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By Tobs Unoka
The transport sector in Nigeria is gradually witnessing a renaissance as President Bola Ahmed Tinubu addresses its challenges headlong. The issue of mobility is at the core of every economy. People need to move about in order to achieve economic goals. With the total deregulation of the downstream sector of Nigeria’s economy, it became necessary to reinvent the road transport system since more Nigerians ply on the road. The roads need to be in order and transportation has to be affordable. This made the administration to embark on massive road rehabilitation mission across the nation. The aim is to complete all ongoing road projects so as to grant travelers some relief.
As determined as the administration is in completing all ongoing road projects, it did not lose sight of initiating ambitious ones that would further expand the road transport infrastructure. Thus, the Lagos-Calabar coastal road project spanning across many states is one super highway that would re-define road transport infrastructure. Then, there is the colossal Badagry-Sokoto super highway that is reinforcing the revolution in the road sector. These projects seem almost unachievable at the surface level. But the administration has demonstrated a high level of commitment in making these a projects a reality. These road projects are innovative and economically strategic. No nation has ever made progress by thinking small or doing the same things over and over. Great economies are built on the strength of ambition, creativity and planning. Thankfully, the Tinubu administration is not short of these three cardinal approaches to economic rejuvenation. This is a testament of an administration that came prepared.
Besides massive road construction and expansion, the Tinubu government is making effort at crashing bus fares across the nation. This is one veritable way of improving the standard of living in the country. It will also heavily impact on the prices of goods across the country. Only recently, the administration launched about thirty hybrid Compressed Natural Gas buses to ply the city of Abuja. These buses are a foretaste of what is to come shortly. The CNG buses will effectively crash transport fares across the country and give the people a huge relief. They will also diversify the economy as there will not be over-dependence on the premium motor spirit, which has for decades defined economic direction in the country. It does not speak well of any country when one product dictates the bearing of its economy.
Indeed, when there is less pressure on the consumption of the premium motor spirit, the country could be spared of some economic and psychological tension. The rate of smuggling can be reduced to the barest minimum and corruption in the sector can be circumvented. There will also be relative stability in the exchange rate of the nation. It is also a thing of relief that when the CNG buses are fully operational, the environment would be spared of incessant pollution and degradation usually caused by the use of fossil fuel.
The president has already announced that hundreds of thousands of CNG kits are under way to be made available to transporters just as conversion centres have been opened across the nation. The kits would be distributed at no cost to the transporters. This is a test of leadership. While this is ongoing, CNG buses would be massively produced for the use of the nation. Already, a frontline car manufacturer, Innocent Chukwuma, Managing Director of Innoson Motors, is at the forefront of the mandate to flood the market with CNG buses. It is interesting that some state governors have placed orders for these buses for mass transit services in their domain. In the interim, Lagos and Niger, among others have placed orders for hundreds of CNG buses for their citizens. This is unprecedented in a nation known for unusual dependence on fuel. It can only take a leadership that is bold, courageous and innovative to make this dream a reality. The entire value chain in the production and distribution of CNG buses will further stimulate the economy while creating more jobs. One can say that the road transport sector is looking up. Time will vindicate the Tinubu administration.
The compressed natural gas is far cheaper that petrol. In fact, it is the new normal! It is expected that in less than a year from now, this revolution in the transport sector would take proper shape. There will be private sector investment in the production and distribution of hybrid CNG cars to bring relief to families in the country. The president has repeatedly stated that the transport sector is dear to his administration and he would leave no stone unturned in revamping it for the good of Nigerians. If the president could do this in one year of his administration, then there is hope for Nigerians. It is indeed a season of renewed hope for low and middle income earners in the country.
Now, if an administration of one year could go this far in the transport sector alone, then the government deserves some level of patience from Nigerians. One cannot make an egg omelet without breaking an egg. What appears like hardship today may be a necessary price which would sooner than later give way to a season of prosperity. Nigeria is on the move again. This is why any protest now may not be ideal. There is basically nothing wrong in a people protesting certain systemic inadequacies and making their voices heard. But there is everything wrong when the motive behind the protest is to cause anarchy and chaos or to discredit a young administration.
The recent national protest, as observed, was quite needless in the light of its mismanagement. The authorities permitted it because they observed it was within the rights of the citizenry. But it was observed that rather than concentrate on the protest, some misguided protesters waved the Russian flag and called for a regime change. It was even most unfortunate that in the ensuing faceoff with security forces, some citizens lost their lives. No Nigerian deserves to die extra judicially. According to the second generation Nigerian poet, Professor NiyiOsundare, Nigeria is ours to plough and not to plunder. There is no reason why any citizen should take actions inimical to the growth and development of the country. Beyond protests, there are other ways of engaging the government with the aim of ensuring better governance for the country. In the end, the vision of the young administration is to place every Nigerian on the path of hope and prosperity. This is the mission of Bola Tinubu. And this is the desire of every Nigerian!
