Job Osazuwa

In the past weeks, it has been a hectic time for commuters navigating between Sango in Ogun State and Lagos. Deprived of train services for their daily commute, many have been forced to return to the gridlock-infested roads in the former federal capital. 

For weeks, the train services between Sango in Ogun State and Iddo in Lagos have been halted. This is a result of the ongoing Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge rail being executed by the Federal Government.

Office workers, school children, businessmen and women who shuttle between Lagos Mainland and Island have been gravely affected by the ongoing construction.

Residents are certainly unexcited at the agony they currently undergo. What many are excited about, however, is the promise and possibilities of what might be once the construction is completed in the next few weeks.

Not a few Nigerians have described the construction of the Lagos-Ibadan Standard Gauge Rail as a welcome development, even if they are unhappy with the trauma the project is currently causing.

The plight of the people is further heightened by the potholes that dot most roads in Lagos, causing gridlocks on a daily basis. Whenever it rains, commuters and motorists are in for a hellish time on the roads. Passengers are seen in their hundreds stranded, especially in the evening and extending into the night, waiting for commercial buses.

Many people have also queried the speed of the job, wondering why the firm handling the project, the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) couldn’t adopt a quicker pace.

Even the Federal Government is not too happy with the pace. It has given the contractor a month to complete some critical sections of the job.

Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, had, on October 28, told the firm during a routine inspection that all the smaller stations on the Lagos-Ibadan Standard Gauge rail corridor must be completed and ready within one month. In the words of the minister, the seven stations must be ready by Monday, November 25. He said free train rides from Iju, Lagos to Ibadan must begin by the end of November. The free service would be offered to commuters between Lagos and Ibadan to herald the major flag-off of commercial activities on the corridor in the New Year.

The project is supposed to be ready by February next year. In May this year, CCECC had assured that the stations would be ready latest by August. But by October, none was ready.

The Lagos-Ibadan Standard Gauge Rail has ten stations – seven minor and three mega. The three mega stations are to be located at Ebute-Meta, Abeokuta and Ibadan.

It was also gathered that the speed train line would have 10 ultra-modern railway stations. There would be four in Lagos, in Apapa, Lagos, Agege and Agbado; three in Ogun (Kajola, Papalanto and Abeokuta), and three in Oyo: (Olodo, Omi Adio, and Ibadan). There will also be four extra-large bridges, 11 large bridges, four medium bridges, two steel bridges, ten frame bridges, 207 culverts, 40 railway crossing-no level crossing and 31 pedestrian overpasses, it was gathered.

The contract sum was initially put at $1.5 billion. But there have been several variations which increased the amount to about $ 2 billion.

The firm said the delay is caused by a number of unforeseen exigencies encountered during the construction.

It was also gathered that the challenges at the Lagos end had been enormous. There were several gas and petroleum pipelines submerged underground and in the sea, high tension power lines, overhead bridges, and several structures that allegedly hindered the progress of the project in parts of Lagos.

As the construction work continues, many bus stops on the route have been dismantled and relocated temporarily. In places like Agbado, Agege and Costain, commercial buses are no longer allowed to load and offload passengers at the bus stops. Indisputably, the relocation disorganised traffic and commercial activities at the various bus stops. Commuters have to be moving up and down, trying to locate where to board buses to their different destinations.

Overpasses, bridges and stations are also constructed alongside the tracks as part of the project. Petty traders are also hit by the development, as they try to get new places to display their wares.

A young man who trades at Idumota Market in Lagos Island, Mr. Ikechukwu Chidi, said he regularly boarded the train until services were halted. He pleaded with the Federal Government to compel the contractor to speed up work on the project.

“When the train was working, I enjoyed the service almost every day.  I never missed boarding it because it saved me a lot of time. The time for the journey is always fixed. This is the most beautiful aspect of train ride.”

Many have posited that a developing nation with a large population such as Nigeria must have an efficient and robust rail transport system in place to cater to the people’s need.

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According to experts, Lagos with an estimated population of 20 million people is expected to have heavily invested in all the means of transportation – road, rail and water – for a hitch-free movement of people and goods

Sanusi Joseph, an insurance executive, said he would endure the agony of the present, noting that the comfort of the standard gauge being constructed would more than compensate for the fleeting trauma. He expressed hope that President Buhari and Transport Minister, Rotimi Amaechi would get the project delivered soon.

Amaechi had, months ago, tasked the contractors handling the project to quickly complete the job, stating that the contractors had no excuse to delay the project as funding had never been an issue in the present dispensation.

While inspecting work at the various stations along the 156-kilometre rail corridor which included Apapa, Kajola, Papalanto, Abeokuta and Omi Adio, among others, Amaechi had noted:.

“They have slowed down so badly. We need to get them to that speed that they were before the last government was dissolved,” Amaechi said.

The Managing Director, Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC), Fidet Okhiria, also reiterated the need for the contractors to speed up work on the project.

He said: “I think our major issue now is to see how we can get to Apapa Port, because without the track getting to Apapa Port, the idea of making this rail has not been achieved.”

Amaechi said the connection of standard gauge railway line to the Apapa port would enhance carriage of 30 million tons of cargoes awaiting carriage annually compared to between 200,000 and 300,000 tons of cargoes conveyed annually on the existing narrow gauge railway line.

On Monday, November 4, Amaechi also lamented that CCECC had not lived up to their promise of completing the stations in three months. He said the stations must be completed before the end of November.

Said Amaechi: “If the CCECC meets this deadline, the government will be able to commence test running of the rail line by November 30. If the coaches we are expecting from China have not arrived, we will use the two coaches here. We will start trial runs because we made promises to Nigerians and we must fulfil those promises.”

An official of the CCECC explained that this year’s heavy rains had hindered the progress of the job, especially the laying of tracks from Iju to Ebute Meta.

Amaechi said he would love to start the test-run from Ebute Meta for the benefit of people living in Lagos.

“As far as Lagosians are concerned, Iju is in Ogun State, and that is why I am pushing them to get to Ebute Meta.

“We may start with the executive coaches. I am certain about the ride because other coaches are expected to arrive in Nigeria from China before Christmas.

“Even if they arrive in the second week of December, once they are cleared from the seaport, it may take one or two days for them to get here.

“But I will struggle to make sure that before Christmas, it happens. But even if it does not happen, the executive coach will be available. The only problem with this is that we will insist on 24 passengers on each coach, making it 48 for the two.”

He said the contractors had assured him that all materials would be sourced locally.

Earlier in the year, Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka had commended President Muhammadu Buhari over the Lagos-Ibadan Standard Gauge rail project. Soyinka spoke at a reception for, Rotimi Amaechi who led a delegation of government functionaries on a test-run of the train service from Iju Station in Lagos to Abeokuta .

Soyinka said the Abeokuta station, located around Ori village, was not far from his house. He said the development would open up the area with attendant opportunities for small traders, artisans and other residents of Ogun. He commended the Buhari administration for the transformation brought to Ori village and its environs.

For now, many Nigerians are waiting, with cautious optimism for the completion of this rail project. It is believed that the project would not only ease the movement of passengers and goods across the country but would also boost the economy and provide a respite for the country’s highways that have, for years, been daily battered by container-bearing articulated trucks.