?
Senate inquiry into activities of the train service must yield dividends this time around The Senate has once again set up an ad hoc committee to look into the operations,
Senate inquiry into activities of the train service must yield dividends this time around
The Senate has once again set up an ad hoc committee to look into the operations, financing and infrastructure undergirding of the rail system. The committee, headed by Senator Adams Oshiomhole, has six weeks to submit its report, with a view to restoring confidence in the train services in the country.
During the debate on the matter, Senate President Godswill Akpabio who presided said the train as a mode of transportation has lost its allure and something has to be done urgently to fix it. Senator Abdul Ningi who drew from a personal experience on the Abuja-Kaduna service said only about 800 passengers ply the route daily as against 10,000 when it came into operation in 2015.
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This would not be the first time that the nation’s upper legislative chamber would berate the Nigerian Railway Corporation at the plenary as well as set up a probe panel on its operations. The senators might have been harsh in deprecating the corporation, but the decision to look into its operations cannot be questioned.
Public fund mainly sourced from the China Exim Bank went into modernising and resuscitating the rail system in the country, especially the Abuja-Kaduna, Lagos-Ibadan and Warri Itakpe routes. It is too early to heap the blames on the corporation as it is common knowledge that terrorists had attacked trains before, sometimes trains had derailed, thus weakening passenger confidence in the services.
That daily patronage on the Abuja-Kaduna route has plummeted from 10,000 to 800 deserves the attention of representatives of the people. What could have been responsible? How well are we servicing the debts, especially in view of the notorious ruthlessness of the Chinese in recovering debts? Nigeria should be saved from the embarrassment that other countries have faced in this respect.
Unfortunately, the public is not too impressed with the decision as a similar probe was instituted into the regular derailment on the Warri-Itakpe route in November, last year. Till date, there has been no feedback in the public space. Incidentally, Senator Oshiomhole was also the chairman of that ad hoc committee mandated to report to the Senate within four weeks.
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There have also been so many committees set up into many aspects of our national life. What have the compliance committee and the leadership of the National Assembly done to ensure that the public fund committed to hearing in various parts of the country did not amount to a waste?
It is obvious that the rail transportation system is very important to revitalising the economy. Goods are better transported by rail, as against by road. Cargo planes are certainly out of the reach of the majority. The NRC may have a point in identifying miscreants who steal bolts, nuts and railings as the reason for the incessant derailments, but the government has a duty to check the development.
When terrorists struck en route Abuja under the Buhari administration, the then transport minister, Mr. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, blamed it on the failure of the Federal Executive Council to approve the technology to monitor the route, but what has happened since then?
This is one probe that must yield desired result in the public interest. Transportation is at the heart of economic development; so the 12-member Oshiomhole committee must take the assignment seriously. At the end of the six-week deadline, Nigerians ought to know the outcome.
