I will recommend partial privatisation; that is Public-Private Partnership. Railway falls under major public infrastructural projects providing social services for its users. The PPP arrangement for the railway can be based on non-equity; that is on a principal-agent relationship where the principal will be the public agency and the agent will be the operator. This arrangement will allow for risk transfer, better management, reduction of pressure on public treasury and value for money.
There is the need to ensure efficiency in our railway system in Nigeria. But it should be explained that efficiency in the railway system is a broad term. It ranges from energy efficiency, efficiency in terms of timeliness, efficiency from the financial perspective and so on. An efficient railway should have many lines that cut across the whole country. This will make travel around the country easy with many railway lines painted in different colours.
The system should have special provisions for the physically challenged and senior citizens. It should have adequate maps and apps for direction and guidance. It should also be punctual with appropriate maintenance culture.
Generally, an efficient railway system maximises revenues and minimises cost, while providing the desired level of service. It will fast-track transportation of people and goods, especially bulky industrial and agricultural products. This will ultimately reduce cost of transporting those bulky industrial and agricultural commodities which invariably should reduce the prices of the goods. In other words, it will help to alleviate the hardship on many Nigerians and improve living standard and welfare of Nigerians.
Efficient railway system will reduce post harvest losses as commodities will not relatively be transported to places where they are needed. When harvested produce are sold, farmers will be encouraged to farm more which will increase national food security. It is also very important to point out that safety of all stakeholders should also form part of the railway system. • Prof. Olubola Babalola (First female professor of Quantity Surveying in Africa)
I will not advocate outright privatisation of the railways. I will rather advocate a Private-Public-Partnership. The aim should be to have an efficient and effective rail system that works. If there is a PPP arrangement, there will be access to required funding, resources and expertise. And the system will not be bogged down by the civil service bureaucracy and redtapism.
When the telecommunications revolution started in 2001, people were skeptical about its effectiveness. But today, people can pick and choose from the whole lot. There is competition, a healthy one at that, to satisfy the customers.
Each network knows if it drops the ball, the customers will move to the other networks that have better quality of service delivery.
Under the PPP arrangement for the railways, the management must be ready to invite Nigeria’s best hands in diaspora who are experts in the sector.
I say this because many Nigerians are the brains behind many innovations across the globe. Some of them must come home and develop the rail system. • Mr. Kehinde Sogunle (A former Commissioner for Finance, Ogun State)
I am over 70 years and I met the Nigerian Railway Corporation in existence. I know that it was not well managed although the government heavily invested in its development. There were times when it was as if it was moribund. About 50 years ago when we were much younger, we used to take train rides to Kano, Kaduna and many other places from Lagos and Abeokuta. Many items were transported on trains back then.
Today, are our rail services as good as they were in those days? Many of our national organisations which were run by government were poorly managed. For instance, Nigeria Airways did not perform well, while other national airlines like British Airways are doing well.
You will remember how NITEL was poorly managed, whereas in other countries in Europe, especially in the United Kingdom, their governments have been running their telecommunications networks well and have been improving on them.
If not for the emergence of companies like MTN, Glo and others, our telecoms system would have been nothing to write home about. So, I will not suggest full privatisation of the rail system, but I prefer that it be managed by some private and experienced hands, who will be given specific targets by the government. I don’t believe that the Nigerian government can profitably run it because in Nigeria, it is commonly said that government’s business is nobody’s business. So, if the private enterprise is allowed to manage it, it will become profitable and there will be improvements in the provision of services. •Mr. Femi Deru (A former President, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry)
I do not think that privatisation of the railways by the Federal Government will be a good idea. Look at the privatisation of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria. There have been challenges here and there and the Federal Government does not seem to be doing anything to monitor it. So, I do not think it will be fair to privatise the railways. The government should instead, manage it or go into a Public-Private Partnership.
Decay over the years, lack of efficiency and unseriousness on the part of the government to improve the lives of the citizens, has been responsible for the poor state of the sub-sector. The railways were ignored because they did not favour the interest of politicians.
All over the world, the railway system is one of the most efficient means of transportation. It enables people to convey their goods faster from one place to another. It also reduces the pressure on the roads; the roads in such climes last longer. The railway has a way of passing through communities, so consumables can easily be transported.
The benefits of a functional railway system cannot be quantified. In addition, it creates a lot of direct and indirect jobs. The rural communities will also be open to more commercial activities which in turn will improve their economy. • Fred Omonuwa (Chairman, College of Education, Ekiadolor, Edo State)
Privatisation of the railways will be of immense benefit to the nation, if it is done holistically. Several things in the country have been privatised, but the essence of privatising them has not been achieved. The problem I have with privatisation in Nigeria is that it is not done holistically. Apart from the telecoms, I haven’t seen any other one that was successful. Privatisation of the power sector was a failure because what they did was partial privatisation.
The Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company has not been in competition since inception so their tariff is not reducing and their service delivery is still below expectation. The telecoms industry is working because it is largely wireless.
Electricity cannot work because the Power Holding Company of Nigeria still owns the poles and wires. If you privatise the railways, the same problem will surface because the rails or lines are owned by the government. If there must be privatisation, it must be done properly. The government should not own the rails.
The government should hands off completely. Don’t forget, the rails we are using now are outdated. We are still using coaches used in the 19th century. If government will privatise the railways, it should be holistic. Private companies should own the rail lines and no railway worker should be absorbed. There is nothing that Nigeria managed that has worked. NITEL that operated on 0804 and the Nigerian Airways have since folded up. • Higher King (Port Harcourt-based human rights activist)
The decline of the railway sector has hampered the socio-economic development in Africa’s most populous country – Nigeria. This is characterised by inadequate funding, crumbling infrastructure and flawed management system.
Privatisation will revitalise the service and create a much needed culture shift towards public transportation, thereby creating an efficient and effective rail system.
It is believed that once the rail sector is opened up to private sector participation, it will help the country create jobs and successfully solve the challenge of inter/intra city mass transit.
The telecommunications sector is a good example. After privatisation, it has not only created millions of jobs, but has garnered investments worth $68bn as of July, 2016. •Bayo Oloyede (Chartered Accountant /Consulting Partner, CPA Partners , Nigeria)
•Compiled by: Success Nwogu, Samuel Awoyinfa, Ifianyi Onuba, Alexander Okere, Okechukwu Nnodim and Friday Amobi
Credit: Punch
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