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By Fidelis Ugbomeh
It started amid speculations within railway community that the then Acting Managing Director, Nigerian Railway Corporation, Mr. Ben Iloanusi would be made substantive but in aftermath Dr. Kayode Opeifa was appointed helmsman by the Presidency in January 2025.
Opeifa immediately swung into action and held a maiden meeting with management and Union Leaders at the Corporation’s headquarters in Lagos.
The meeting led to suspension of strike earlier planned by Nigerian Union Of Railway Workers and it’s Senior Staff Association counterpart to herald the appointment.
Opeifa later undertook tour of some districts of the corporation including Lagos, Ibadan, Zaria, Abuja-Kaduna, Warri-Itakpe to mention but a few.
During the tours he promised to give workers welfare the priority it deserves, including:prompt payment and review upward of salary structure of workers as approved, restoration of Lagos-Kano passenger and goods train service, structured movement of containers from A.P.M.T to Ibadan via standard gauge railway line and renovation of Iddo terminus.
The NRC boss played host to state government representatives, leaderships of South -East Development Commission, South-West Development Commission, leadership of Legacy museum, Rotary Club of Agege, Nigerian Society of Engineers and representatives of select tertiary institutions all in a bid to forge partnerships.
During separate visits by leaderships of South-East and South-West Development Commissions, the relevance of developing railway infrastructure topped their agenda.
While the South- East Development Commission pledged to restore train service in the region, it’s South-West counterpart spoke about plans to link all South-West States by rail and restore suspended rail service from Idogo in the hinterland of Ogun State to Lagos.
The Nigerian Railway Corporation introduced during the period under review introduced “rail-in-states initiative”. (last year) and Lagos state was given track access to utilise the standard gauge rail corridor to officially commence operation of the “red line” mass transit passenger train service in the month of June from Oyingbo to Agbado in Ogun and back.
Opeifa said Plateau State government took advantage of the “rail-in-states initiative” to commence train operation from Jos to Kuru while discussions are underway with Niger and Kaduna state governments for introduction of inter-srate mass transit train services between both states with stopovers in communities along the corridor.
The partnerships with states according to him is expected to boost economic activities and reduce cost moving agricultural goods and passengers from hinterland to the state capitals.
The year under review saw vandalisation, accidents and suspension of train services dominating the standard gauge rail narrative.
The culprits arrested for vandalisation were not mysterious as it was done with active connivance of some workers and collaborators.
On August 26, 2925, a train incident, damaged Diesel Multiple Unit rolling stocks along Abuja-Kaduna railway corridor some of which derailed and were later rerailed through efforts of railway engineers.
The incident caused suspension of passenger train service reputed for running four times daily from Abuja to Kaduna and back.
On resumption, NRC in a statement clarified that the reduction in service frequency to one was not as a result of neglect or indifference, but the direct outcome of two major setbacks; the terrorist attack of March 28, 2022, and the recent incident
In the aftermath NRC said refurbishment are ongoing with urgency, alongside arrangements for deployment of additional coaches to restore normal frequency as soon as possible but till date normal frequency has not been restored.
Suspension of train service were seperately recorded at intervals along Warri-Itakpe standard gauge and Aba-Port-Harcout narrow gauge railway corridors due to derailment caused by act of vandalism.
In month of November, a Federal high court, Ikoyi, presided over by Hon. Justice A. I. Kala, sentenced two arrested rail track vandals, Mudansuru Mutari and Blorie Kokori, to two years imprisonment each for tampering with critical components of the Warri–Itakpe rail track.
The convicts, who were earlier apprehended around Kilometer 208 before Abraka, Delta State, and subsequently paraded by the Railway Police Command, Lagos, were prosecuted on charges bordering on vandalism and economic sabotage.
In a seperate development, 33Kv electricity supply line feeding Rigasa railway station and adjoining railway village in Kaduna State was vandalised
The vandals struck again barely 60 days after the line was restored, carting away critical components and plunging the entire area back into darkness after two years of a previous blackout.
In the Lagos-Ibadan corridor, a vandal was apprehended for stealing 360 bolts and nuts at Agege area of Lagos and has since been prosecuted.
The sector did not collapse but it stopped pretending that shady business as usual was not sustainable.
Stakeholder perspective
In his own perspective, president of Legacy museum, Mr.Taiye Olaniyi said that
Dr. Kayode Opeifa has a worthwhile vision as Nigerians are now more sensitised and concerned too about the progress reports and challenges in rail transportation.
He however decried incessant disruption of train services and attendant pockets of derailment here and there.
“Are Nigerians fully and truly guaranteed of their safety on train rides?” he asked
According to him, “Are there saboteurs within and without in the area of vandalisation of rail lines and other facilities used in rail transportation”.
Olaniyi averred that “Infrastructural development and training is not only capital intensive but also carried some elements of geophysical influences both within and outside foreign policy orientations”.
He therefore called on government and management of NRC to synchronise visions, aspirations and perspiration therein with the resilience to survive the storm that is daily ranging.
