₦airaland Forum

hairyanus:
I simply know that i am not an enemy of progress. To that end, good news about Nigeria is what i look out for. I also know that Bill is to big to be bought...

We shall conquer polio.



www.nairaland.com/attachments/1963886_img20141221222908_jpega5ceb77b383c01e7aae6ff14909fc6c8

Royal2010:
BILL Gates took the world by storm when in 1985, his company, Microsoft, introduced Windows, an operating system compatible with all personal computer software products developed on the MS-DOS system. It was a grand breakthrough which not only profited Gates and his company, but also benefited most PC users. Leveraging on the success of Windows, Gates, in 1986, took Microsoft public with an Initial Public Offering (IPO) of $21 per share. With his 45 per cent of the company’s 24.7 million shares, he became a multi-millionaire at the age of 31. A year later, he became a billionaire when Microsoft’s stock rose to $90.75 a share. In 1999, with stock prices at an all time high, Gates’ net-worth rose to $101 billion.

But Gates has proved that money does not make a man but that rather it is what man makes with money that makes him. Though programming and money brought him to the world stage, it is his eagerness to lend a hand and his heart to the vulnerable that has made him a world citizen. He is immensely wealthy and has everything money can buy, yet he closely associates with those who have nothing and is prepared to share his all with them. He goes out of his way to ensure the comfort of those who have no chance whatsoever of reciprocating his good gesture. He and his wife, Melinda, have decided to give out 95 per cent of their means to charity through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Nigeria has benefitted tremendously from this deed.

One of the issues that have attracted the attention of Gates is polio eradication. He has demonstrated unwavering commitment to see Nigeria exit the group of polio endemic countries more than any Nigerian dead or alive. He even has more information than Nigerian leaders about areas in the country where the war against polio is being lost. In a newspaper interview earlier in the year, he said, “We have some local governments that are still not as engaged in the activities as they should be. In fact, I’ll give the President, when I meet with him today (September 27, 2012), a list of those local governments, so that he can work with the governors to approve that.”

After meeting with Gates in New York, President Goodluck Jonathan returned to Nigeria and summoned governors of states still harbouring polio with a charge to stem the tide of polio in their domains. Similarly, the Presidential Task Force on Polio Eradication (PTFPE) was set up to advise and monitor polio eradication progress shortly after a meeting between Gates and President Jonathan in Abuja last year.

Gates has visited the country a number of times to sensitise the leaders to the need to put an end to the polio scourge. He even had to get the 36 state governors as well as the Federal Capital Territory minister to sign up to the Nigeria Immunization Challenge launched by his foundation earlier in the year. The Challenge set specific objectives that needed to be met during each quarter of 2012 with a view to freeing Nigerian children from the clutch of polio. The Challenge became necessary because although Nigeria made great progress in 2010, reducing polio by 95 per cent, it was not sustained in 2011, which resulted in the resurgence of the polio virus in the year with an increase in 2012. According to Global Polio Eradication Initiative in the latest edition of its Weekly Polio Update, Nigeria is the only country with ongoing transmission of all three serotypes.

As a motivation for the governors, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation stated that it would award every state that met all the necessary threshold criteria by the end of 2012 a $500,000 grant to support their top health priorities which could include priority initiatives in public health, such as malaria and tuberculosis, improving immunization, HIV prevention and treatment, or safe drinking water and hygiene promotion. In addition to the grant, the foundation promised that governors who achieved the goals would receive special recognition from Gates for their contribution to the elimination of polio. Winning governors would also be highlighted in his foundation’s communications, such as Gates’ annual letter or the foundation’s annual report, social media materials and Gates’ public engagements globally.

Gates’ foundation also teamed up with Aliko Dangote Foundation to stop the spread of polio in Kano State. Under a four-year alliance, the foundations would provide funding, equipment and technical support to the Kano State government to strengthen polio immunisation.

Apart from committing billions of Naira to the polio eradication campaign in the country, Gates has provided leadership in the campaign, showing more concern about the spread of the debilitating but preventable disease in the country than those elected to govern the people.

But his altruistic activities in Nigeria are not restricted to polio eradication; he is also committed to caging malaria, which is said to kill at least 10 Nigerian children daily. He is determined to wrest Nigerian infants, children, and pregnant women from the jaws of death occasioned by malaria. Since he set it as his objective in 2007 to see to the eradication of malaria from the world in his lifetime, Gates has been working hard to actualise this goal.

He is motivated to join hands with others to fight malaria in Nigeria and other developing countries because he is aware of the direct contribution of malaria to poverty, losses in productivity and reduced school attendance. The Gates Foundation has been involved in the distribution of insecticide-treated bed nets and effective drugs in Nigeria. He is also involved in funding research on the development and delivery of new malaria drugs, particularly for treating acute malaria in at-risk populations such as; infants, young children, and pregnant women. To actualise the malaria eradication dream, his foundation is working on developing a safe, effective and affordable vaccine against malaria.

Recently, he promised to support the development of vaccines to fight tuberculosis with $220million over a period of five years. This has resulted in the development of six possible TB vaccines that are currently being tested.

Despite the direct intervention of his foundation in the eradication of polio and malaria and the stemming of other diseases, he also has donated $1.4billion to Global Funds to Fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria in different countries of the world.

Just as he is committed to eradicating polio and malaria so is he resolute to boost agricultural production in the country.

Earlier in the year, he provided $12million for the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) to improve yam production in Nigeria and Ghana. The project according to IITA would focus on increasing yields through better seed tuber supply and improving markets for the underground, edible tuber.

The multifaceted five-year effort is expected to double the incomes of three million small-holder farming families.

IITA said, “The initial focus of the project is on 200,000 smallholder farm families in Nigeria and Ghana, 90 per cent of whom cultivate less than two acres. A key priority is to ensure that affordable pest- and disease-free seed yams are available to farmers, along with storage and handling technologies that can reduce post-harvest loss.”

With the initiative, yam breeders would develop and widely disseminate new, higher-yielding, disease-resistant varieties.

In addition to that, he is also funding to the tune of $9.8m a research project into whether cereal crops can be genetically engineered with nitrogen-fixing bacteria. The essence is to create cereal crops that can access nitrogen from the air using symbiotic bacteria, reducing the need for expensive chemical fertiliser.

The focus of the investigation will be maize and the purpose of the intervention is to help small subsistence farmers.

But before we chose Gate, some Nigerians were considered for the Tribune Man of the Year alongside Bill Gates.
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The Gates’ edge is that through his intervention, he has been able to improve the wellbeing of many Nigerians. Without standing to gain anything, he has deployed his resources to uplift the average Nigerian. Quite a number of Nigerians are sleeping under insecticide-treated bed nets donated by Bill Gates, many are getting free anti-malaria drugs donated by him, many tuberculosis patients have access to free medical treatment through his intervention, many HIV/AIDS patients can easily access anti-retroviral drugs and the lives of many infants and their mothers have been saved from untimely death because of his input. Gates has also been able to galvanise the federal, state and local governments to take action concerning polio eradication. Very soon, the production of yam and maize would get a boost because of his commitment to increase food production and reduce poverty in the country.

If there is anyone who puts his resources and energy behind the desire for a better life for the majority in the country, it is Bill Gates. If there is a friend who will not stop at anything to put smiles on the faces of Nigeria’s poor, it is Bill Gates. This American has demonstrated his unequivocal affection for Nigeria; he even loves Nigeria more than many Nigerians. He is, therefore, our Man of the Year.


http://www.tribune.com.ng/news2013/index.php/en/component/k2/item/2088-tribune-man-of-the-year

eluquenson:
REVISITING SOME OF THE LATEEF JAKANDE'S GOVERNMENT ACHIEVEMENTS FROM OCTOBER 1979 TO DECEMBER 1983 (FOUR YEARS AND 3 MONTHS) IN LAGOS STATE
[img]http://4.bp..com/-V0NhGHyjMG8/UWlggCCvKbI/AAAAAAAAAXA/8W0vlN0V5o8/s1600/jakande2.jpg[/img]

* His government built the current Lagos State Secretariat which houses all the state ministries as well as the popular round house hitherto occupied by all subsequent governors of the state.

* His government built the Lagos State House of Assembly complex.

* His government built the Lagos State Television

* His government built the Lagos Radio

* His government built Lagos State University

* His government established General Hospital in zones all over the state with assurance of free health care.

* His government established Teacher Training College and the College of Education.

* His government built low cost houses in Ijaiye, Dolphin, Oke-Afa, Ije, Abesan, Iponri, Ipaja, Abule Nla, Epe, Amuwo-Odofin, Anikantamo, Surulere, Iba, Ikorodu, Badagry, Isheri/Olowu, Orisigun etc.

* His government established the Water Management Board and Waste Disposal Board on the 18th of August, 1980.

* His government constructed the Adiyan Water Works to increase water supply in the state to 18.16 million litres per day.

* His government modernized and expanded the Iju Water Works which was first commissioned in 1915. This increased daily capacity from 159 million to 204 million litres per day.

* His government purchased and commissioned the giant car crusher equipment. The equipment was designed specifically to crush derelict vehicles in Lagos State. It had the capacity to crush 45 vehicles per day.

* His government constructed, rehabilitated and resurfaced Epe/Ijebu-Ode Road, Oba Akran Avenue, Toyin Street, Town Planning Way, Alimosho-Idimu-Egbe Road, Idimu-Iba-LASU Road, the new secretariat road and several others.

* His government constructed Victoria Island/Epe Road and thereby creating an ‘oil rig’ for Lagos State.

* His government established Asphalt Plant for the Department of Public Works.

* His government established Electricity Board for Rural Electrification with provision of street lights.

* His government modernized, expanded and commissioned Onikan Stadium in 1982.

* His government established a singular school system and ensured genuine free education in Lagos State and the beneficiaries of this policy are in different positions of eminence in the country and around the world.

* His government raised the primary schools in Lagos State to 812 with 533,001 pupils (against 605 primary schools with 434,545 pupils he met in 1979) and secondary schools to 223 with 167,629 students (against 105 schools with 107,835 students in 1979).

* His government constructed 11, 729 classrooms with the maximum of 40 children per class between March and August 1980, by 1983, he had constructed over 22,000 classrooms.

* In July 1983, two commercial passenger boats christened "Baba Kekere and Itafaji" to run the Mile 2 - Marina (CMS) route via the lagoons were inaugurated by his government to mark the official launch of the Lagos State ferry services.

* His government took over the ownership and financing of Lagos State Printing Corporation in July 1980

* His government established the first State Traffic Management Authority (Road Marshals).

* His government established small scale Industries Credit Scheme which preceded the EKO bank.

*His government established LASACO Insurance.

*His government expanded existing market and built new ones.

*His government established Traditional Medicine Board.

WHO SAYS 4 YEARS IN OFFICE IS NOT ENOUGH FOR MEANINGFUL ACHIEVEMENTS?

IT'S A FACT THAT 90% OF GOVERNORS IN NIGERIA SINCE 1999 WITH REVENUES AT THEIR DISPOSAL CANNOT BOAST OF A QUARTER OF THESE ACHIEVEMENTS EVEN WITHIN THEIR EIGHT YEARS IN OFFICE.

edygistvilla:
For presiding over the affairs of Nigeria as its president in the last three years, you won’t believe how much President Goodluck Jonathan has pocketed as salary.
Vanguard reports that in the last three years President Goodluck Jonathan has pocketed N43.231 million as salary while he had in the last three years, paid N6.264 million as tax to the country.
The years which the president earned the salary and paid the tax, according to document from the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, he released to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, were 2011, 2012 and 2013.
Vanguard also made it known that the document which was placed at the INEC office at Area 10, Abuja, showed that the president, in 2011, 2012 and 2013, received the said amount.
The document showed that the president’s salary stands at N14,410,290.48 per annum. The president also paid a total of N6,264,221.75 as tax in the years under review.
The income tax clearance certificate from the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Abuja, with Ref. No: ABJ/MDA/PAYE/09690150 and dated July 2, 2014, revealed that in the years 2011, 2012 and 2013, he received a total of N43,230,871.44 as salary.
While he paid N1,242,670.21 as tax in 2011,

President Jonathan paid N2,510,775.77 for 2012 and for 2013.
The document tagged:“To whom it may concern”, indicated that the president’s source of income was “employment”.
The clearance which was stamped and received in the Legal Services Department of INEC on December 18 2014 reads:
This is to certify that Dr. Jonathan, Ebele Goodluck (Presidency) has paid income tax assessment for the past three years.
The details of the president’s tax payment also showed that the president did not earn any other income besides his fixed income as president of the country in that period. There were no indications of income from stocks or other businesses that the president could have had.
Meanwhile, the Code of Conduct Bureau has cleared Vice President Namadi Sambo to contest the 2015 general elections.


www.nairaland.com/attachments/2157239_pjyadzvnwu7lq9tqoctrqc46_jpeg062a8ac4eb859794f69859b28ca84e09

Can Nigeria's renovated railway unite north and south?
13 February 2013


The railway linking the economic powerhouse of Lagos and the conflict-hit north of Nigeria has reopened after more than 10 years. The BBC's Will Ross made the 31-hour train journey and asks whether the train line can help unite this divided country.

Nigeria's railways are making a comeback after virtually grinding to a halt.

The first sign of progress is the reopening of the long defunct rail link between Lagos in the south and Kano in the north.
"This is my first experience on a train since I was at school in the early 1990s. I heard about it through BBC Hausa service so I'm giving it a try," says a Lagos-based businessman, as the train rumbles along at a steady 45km/h (28mph).

"Credit to the government, although we need a better service," he says.

Lagos to Kano rail map

https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/624/media/images/65754000/gif/_65754868_lagos_rail.gif



Another passenger shrugs at the 1,100km (685 mile) journey to see his relatives in Kano. He will have just more than a day with his family before having to catch the weekly return service.

"This is a development. I once spent five days travelling by train from Lagos to Kano. The engine would be removed from the train and it be taken for a service whilst we would stay on board," he says.

The state-owned Nigeria Railway Corporation says the rehabilitation of 1,126km of track has cost 24bn naira (£98m; $153m).

With a one-way ticket starting from 1,930 Naira (£7.50; $12), it is far cheaper and, some say, safer than travelling by road.
"Last year an armed robber attacked us on the road. There was shooting but thank God we escaped. I feel safe on the train," says passenger Bukola Ogunbanjo.

En route, we pass abandoned relics of the once thriving railways - rusty, dilapidated carriages and goods wagons as well as crumbling stations.



https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/624/media/images/65754000/jpg/_65754739_lagos4.jpg
The scene at Minna Station in Niger State


More from: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-21364541

anonimi:
This thread is dedicated to collecting pictures of achievment of the Jonathan/Sambo team as a reference point for others to contribute and use therefrom.
Only verifiable photos please.
Thanks.



https://ppadai.org/images/GEJ%20Achievements.jpg

anonimi:
This thread is dedicated to collecting pictures of achievment of the Jonathan/Sambo team as a reference point for others to contribute and use therefrom.
Only verifiable photos please.
Thanks.

eph123:
It would be great to have a similar thread, but this time for Buhari's reverse achievements e.g. the current cost of PMS, food prices, inflation, Southern Kaduna killings, Boko haram, and SO MUCH MORE.

To serve as a reference point when 2019 comes around the corner and BMC attempts to twist the facts.

anonimi:
I have two threads already that can be used for that purpose:


https://www.nairaland.com/2121046/apc-matters-pictures


https://www.nairaland.com/2275271/buharis-apc.s-campaign-promises


Please feel free to contribute and post comments there also.
Cheers.

BENZINA:
Gej administration was certainly the best.

anonimi:
www.nairaland.com/attachments/5037232_chart2_png458c6341b0e8e8f38509d431d0581949

Image123:
This highlights and boldens the fact of the failure of the past administration. Check out the price of crude oil during that time compared to middle of 2015 till date. Yet the past administration was already screaming austerity measures, owing everybody oweable and borrowing+having headaches to pay common salaries.

FG, States, LGs Share N568.4 Billion for Oct
15 NOVEMBER 2013


https://cdn.pmnewsnigeria.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Ngozi-Okonjo-Iweala-.jpg



Also, $1billion was proposed for distribution to complement shortfall in expected revenue." The $1billion is a compromise by the FG over its words in September not to augment shortfalls anymore.

Responding to the presentation, the chairman of the States Commissioners of Finance and Ebonyi State Commissioner of Finance, Mr Timothy Odaah, lamented that the statutory allocation was getting smaller and smaller. "It appears this is the worst in terms of returns. This is the least in allocations as far as this year is concerned. We are mourning the dearth of funds and this is a wakeup call for states and local governments to buoy up their internally generated revenue."

While appreciating the "magnanimity" of President Goodluck Jonathan to approve the $1billion from the excess crude account and to be shared among the federal, state and local governments, Odaah expressed disappointment with the returns made by the NNPC.

He said that the states had requested for $2bn to complement for the shortfall in revenue but got only $1billion. In September, Odaah and fellow commissioners had walked out of the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF) when the federal government said that the framework of the 2013 budget was no longer realistic and it won't augment shortfall in revenue. Odaah raised issues with the statutory allocations of previous months.

More from: http://allafrica.com/stories/201311150323.html

kech:
Jonathan’s Gift to Workers: Minimum Wage Now N18,000
•New salary to be paid from August
From Kunle Akogun and Damilola Oyedele in Abuja, 05.02.2010

A new pay package for Nigerian civil servants will be operational in three months, Acting President Goodluck Jonathan, has said. When operational, the least paid worker would go home with N18,000 at the end of every month as against the N7,500 minimum wage that presently obtains.

Jonathan while addressing workers on the occasion of the May Day celebration, pleaded with the civil servants to shelve their planned five-day warning strike scheduled to commence tomorrow, and assured them that the issues in dispute would be resolved within the next three months.
He also disclosed that he had directed the Minister of Labour, Chief Chukwuemeka Wogu, to ensure that negotiations with the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council achieves the desired results within the next three months.
“This important assignment of which I understand you are respectfully represented in the committee is nearing conclusion. The National Committee on Parameters for Wages in the public segment is also working assiduously to ensure that we have a mechanism that will make for adjustment on workers’ remuneration gradual.

http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=172323

KBrown:
As I have stated on this page, I am committed to ensuring social justice and restoring the dignity of labour in Nigeria which is why I have signed into law the Minimum Wage Act which mandates every employer of labour to pay at least N18,000 per month to the least paid staff. We have to motivate to create wealth. We may have much or little but what little we have, must be shared more equitably. GEJ

***************************************

Again, Goodluck has shown his critics that he is a caring leader.
Right from when he cancelled his trip abroad to parley with labour leaders to his attention towards almajiris to federal universities in every state to ongoing power plant projects and others too numerous to remember at once JUST WITHIN ONE YEAR, Goodluck has continued to show that he is the caring leader Nigerians yearn for. GEJ ALL THE WAY!

Image123:
In all fairness, no one should compare and CONCLUDE the end of a over 5years recovery to a 7month work in progress.

Image123:
Rubbish, it is just six months. Too early to say all this rubbish, especially against the background that GEJ left Nigeria in SHAMBLES as at May 29, 2015.
1. There is a level of continuity in government, nobody says any government does not do ANYTHING good. The question is, did they do ENOUGH, especially with the resources available. Am sure you do not want good things to be scrapped/cancelled for ntothing.
2. GEJ government scammed the country with the very huge subsidy they agreed to pay. We are still paying their debts and renegotiations have to be legally done, which is ongoing. Subsidy has always been since the 80s, it is the figures in the past 5years that have been unbelievable.
3. The Professor has a right to freedom of speech, he is not the President, and the President's mandate is 4years AT LEAST, not 6 months. Within that six months, we have bought fuel nationwide for 87naira/litre for at least 3 of the months, this was a feat that was a mirage and rocket science under GEJ.
4. Who are thise who claimed GEJ went to Chad to plan attacks who visited Chad?
5. The past government agricultural policies yielded little overhyped dividends. Nigeria is not close to feeding itself talkless of exporting as should be the touted case. Our people still have vested interest in buying foreign agricultural things compared to local so what is the jubilation about?
6. WHo has dumped TSA? TSA is not GEJ or NOI's invention, it is from IMF. NOI introduced it but never implemented it. Buhari made sure it was implemented in less than 6months. He's tried to make refineries work in short time too but that one backfired, but at least he tried. If it worked, you will claim it is GEJ's achievement.
7. \Your talk about bboko haram reclaiming LGAs is a blatant lie conjured from your pocket.
8. Your lie about the Presidential fleet shows your irredeemable ignorance, i would not help you further, at least not now. More than half of the money spent was reported in the same article to be GEJ's debts, you are a shameless liar.

anonimi:
Thank God for the oyinbo's internet.
Four years gone, barawo bubu and the 40 thieves presidency cabal of the Association of Propaganda Crooks, APC have proved our predictions of their failure and looting right,

Image123:
You obviously have a problem to think so joyfully that Nigeria is not doing good just to say "I told you so". While Nigeria is not doing good, it is better than being in the hands of the previous government that ran it to the ground. President Buhari has not lived up to many's expection, that is agreed.
And my point from the get-go has always been that he is not the 'messiah', but a better option than Jonathan. It remains the same. GEJ left the country in shambles and borrowing to pay salaries at around $64/barrel of crude oil. This went down to as low as $30. The price has not come close to that but lower until around October last year. If you think that is not relevant, maybe you can try halving your primary source of income and live better. Try it for just one year sir. Your accusations of looting remain mere allegations and suspicions not even close to what GEJ and his team did. Or you have any concrete evidence better than what GEJ and his team were accused of?

Image123:
You obviously have a problem to think so joyfully that Nigeria is not doing good just to say "I told you so". While Nigeria is not doing good, it is better than being in the hands of the previous government that ran it to the ground. President Buhari has not lived up to many's expection, that is agreed. And my point from the get-go has always been that he is not the 'messiah', but a better option than Jonathan. It remains the same. GEJ left the country in shambles and borrowing to pay salaries at around $64/barrel of crude oil. This went down to as low as $30. The price has not come close to that but lower until around October last year. If you think that is not relevant, maybe you can try halving your primary source of income and live better. Try it for just one year sir. Your accusations of looting remain mere allegations and suspicions not even close to what GEJ and his team did. Or you have any concrete evidence better than what GEJ and his team were accused of?

anonimi:
Confused as usual Distortions and propaganda can't change the reality for most Nigerians to any next level razzmatazz.
How worsening extreme poverty is better than sustainable and growing prosperity must be the epitome of all confusions.
Enjoy the next level as you enjoyed the change.

anonimi:
If you are interested in how barawo bubu and his 40 thieves cabal of the Alliance of ProgreThief Crooks, APC have destroyed our country in four years you can visit the two threads below.


https://www.nairaland.com/2121046/apc-matters-pictures


https://www.nairaland.com/2275271/buharis-apc.s-campaign-promises

Nigerian railway modernization presses ahead despite challenges.
Dec 17, 2014


In the past few years, the Nigerian government has been shopping for private investors to help modernize the sector through Public-Private Partnerships. Simultaneously, Nigeria has pursued legislative reforms, proposing an amendment to the 1957 Railway Act in the spring of 2013.

However, as with previous initiatives to lessen the Nigeria Railway Corporation’s (NRC) monopoly power, the Bill has been stalled in the National Assembly. Despite this setback, it appears the Nigerian government has pushed ahead with plans to modernize the railways, utilizing concession models for individual lines.

Once an integral aspect of the economy, Nigeria’s railways have severely degenerated over decades of mismanagement and financial neglect. The 1957 Railway Act gives the NRC complete monopoly ownership of the country’s railway infrastructure. This story is all too familiar in the region, as railways have deteriorated under state-control and lost market share to the expanding road transport sector.

Recent privatization efforts, however, have shown that railways can be more than colonial relics. Sixteen concessions for railways in Africa have been granted since the early 1990s, and these have begun to revive what was once a productive and efficient system of transporting goods. The railway nostalgia has hit Nigeria, as President Goodluck Jonathan recently affirmed his commitment to the 25-year railroad plan. Nigeria’s railways show great promise.

In the years that the government has increased the NRC’s funding, traffic levels have risen noticeably, particularly in passenger services. Public demand for rail transport has seen an increasing trend, as trains in Nigeria are less expensive and considered safer than roads. In 2013, five million passengers traveled on the weekly trains in Lagos and Kano, which is an 80% increase from 2009. The NRC has also increased its level of commercial traffic, hauling 500,000 tons of heavy cargo after importing 40 new wagons in 2013.

These recent statistics show there is a demand for improved rail transport. The sector has the potential to decrease traffic congestion on overpopulated routes and provide an environmentally friendly and energy saving alternative to road transport.

Despite this potential, the Jonathan administration has faced several obstacles in implementing the 25-year plan. To begin with, the NRC has operated on an average loss of about 30%, increasing from 13% in the late 1990s. The company requires public subsidies to stay in business, and it has become evident that these are still not enough to maintain the rail system.

From independence to 1994, NRC’s rolling stock levels fell by about 70%. The railway currently runs at a speed of 20 km per hour. Moreover, experts have criticized the NRC’s management of the rail system, calling pricing techniques “rudimentary.”

After increasing realization that the railway sector cannot be modernized without private sector participation, the Jonathan administration began an initiative to attract private investment. Despite outdated legislation that technically does not allow for competition in the railway sector, Nigeria has concessioned distinct rail lines and outsourced services.

Though Western companies such as GE have obtained contracts to develop the supply chain, the only companies willing to take on the development of new rail lines have been Chinese state-owned enterprises.

In what is China’s largest single overseas contract the CRCC has signed a deal with the Nigerian government valued at almost $12 billion for the development of a rail line along Nigeria’s coast. The railroad will span 870 miles, create up to 200,000 jobs during construction and another 30,000 fixed jobs, and generate demand for Chinese exports of equipment worth an estimated $4 billion.

Many believe that the line has enormous potential, as it will link Nigeria’s economic hub, Lagos, with the tourist destination, Calabar. If it is completed, that is. Chinese railway companies do not exactly have the best track record in Nigeria.

In the mid-1990s and 2000s, the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation won two railway rehabilitation contracts valued at around $8 billion for lines that it was never able to complete.

Currently, the National Assembly is faced with an amendment to the 1957 Railway Act, which would restructure the NRC and introduce competition into the rail sector. The Bill made it to a second reading in the Assembly, and has since been stalled, falling prey to a similar trajectory as previous rail sector reform efforts.

Critics point to the changes made in the Bill, claiming reform has been watered down to maintain the NRC’s power. While full privatization may not be possible for Nigeria due to politicization of the railways, the concession process can introduce competitive forces into the sector. The government’s current initiative to attract private operators to develop individual rail lines can be an effective way to modernize the sector.

However, success is dependent on a stable regulatory environment. In order to attract investors outside of China, Nigeria will need to find a way to update the current outdated framework, or offer investors enough incentive to offset the risk.


https://www.smartrailworld.com/nigerian-railway-modernization-presses-ahead-despite-challenges

NRC moves 3,200 tonnes of goods from Lagos ports in July
August 22, 2016

The Nigerian Railway Corporation moved 3,200 tonnes of goods out of Apapa ports by rail in its freight services in July, Jerry Oche, the Lagos District Manager, has said.
Oche told the News Agency of Nigeria on Sunday in Lagos that the rail freight services helped to remove about 160 trucks off the roads last month.
He said: “We just started rail freight services and we now move containers from Lagos to Kano with two train services a week and each train moves 500 tonnes.
“We are moving fertilizers from Lagos to Kaduna and from Lagos to Gombe with two trains a week and each train moves 600 tonnes.
“We also moved pipes from Lagos ENL Port Terminal to Zaria, with two trains a week and each train moves 600 tonnes.”
According to Oche, each train has 20 wagons and each wagon moves 30 tonnes of goods, while most trucks could only move 20 tonnes.
He said: “If a haulage firm wants to move 1,200 tonnes of goods, it will need about 60 trucks, which may affect operations and logistics at the port.
“Whereas only two trains will be needed to move them, thus preventing road accidents and making our roads last longer.”
Oche said many haulage firms had started making enquiries about the corporation’s freight services on the movement of their heavy goods.
He said: “A lot of people and companies want to be convinced that we can do it, move their goods up to different parts of the country.
“Some even assumed that railway is dead but we’re slowly but steadily coming back.”
Oche said the rail freight services was helping to decongest the ports.
He said the corporation had also partnered with haulage firms on the movement of heavy goods from Lagos to different parts of the country.
Oche said the rehabilitation of tracks linking coastal tank farms was underway to allow optimal use of pressurised tank wagons for lifting of petroleum products by rail.

http://theeagleonline.com.ng/nrc-moves-3200-tonnes-of-goods-from-lagos-ports-in-july/

Image123:
Up Amaechi.

anonimi:
For the reduction in freight hauled by the railways from 500,000 tonnes in 2013 to less than 50,000 in 2016?
Do you have a comprehension problem like the illiterate barawo bubu

Image123:
Duh, you reported it as a increase, read well. a tremendous growth from previous months, 100% increase. If you are thinking rail transport is worse now than in the incompetent GEJ years, you must be taking some horse shit forbidden igbo.