Nigeria: Fuel shortages, stark realities and present challenges (2)

Today, in Nigeria, the ambition of every young man or woman is to be a car owner. This is a legitimate desire though, as a result of poor development of reliable mass public transportation. The rail system in Nigeria which was developed by the colonial masters mainly for the evacuation of agricultural produce and minerals in the 20s has received unimaginable and scandalous neglect by successive Nigerian governments since independence in 1960. Same goes for the waterways and the airways in which basic and necessary facilities are poorly developed, rendering them ineffective for mass commuting from location to location.
As a result, virtually all movements have to rely on land vehicles plying ill-developed roads.

There are obvious challenges if we must embrace the culture of care for the average Nigerian who suffers unquantifiable losses as a result of fuel shortages or for the Nigerian who cannot afford to buy his or her own personal vehicle and pay for roadside fuel at whatever cost. Tackling these challenges headlong will contribute towards reducing the vehicular pressure on fuel consumption. We must therefore begin to focus on those factors responsible for both seasonal and impromptu petroleum products shortages. We must again begin to remind ourselves of the current global trend in sourcing for alternative sources of energy, especially renewable energy sources such as biomass, solar and hydraulic, wherever we find them available and applicable.

Above all, government must ensure that mass transportation is given priority attention in the transport ministry by way of resuscitating and modernizing the rail system, nation-wide. When all these measures are put in place, mass movement of people, products and goods will become more effective and efficient, and at the same time discourage individuals from relying on personal transportation efforts.

Vanguard