By Abubakar Suleiman
Before our very eyes, the Abuja–Kaduna train service is slowly dying. Its final demise is only a matter of when, not how.
If nothing drastic is done, the Rigasa, Kubwa and Idu stations may become comatose in a not-too-distant future, just as the Jere, Rijana, and Kakau stations have been left to weeds, rodents and reptiles.
Forget the rapid infrastructural development of the Kaduna–Kano rail line; without the leadership and management required to sustain it, it risks following the same trajectory as the Abuja–Kaduna train services.
This is not pessimism. It is a warning about what happens when infrastructure is built without the strong leadership, top-notch maintenance culture and institutional commitment needed to keep it functional.
The number of daily train trips between Abuja and Kaduna shrank from four in each direction to just one.
The waiting area is gradually becoming shabby. When you lift your head to look at the roof or walls, cobwebs stare back, reminding you that Nigeria is a slaughterhouse where maintenance meets its dead end.
Let’s not even talk about buying a ticket. That’s a hassle. You just can’t get one in peace. For your sanity, you need a third party to get it for you.
The barcode scanners meant to grant access to the place housing the train and rail tracks can sometimes just choose not to work. Power supply issues? I don’t know. Functionality issues? I still don’t know. You’re left with a manual screening method that generates traffic.
Simple things like this, which ought to be fixed with urgency, only become paramount when a security breach leads to something unimaginable. But then, this is not even unimaginable.
The escalator and elevator can be idle, leaving you with the must-exercise of using the staircase.
Mid-trip, the AC could just stop working, leaving the coaches stuffy. It has happened to me countless times. Pray you’re not unfortunate enough to have someone quietly fart, leaving the space momentarily filled with a rotten-egg-like fume.
To fart is human, but to do so in a fully packed coach is not only inconsiderate and irresponsible; it is ungodly.
The lavatory in the train is another eyesore. Even prisoners deserve better; talk more of dignified people who are not convicts. Some of them have no water. You need to walk into another coach to ease yourself. Some charging ports aren’t working.
Should we not talk about the inconsiderate noise makers?
You’ll find yourself on a train in another country and wonder whether it’s a national mourning day because people are so mindful not to be a nuisance to the next person. No noise. Silence rules the sojourn. They’re not dumb; they are simply being civil and considerate.
Try the Abuja–Kaduna train. It can be so disgusting. From the person at the top of his voice making phone calls with no moral scruples, to acquaintances or friends who bump into each other and then start a noise like an unsolicited ‘radio station,’ to the one who turns on music on his phone without using earphones or AirPods.
I don’t know whether our loudness is meant to prove a point. Sometimes, we carry this particularly bad behaviour into another country without reading the room. I digress.
What about some unruly guys who jump onto the moving train to help passengers carry their luggage? They sometimes drag the right of way with passengers along the walkway as the train tends towards a halt. Moving luggage can be done with decorum and in peace. But it seems we thrive in chaos.
I know the aviation sector has a dedicated Ministry of Aviation. It is much more regulated worldwide than the railway industry, so it is more important to remove it from the Ministry of Transportation.
However, in other countries, railway transportation falls outside the Ministry of Transportation’s purview. They have a dedicated Ministry of Railways. I had wanted to suggest the same for Nigeria. But is it even about having a dedicated ministry?
The key policy question is whether a separate ministry would improve accountability, funding, coordination, oversight, and efficient service delivery, or simply add another layer of bureaucracy to the current red-tapism we have? Your guess is as good as mine.
We already have the Nigerian Railway Corporation, the Railway Property Management Company Limited and the Rail Transport Services Department within the Ministry of Transportation, yet our train services are anything but reliable and efficient.
Okay, End of Rant.