Nathaniel Jonah
16 November 2009
Abuja — When in 2007, the then minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai announced that his administration intended to lessen commuters' pain in the capital city, by constructing a light rail transport system, which would not only lengthen the life span of roads, by ensuring that fewer vehicles ply the roads, but also improving the socio economic activities of residents of the city through an enhanced means of transporting goods and services, not a few Nigerians took him seriously.
But two years after el-Rufai's speech, little or nothing has been heard about the proposed light rail system apart from the promises which were recently reeled out by the FCT minister, Senator Adamu Aliero, that the much talked about rail system would be functional in the year 2013. According to the minister, the $840 billion contract awarded in 2007, with mobilization given to the contractors in February 2009, will be completed in 2013. The light rail which has three LOTS is expected to have a main metro station around the national stadium ,while other sub stations would be in Kubwa and Gwagwalada.
But when Daily Trust sought the views of many residents on the proposed rail system, many expressed fears and skepticism about the feasibility of the project. For instance, Bello Abdul, a computer programmer who lives in Kubwa, expressed reservations about the ability of the present administration to execute the project. According to him, "the Abuja light rail issue has been on for some time now, and we have not heard anything new. Infact, when el-Rufai initially spoke about the project, some of us actually did not take him seriously, because that will not be the first promise the government will make and fail to deliver. The power project is there, and Nigerians were promised Heaven and earth that electricity problems would be a thing of the past. But today, our people are still buying generators on a daily basis. So personally, I don't take the minister seriously on the light rail project, because of the past failed promises."
Ibrahim Tahir, another resident who spoke to this medium, however expressed optimism about the rail project. In his view "I am very excited about the entire idea, because it will, go a long way in making life more comfortable for Nigerians ,especially those who live in the FCT. For instance, it would decongest the roads, especially the Kubwa road. One will no longer have to wait endlessly in the traffic before you get to your destination."
But Fidelis Oleka, a civil servant at the national identity management commission, is more concerned about maintenance issues. According to him, "look, it is not the construction of rail transport that matters, but what happens after they have constructed them and the foreign engineers have gone?' he asked rhetorically. Speaking further he said, "In Nigeria, our problem has always been lack of a maintenance culture. Look at some of the projects which the government has embarked upon in the past, and you will feel sorry for this country. Look at the Abuja London taxis and what is happening to them. When they first brought the idea, we were all happy that things are beginning to work, but two years after they brought in the taxis, almost all of them have been grounded because of maintenance issues. There are many questions than answers on this issue of Abuja rail system. For instance, do we have mechanics and engineers in place to service the technology? Or will we continue to import technicians from China to maintain the rail system?
Another resident, who simply gave his name as Mohammed described the proposed rail transport system, "as another way of siphoning government's money into private pockets. We are tired of hearing all these things. If the FCT administration wants us to take them seriously, they should do something urgent to the road networks in the city. The A.Y.A road construction has been going on for almost three years now, and it has not yet been completed. Still another contract was awarded for the ten lanes along the airport and Kubwa roads. All these projects should be completed or at least, let there be signs that the administration intends to complete them, before they start talking about rail system. Personally, I feel they are just putting the cart before the horse. The administration of Aliyu Modibbo promised to build boulevards and all that, only for him to realize that what he was talking about is not feasible. So the same thing applies to the proposed light rail project, the government should show signs of seriousness and commitment, and not just be making empty statements," he said.
While reacting, George Iloduba, an undergraduate of the University of Abuja expressed concern about people who would be displaced by the rail tracks .According to him, "while the project is laudable, the government should be careful to adequately compensate those whose villages and farmlands would be affected by this light rail system."
But in a manner akin to a direct response to Iloduba's concerns, the FCT minister explained that the sum of four hundred million naira has already been earmarked as compensation to those whose houses and farmlands would be demolished, to accommodate the light rail transport scheme. The minister also submitted that the Chinese contractors handling the projects have already undertaken to train Nigerian engineers on the maintenance of the rail system. According to him, the Contractor has assured the government that they would soon recruit more workers to beef up the 600 workers now on site, to fast track the completion of the job. He remarked that majority of the workers are Nigerians since the expatriates are expected to handover the maintenance of the project after the expiration of the maintenance grace period.
When this medium visited the Idu Industrial park factory of the Chinese civil engineering construction company, CCECC, rail tracks meant for the rails were seen being assembled by the Chinese engineers.
At a recent visit of the minister to the construction site, the Executive Director of the company, Jerk Lee, said the laying of tracks for the light rail would begin in October next year. He added that the company would manufacture other relevant components in Nigeria, rather than importing them from China.
Also allaying fears and speculations that the project would be starved of funds, Aliero said, "In actual sense money was first advanced to the contractor in February. I can assure Nigerians that the project would be sustained and it is not going to suffer any set back. Adequate provision has been made in the 2010 budget to ensure that it does not suffer any set back." Aliero reiterated that because of the priority attention the Federal Government has given to the Abuja rail development project, over N15 billion has been provided in both the national and FCT statutory 2009 budget.
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