Power and Transport

It is 8am in the megacity and already the morning traffic indicates the prominant position of Lagos state in Nigeria's commercial equation. Sedans, SUVs, trucks, large busses popularly called BRT, motor cycles and pedestrians inch their way from Festac towards Ikeja and Lagos Island. Each driver delicately manoeuvers the drive and break pedal as the large vehicular and human traffic become one. Some times a driver would smile and give the thumbs up when he sees there is no other option than to let the other vehicle or motorcycle edge along. This forced acceptance of no where else to go between motorists is similar to the forced realisation by the ruling elite that they must give way to practical solutions to national problems.

The governor of Rivers State which experiences traffic problems of its own is now leading this chorus and governor Amaechi is right on the money. We are tired of well endowed government parastatals like the Niger-Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and the BRACED Commission made up of representatives from Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Edo and Delta States of Nigeria (known as BRACED States) embarking on low impact, unsustainable projects at exorbitant sums of money. Indeed the era of celebrating the building of "6 classroom blocks and 1 to 3 kilometers of roads" by NDDC, BRACED, NGOs, INGOs should end. Africa and its institutions must aim to accomplish bigger and better things. Infrastructure both human and material should be the driving force of nascent decisions. Governments should look in to the provision of affordable and sustainable power supply. Transportation hubs driven by high speed rail, road and light rail transportation links should be the new priority.

Then in this enabling environment, we the people, will do the rest.

This is a response to the article below:

Amaechi: How to Develop N’Delta, Articles | THISDAY LIVE

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