Imperative of a transportation policy

ON resumption in office, the Minister of
Transport, Mr. Rotimi Chibuke Amaechi pledged
to reform the transport system in Nigeria. His
immediate predecessor, Senator Idris Umar gave
such a pledge years ago.
Every transport Minister in Nigeria, including Mr.
H.O. Omenai, Lt. Col. Musa Yar ‘adua, Jaja
Wachukwu, Lt. Col. Mohammed Magoro, Captain
Olufemi Olumide, Dr. (Mrs.) Kemafo Chikwe,
Alhaji Umaru Dikko, Ibrahim Bio, R.A.B. Dikko,
Ojo Madueke, Precious Sekibo, Brig.-Gen.
Jeremiah Useni, Oluwole Adeosun and others
have made such pledges. But so far little has
been achieved in that sector. I want to believe
Amaechi will make a difference.
Transportation is a major key to development,
be it railways, air or sea. As Dr. Emeka
Okengwu, a development Economist, said in his
paper” the existing transportation infrastructure
in Nigeria comprising roads, railways, ports,
airports and pipelines is inadequate in terms of
accessibility and inter-operability. This poor
performance has been largely occasioned by the
fragmented operational and institutional
framework for the inter-modal coordination of
the country’s transport modes, hence the need
to integrate and coordinate the activities and
responsibilities of the different transport modes
in the country so as to harness the various
potentials contained therein”.
The National Conference sat in Abuja in 2014 for
about three months. The Conference was
headed by Justice Idris Legbo Kutigi (76), a
retired Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of
Nigeria. Some of the Conference’s
recommendations today are either ignored or
buried. Before it concluded sitting, the
conference divided itself into various
committees. The one that caught my attention
was the committee on transportation. It was
headed by Senator Musa Adede, who
represented Cross Rivers North in 1999 in the
Senate. Senator Adede was the Chairman of
Senate Committee on Transportation in 1999
and 2003. He is a transportation expert.
Other members of the committee were Yusuf
Hamisu Abubakar, Barr. Promise Adebunmi
Kanayo Adewusi, Barr. Chris Agbonwanegbe,
Brenda Akpan, Hon. (Chief) Obi Anoliefo, Mallam
Hamman Bello Barkindo, Dr. Abdu Bulama, Barr.
J. I. Ebinum, Mrs. Patience Hadiza Ibrahim,
Alhaji Musa Shehu Isiwele, Chief (Mrs) Hannatu
Lohor, Dr. Clement Mgbada , Asabe Baba
Nahaya, Ezenwa Nwagwu, Clifford Obur, Oyinkan
Olasanoye, Michael Olukoya, AIG Ralph Ola
Osanaiye(Rtd), Mrs. Felicia Sanni , Hon. Sheik
Mudathir Sekoni , Millicent Okonkwo Ugoeze
while Dr. Emeka Okengwu served as the
Consultant to the committee.
The Committee made recommendations on the
need for improvement of the Aviation sector, Rail
Transportation, Seaports, in-land waterways/
Shipping, Roads, Pipelines, Transport Services
Support Sector in Mines and Steel.
The Musa Adede Committee implored that
government should review the existing
Transportation master plan for each sector
based on economic analysis, to determine the
economic rate of return on each transportation
project looking at the economic impact and
financial implication of such projects. In addition,
the committee suggested that the plan should
prioritise projects based on economic analysis
and budget constraints so as to determine the
diverse range of benefits including accessibility
and social benefits, Economic and growth
benefits, Decongestion benefits, Environmental
benefits, Health and Social benefits,
Infrastructure maintenance benefits, Operation
and maintenance benefits.
When Amaechi told the nation in 2015 that he
would reform the transport system, I suggest he
should take a look at the comprehensive
seventy-eight page report of the Musa Adede
committee. To me that report is a major guide
in solving our transportation problems. The
most central challenge identified by the
committee is the absence of an integrated
approach to transportation development and
management in Nigeria.
The absence of a central authority to oversight
the implementation of the various National
Transportation Master Plan and the heavy
dependence on budgetary provision for transport
development had led to inadequate funding
regimes and distortions in most transport
projects. The privatisation of projects such as
the ports concessioning has not also removed
the financial burden from government as public
funds are still applied to the expansion and
maintenance of the facilities, leaving the
concessionaires to collect revenue.
The committee suggested among other things
that :
1. The existing National Transport Council
should be expanded from the current Federal
Ministry of Transport and State Commissioners
of Transport to include the Federal Ministries of
Works and Aviation and the State
Commissioners of Works as well as experts in
the transport sector and representatives of all
core stakeholders therein. It shall be responsible
for the formulation of policies governing the
sector throughout Nigeria and covering all tiers
of government. The Council should also set and
maintain standard practices and ensure the
coordination of transport development in
Nigeria. It should meet quarterly; and any other
time as the need arises. The Council is
answerable to the President.
2. Government efforts towards the establishment
of a Commission should be accelerated.
3. The Commission should have the mandate to
formulate an intermodal national transportation
infrastructure development policy that would
identify and initiate the development of key
mineral and agricultural products that can yield
load value on the return of investments and the
inclusion of local financing institutions such as
AMCOM, BOI,NEXIM,SURE-P Natural Resources
Development Fund NRDF, Sovereign Wealth Fund
SWF, and local finance institutions and investors
so as to promote inclusive growth, guarantee
retention of foreign direct investment and avoid
outright sale of national assets through non
inclusive concessioning programmes.
4. Deployment of an integrated transport
infrastructure development programme that
would intricately tie a fixed and appreciable
percentage of steel and allied materials for use
in rail transportation lines roads and housing
construction, air ports remodeling and boat and
ship building to the Ajaokuta, Aladja, Oshogbo,
Katsina and Jos steel plants and rolling mills.
5.Review of the existing transportation
legislation by ensuring all States and private
sector participation provided that such
participation is in line with the policies of the
National Transportation Commission. This will
allow the development of a national
transportation infrastructure to be inclusive of
rights of State governments to build intra-state
transportation infrastructure, while private sector
investors shall be allowed to build and operate
certain categories of transportation infrastructure
linking the mines, beneficiation plants and
integrated agricultural projects.
6. Encouragement of Public-Private Partnerships
or Joint Ventures in the provision of
transportation services.
7. Development of all the ports and making
them functional through deliberate policy for
maximum utilisation by using attractive
incentives and providing an enabling
environment to discourage importers from
diverting their imports to neighbouring
countries.
8. The Ministry of Petroleum Resources and its
relevant departments and agencies should
develop a policy that gives indigenous shipping
lines the right of first refusal to transport
Nigerian crude.
9. Expansion of the rail network to commercial
nerve centres and all major ports in the country
as well as exploring the possibility of extending
railways to all State capitals.
10. Nigeria should embrace modern equipment
technology inclusive of fast trains and standard
gauge rail tracks for the expansion of its
operations.
11. Encouragement of the federal and other tiers
of government and the development partners to
broaden the scope of Rural Access and Mobility
Project RAMP, to include rural roads in all states
of the federation.
In our quest for National Development, the need
for a vibrant transportation system can no
longer be ignored.