I have never been on a train in my 20-something years of existence (the train ride at the amusement park when I was five doesn’t count) and it’s not that my country is that developed that we have the hyperloop instead, the problem is things don’t work well here or don’t work at all. This write-up isn't going to list the things that don’t work well but is going to explain the importance of one thing that needs to work well.
I don’t care when the Nigerian Railway Corporation was established but I believe it should be better than what it is right now with the billions of dollars pumped into it already. I am going to list the reasons why this government has to take the revamp seriously:

1. Employment: The government wants to pay unemployed youths N5,000 monthly (Baba has said he’s not paying) which by the current exchange rate is less than $20 (you see these guys are jokers). But imagine the number of jobs that will be created if there were proper train stations, I know some of you don’t get the picture yet, so I’ll list the jobs:
I. Train conductors
II. Maintenance engineers
III. Ticketing officers
IV. Cleaners
V. Restaurant operators: if you have to leave home by 5:30 a.m. to catch the train at six, I’m sure you wouldn’t have had breakfast. But knowing that when you get to the train station, you can get a sandwich and a cup of coffee, bread and moi-moi or akara, fish and chips, rice, etc. These restaurants or food vendors are going to need helping hands; cooks, baristas, sales girls and boys etc. and where else will they find these workers other than from the unemployed youths roaming the streets. What the government has to do here is provide standard stalls with running water, storage facilities, and cooking gas, and lease them to these vendors at a fixed rate which is paid monthly or yearly.
VI. Security officers
VII. Porters
VIII. Signalmen

2. Affiliation with NIPOST: There are so many e-commerce businesses in Nigeria with a sizeable number providing retail services. Due to the not-so-stellar attitude of the Nigerian Postal Service, some of them have their own delivery services (AIG Express comes to mind). If NIPOST forms a partnership with the NRC, these stores can send their items via NIPOST using trains. So you can buy an item from Lagos in the morning and receive it in Osogbo via the evening train. If NIPOST is going to do this, they’ll most likely need to have offices at the train stations and therefore need to employ people to work there.

3. Fewer Accidents/Less Traffic/Less Crime: This is a no-brainer and needs no explanation. No daredevil motorcyclist crossing BRT lanes or oil tankers spilling petroleum products. There will also be a reduction in the number of traffic robberies.

4. De-congestion of Major Cities: Take Lagos for example, though overpopulated, it still sees an influx of migrants. People can work in Lagos but not necessarily live in Lagos where the rents are high. If there’s a train from Lagos to Ibadan that takes just 45 minutes or Lagos to Benin that takes less than 2 hours. That’s a whole lot better than spending 4 hours on the road from Yaba to Ikotun. Less time spent in traffic means you get to work refreshed and not looking like a zombie and you get home in time too. Marriages won’t fail due to couples seeing less of each other or kids not seeing their parents for days.


Now the question is this: Will the government see the benefits listed here and get to work immediately or will they let those with vested interests term this as the ranting of the masses?

Lalasticlala,you know what to do.