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Transport Sector

posted on Friday, February 08, 2008 02:12 PM

All yaradua needs to do is to privatise our roads and then build better railway systems.

Privatisation is born as a result of government’s failure to provide certain infrastructural facilities, when i talk about privatisation people say it is expensive, expensive in comparison to what? Expensive compared to the thousands of human lives that are constantly lost on road accidents annually?

Well, i strongly believe that sequel to the wastage seen in the transport sector with emphasis on roads, our roads should be privatised, let the construction and maintenance of our roads be given to private companies to handle under the supervision of government agencies, this is so that we would avoid the high rate of road dilapidation that is currently causing deaths and loss of properties.

The role of President Yaradua is to lobby his senators in other to effect this privatisation excersice. Past and present administrations in Nigeria have failed to provide Nigerians with good roads and then the only solution to it is to ensure private ownership of our roads, this would cause people to pay toll fee for the maintenance of the roads, not only that, when accidents occur on the roads it would be easier for victims and their families to find out if the accidents was caused by the road and then sue for compensation from the company incharge of the road maintenance.

For the avoidance of hoodlums and touts (otherwise known as area boys), the need for automated payment of toll fees should be introduced in our roads, this would help people plan their income and expenditure appropriately, a minimum of N10 – N20 can be charged per pass. So all road users can use their ATM cards or a special e-transportation payment card to access roads. With this, pot-holes would not be on our roads, street lightening would be provided everywhere and wastes would not be scattered everywhere.

A successful government must have a good local government, let there has to be legislations for regulating the number of people buses and cabs can carry. The local government council should be incharge of enforcing this law, because congestion sometimes causes accidents in our roads. In lagos state for instance, buses that are made to carry 4 people per seat are used in carry 5 people and thesame is seen with cab drivers and even motor bikes.

There should be a little bit of decency in the transport sector so that it would be attractive for the learned to engage in it. Becuase the transport sector is mostly manned by illiterates and hooligans it becomes less attractive for any right thinking child to say that he or she would want to become a driver or co-driver when he grows up.

Secondly, the psychological fitness of our drivers should be tested, most drivers driving millions of Nigerians in Lagos state to their offices on a daily basis are psychologically imbalance, therefore at the council or local government level there should be phychological test centre were drivers can be certified fit before driving people to their graves.

I believe that with this sector, a lot can be put in place in Nigeria, with good road networks good would be accessible in the hinterland and delivered to the urban areas fresh and affordable.

Mbasekei Martin Obono

martobono@gmail.com

www.yaccfin.org

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