By Lillian Okenwa
The London Underground celebrated its 160-year anniversary on 10 January 2023 making it the oldest underground network in the world. On January 10 1863, the Metropolitan Railway opened its new subterranean railway between Paddington and Farringdon, ushering in a new age of transport – the London Underground.
During the Word War II, underground stations were used as makeshift bomb shelters during the Nazi ‘Blitz’ bombing campaign on London in 1940 and 1941.
After the war, expansion continued and today the Tube handles close to five million passenger journeys a day. At peak periods, there are more than 543 trains zipping around the Capital. Also, the network has expanded to 11 lines and serves 272 stations, making it one of the busiest metro systems in the world.
The Nigerian Railway Corporation took off in 1898 when the first railroad in Nigeria was constructed by the British colonial government. On October 3, 1912, the Lagos Government Railway and the Baro-Kano Railway were merged, starting nationwide rail service under the name Government Department of Railways. Nigeria operates the narrow Cape gauge railway network which is mostly in poor condition due to lack of maintenance. And while other countries are making a haul through rail transport, Nigeria’s entire transport sector continues to suffer.
To shore up performance, the country’s first ever high-speed train service opened for service in March 2016. That is the double-track, standard gauge between Abuja and Kaduna that runs at 120Km and 150 Km an hour. The project was completed by the China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC). It was a very profitable venture.
Sadly, the ease and joy provided by the Kaduna -Abuja train was snuffed out on March 28th when over six hundred passengers on board Abuja – Kaduna train were attacked by terrorists; several abducted. Most of them spent over 180 days in captivity with millions of naira paid in cash as ransom.
Security experts at the time disclosed that despite several signs that the Abuja-Kaduna railway was susceptible to bandits’ attack and amid massive resources in loans and funds voted to revamp rail transportation across the country, the Federal Government failed to adequately protect passengers until the attack.
They contended that aside from terrorists blowing up the rail track with explosives, other recent incidents along the corridor were warnings that it was only a matter of time before passengers on the Abuja-Kaduna route were attacked again, but the government failed to do the needful to provide protection for communities.
The experts also noted that as more people avoided the Abuja-Kaduna expressway, which has been a haven for kidnappers, and opted to travel by air or on the train to and from Abuja, it became clear that the bandits, who are being starved of potential abductees will try to attack travellers using airport and train commuters, but no significant security measure was known to have been taken to ensure the safety of these travellers.
Amidst all the security concerns, the Abuja-Kaduna train services resumed operations on Monday 5 December 2022 after an eight-month suspension. Then Saturday, 7 January, 2023, a month and two days after the Abuja-Kaduna train service recommenced operations, terrorists struck again. No fewer than 31 passengers and staff of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) were reportedly abducted by gunmen at the Igueben train sub-station in Edo State, with several injured. The state police command, in a statement said the kidnappers were herdsmen armed with AK-47 riffles.
Like many other public affairs analysts, Ambrose Igboke, Public Affairs Analyst, PR Consultant and Chairman Enugu State Chapter of the Guild of Public Affairs Analysts of Nigeria insists that the federal government did nothing to prevent train attacks. Speaking on the EDO Train attack on ARISE TV on 10 January, 2023, Igboke observed that the abduction of passengers and attack on the Edo train station is coming less than a year from the Abuja-Kaduna train incident.
According to him, “This is because there were no safety or security measures put in place. I had recommended the use of CCTV cameras in the train stations as well as the use of drones for security surveillance. I also advocated for the use of local youth for vigilante along the rail tracks. Nothing was done.
“Another tragedy has occurred, the government will express shock as usual and read from a ready speech template. The Government will warn the terrorists as usual or even turn religious to say that God gives life. The Shame of a Nation!”
