Transportation is the gateway to the Nigerian economy. An efficient national transportation system allows businesses to lower transportation costs, which in turn lowers production costs and costs to consumers.This allows businesses to be competitive in the global marketplace and ensures economic prosperity and efficiency.
Nigeria’s national transportation system binds and unify the country together and without the unifying force of transportation we would be a mere alliance of many separate ethnic groups and zones.
The three main responsibilities of government is providing security, preserving justice, erecting and maintaining public works to facilitate businesses. Our founding fathers understood the importance of government in carrying out these fundamental responsibilities and they ensured the smooth running of the affairs of the country from time past
This helped remedied the challenges within the system to establish ports, airports, railway tracks, pipelines and roads in order to regulate commerce and businesses across the nation.This was responsible in laying the foundation and groundwork for connecting all the regions and states within the entire nation.
Trade and travel are recognized globally as critical and strategic ways of optimizing an efficient and robust economy in the life of any serious nation. This has necessitated the call for all arms of governments to synergize and work together for the betterment of the economy of our nation.
The determination of the President Buhari administration through the Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi in improving, developing, maintaining and supporting the vital transportation infrastructures that connects Nigerian consumers is worth mentioning and deserves commendation especially because of the new different rail connectivity across the nation which cut across from the North to the West, the East and to the Southern part of Nigeria.
The call for the National Assembly and State Houses of Assemblies to support the government initiatives will also go a long way in fast tracking development within the transportation sector and the economy at large. This will encourage the executive to invest more within the transportation sector and will bring about a better connectivity within the transportation space of our nation and also support the needs of the Nigerian people and its economy.
The House Committee on Transportation in the senate and house of representatives should as a matter of urgency liaise and organize a legislative stakeholders meeting with all the state houses of Assembly strategically in attendance to reposition, promote and support the new government efforts in ensuring modern global standards across all our transport national structures as obtained in first world economies around the world for us to take our rightful position in Africa and the World. This will also promote a better transportation system across our nation’s port, waterways, railways, road, airports and pipeline.
Improving a better transportation management systems will definitely create an optimal economic,business and national security systems which are the fundamentals of improving infrastructures in any nation and will also bring development closer to the citizens of our nation.
The provision of better infrastructures that supports our transportation, railways and maritime transportation systems are very important to a healthy national economy and the contributions of this infrastructures has the potential of creating more employment opportunities, better quality of life for our people and improvement of our economy. The Contribution of the Transport sector to Nigeria’s GDP increased to 288637 NGN Millions in the first quater of 2019 from 277338.67 NGN Millions in the fourth quarter of 2018 as a result of the good job and efforts of the current administration.
Our inland waterways and seaports link our nation directly to the global economy and they are critical components in our transportation network, but this system will only be as effective as the quality of the infrastructure if we are determined and it will remain competitive only if we can get our goods to market through efficient transportation systems and better infrastructural facilities.
Ensuring a sound infrastructural network will need all hands on deck which is a collective responsibility by all and I believe strongly with abetter legislation systems in place and stronger commitment by the Federal Government we can maximize the economic opportunities within the transportation sector and make it more efficient.
And so the need work together in ensuring a better relationship between the legislators and executives will go a long way in promoting prosperity, progress and greater success in our nations transportation systems. This will build and promote the best for our nations transportation network and will promote competition, prosperity and economic growth for our nations transportation sector.
Festus Okotie
