University of Nigeria

Research Publications

UJAM, Ujam . H .

Aut

hor

PG/MA/93/14588

Title

The Eastern Nigerian Railway: The Years of Decline, 1967 – 1990.

Facu

lty

Art

Dep

art

men

t History

Dat

e

August, 1997

Sign

atur

e

T H E E A S T E R N N I G E R I A N RAILIWAY: T H E

Y E A R S O F D E C L I N E , 1967-1990

A P R O J E T R E P O R T P R E S E N T E D T O T H E DEPARTMENT O F H I S T O R Y

U N I V E R S I T Y O F N I G E R I A , NSUKKA I N P A R T I A L F U L F I L M E N T O F THE

REQUIREMENTS F O R TIiG D E G R E E O F MASTER O F ARTS

< 8

r

UJAM H. B.A. Hons. ( U N N ) ,

9 \&& U JAM L--'

~/~~/93/14588 pf .;;+MFHE

THE EASTERN NIGERIAN RAILWAYz THE YEARS OF DECLINE, 1967-1990

CERTIFICATION

U j a m H. Ujam, a Post-graduate student in the Department of

History and with Registration Number I%JM~/93/14588, h a s satisfactorily

completed the requirements for course and reaearch work for the degree

of Master of Arts in History. The work embodied in this Project

Report is original and has not been submitted in part or in full

for any other diploma or degree of this or any other Univereity.

I I .

Dr. ~o.N. Njoku, S~IPERVISOR

ABSTRACT

This work is a case s t u d y of the Problems of t h e Eas t e rn rail-

way, a s e c t i o n of the Nigerian ra i lway, which included poor mamgemcnt,

inadequate fundina, s t a f f r a t i o n a l i z a t i o n , challenge from roads , and

embezzlement of fund. The s tudy proffera suggestions for so lv ing

t h e problems.

Although t h e ra

t h a t year marked t h e 1

This was due t o many 1

put o f coa l and chal lc

t h e dec l ine c a l l e d fox

salvage the industry.

per iod 1979-1982, thou

With t h e e x i t of the 6

causes of t h e dec l ine

staff r a t i o n a l i z a t i o n

had shown signs of d e c l i n e be fo re 1967,

l i n g of its gradual decline i n performance.

lar fur

of RRI

APPROVAL PAGE

THE EAST1 YEARS

T h i s prof ect report

of History, University of

Dr. C('{N. Njoku, SUE$RVISOR

DEDICATION

To businessmen i n Eastern Nigeria whose

commercial enterprise has been hindered

by the decline i n railway transportation.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

T i t l e Page . . e e r t i f i c a t ion .+.

Approval Page ... Abstract .- . Dedication .+.

... Table o f Con t en t s

L i s t o f Maps and Tables

L i s t o f Abbreviations

Preface ...

CHAFTER ONE:

INTRODUCTION

Statement o f Problem ... Purpose and S igni f icance of the Study

... Literature Review . a

Scope and Methodology . . -

CHAPTER TWO:

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE EASTERN RAILWAY 0 . . . a -

Establishment of the Railway ... Construction o f t h e Railway and Labour Recruitment . .. Economic and S o c i a l Impact ...

CHAPTER THREE:

v i i i

0 . . I

I.. 4

6 . . 7

... 8

w . . 12

THE FOUNDATIONS OF DECLINE, 1967-7979

PAGE -

The Nigerian C i v i l War and Its Effect on the Eastern Railway ... L o w Output of Coal and Lass of Major Customers of t h e Eastern Rdlway

THE YEARS OF RAPID DECLINE 1985-1990

The E x i t of the RITES of India ... Staff Rationalisation and Irregular Funding ... ... Poor Management ...

CHAFTER FIVE:

SUGGESTIONS AND SOLUTIONS AT REVIVING THE RAILWAY r o ..a

BIBLIOGRAPHY o o

v i i i

LIST OF MAP & TABLE

PAGE -

MAP: - I Nap Showing Roada and Railway in

Eastern Nieeria ... ...

TABLE:

S t a t i s t i c s on Volume of Coal Production, 1916 t o 1985 . . . ... . ..

x i i

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

E.C.N. - ~ l e c t r i c i t y Corporation of Nigeria

H.S.N. - Historical Society of Nigeria

N .A.E. - National Archives, Enugu

NAFCON - National Fert i l i zer Company of Nigeria

N.C.C. - Nigerian coal Corporation

N.R.C. - Nigerian Railway Corporation

T.C.P.C. - Technical Committee on Privat isat ion and Commercialisation

U;N.N. - University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

PREFACE

This work is a case s tudy o f the Eas t e rn rai lway. It examines

the problems of the ra i lway w i t h a view t o f i n d i n g a s o l u t i o n t o t h e

p ro t r ac t ed problems o f t h e Nigerian Railway Corporation. The work is

d i v i d e d i n t o f i v e chapters . Chapter one h i g h l i g h t s t h e purpose and

scope of the s tudy and t h e problems o f t he Eas te rn railway i ndus t ry .

Chapter two focuses on t h e h i s t o r i c a l background of the industry.

The cons t ruc t ion of t h e 11inr a n A i t n r r n n n m i c and nn+.inl i m n m c t

on the people of Eas te rn N

In Chapter t h r e e , t h

t r a n s p o r t is examined. Th

c i v i l w a r , low product ion

on t h e Eas te rn railway.

Chapter four d e a l s w

of t h e e x i t o f RITES, staf:

railway i n d u s t r y w i l l form

Chapter f i v e w i l l p r o f f e r sugges t ions and ~ a l u t i o n s which could

r e s u s c i t a t e t he Eastern railway i n p a r t i c u l a r and t h e Nigerian Railway

Corporation i n general ,

The product ion o f this p r o j e c t depended on t h e

sugges t ions and support of people who I must express

I a m s i n c e r e l y g r a t e f u l to my Supe rv i so r , Dr . O.N. Njaku who

has pa ins t ak ing ly handled my work; t he Head of Department, D r . J.O.

Ijoma, f o r h i s u s e f u l suggestioxm dur ing our course work, Rev. Dr.

I.R.A. Ozigbo, who h a s immensely cctutributed to my academic c a r e e r

aud o t u e r l e c t u r e r s whose c o n t r i b u t i o n s have seen me through t h e M.A.

programme.

Many thanks a l s o go t o C r d e f U. Esse o f t h e Nat iona l Archives,

Ehugu, whose a s s i s t a n c e w a s immeasuraole and nis a t a f f , who without

complaint, respor~ded t o my f requent c a l l s . My g r a t i t u d e goea t o

Okoye, Lawrence and Paul Obiani f o r t h e i r u s e f u l advice.

F i n a l l y , a l l my post-graduate class-mates whose c r i t i c i s m s aud

suggestions have been of good help a r e remembered - t o them I remain

g r a t e f u l .

EASTERN STATES OF NIGERIA: ROADS AND RAILWAYS

I

Figure I:

MAP SHOWING ROADS AND RAILWAY IN EASTERN NIGERIA

CIIAITER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Much has been w r i t t e n on t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f t h e E a s t e r n ra i l -

way and its economic importance t o t h e E a s t e r n Region, e s p e c i a l l y d u r i n g

t h e c o l o n i a l pe r iod . Not much concern h a s bcen shown by economic

h i s t o r i a n s on t h e d e ~ e n e r a t i n c s t a t e o f t h e r a i l w a y which some c r i t i c s

have d e s c r i b e d as a p a t i e n t i n a c r i t i c a l c o n d i t i o n . Th

work c o n c e n t r a t e s on t h e d e c l i n i n g y e a r s o f t h e E a s t e r n I

beg inn ing from 1967 t o 7990.

From l 9 O O s e v e r a l schemes were advanced f o r t h e cor

a r a i l w a y i n E a s t e r n Niger ia . The d i s c o v e r y of c o a l a t E

e n c o u r a ~ e d t h e c o l o n i a l government t o i n v e s t i g a t e t h e pos

a n E a s t e r n r a i l l i n e . 2 The c o s t o f t r a n s p o r t i n g c o a l f r o

Lagos and o t h e r impor tan t a r e a s i n N i ~ e r i a had been exorb

c o l o n i a l government which wanted t o e x p l o i t N i g e r i a ' s min

. a p r i c u l t u r a l r e s o u r c e s a t t h e cheapes t p o s s i b l e c o s t . Th

a p o r t i n E a s t e r n N i g e r i a which would a c t as a ' c l e a r i n g

t o t h e d i s c o v e r y o f a n a t u r a l ha rbour a t Diobu i n Bonny.

was l a t e r b u i l t a t t h e harbour .

ailw way, a s a l a n d t r a n s p o r t sy-tem w i t h t h e h i g h e s t carriage

c a p a c i t y and low fare c h a r g e , was o f g r e a t importance t o t h e I m p e r i a l

Government which needed i t t o f a c i l i t a t e a d m i n i s t r a t i v e , economic and

s o c i a l a c t i v i t i e s . The build in^ o f r a i l w a y i n N i g e r i a was n o t a n

e a s y t a s k f o r t h e c o l o n i a l government. The l o a n r a i s e d on t h e London

Money Harket helped i n t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f t h e N i g e r i a n railway which

gulped $6.6 m i l l i o n i n 7914, $75 m i l l i o n i n 1925 and £23.4 m i l l i o n i n

1938.' Railway t r a n s p o r t f a c i l i t a t e d communication among t h e

B r i t i s h a d m i n i s t r a t o r s , m i s s i o n a r i e s and European businessmen.

The P u b l i c Land A c q u i s i t i o n Ordinance of 1903 and 1905 empowered

t h e c o l o n i a l q o v e r n m ~ n t t o n c q u i r e l a n d r e q u i r e d fo r r a i l w a y c o n s t r u c t i o n .

Compensat ions were p a i d to t h e -' ' 2 - " 1--3- ".-' ---I-- --

government s u r v e y o r s ' e v a l u a t i o n .

E a s t e r n r a i l w a y was r a i s e d by Var

a d m i n i s t r a t i o n . Feople who could

made t h e p r i n c i p a l v i c t i m s o f c o l

o f such l a b o u r e r s were pa id t h e i r

poor. T h e i r d a i l y s h u t t l e t o and

exper ience .

The c o n s t r u c t i o n of t h e Eas.

i n 1913 and reached E n u p i n 1916,

t o Enupu had been completed. I n '

t h u s l i n k i n p t h e E a s t e r n l i n e w i t !

The E a s t e r n r a i l w a y provided

!?astern Nigeria and he lped t o i n f l

c e n t r e s a t Aba, Urnunhia and P o r t I1

among t h e peop le , r e i n f o r c e d co lon

e x p l o i t a t i o n o f t h e minera l and a g r i c u l t u r d r e s o u r c e s o f Eh..;tern

Niger ia .

Railway t r a n s p o r t a t i o n , no doubt , he lped t o r e v o l u t i ~ n i s e economic

and social. a c t i v i t i e s i n most p a r t s of N i ~ e r i a . I n t h e c a s e o f E a s t e r n

N i r e r i a , t h c press e f f e c t of r a i l w a y t r a n s p o r t n t i o n was s i g n j f i c a n t

because those l i v i n g c l o s e t o t h e r a i l w a y s t a t i o n s h=d ~ n m a - b n h l -

change of l i f e . Many peop le were o f f e r e d employ

whi le t h o s e who l i v e d c l o s e t o t h e r a i l w a y s t a t i o n

r q p o r ~ t u n i t y o f encaging i n commercial a c t i v i t i e s .

.IC.U I b 1 1 1 ~ * 1 ncxulb

ment i n t h c r a i l w a y

s were g i v e n the

IE~wever, t h e economic and s o c i a l e f f e c t s o f

t i o n sys tem beem t o d e c l i n e few y e a r s a f t e r indepc

because i n t h e E a s t t h e sys tem faced i n t r a c t a b l e pi

t h e c i v i l war, t h e l o s s of major customers t o o t h e ~

s y s t e m s , s t a f f r a t i o n a l i s a t i o n , i r r e g u l a r funding E

The p r e c a r i o u s s t a t e o f t h e r a i l w a y t r a n s p o r t indus

u n t i l t h e l a t e 15380s when i t wi tnessed a r a p i d d e c l

maintenance c u l t u r e , managerial incompetence and i n

r a i l w a y t r a n s p o r t a -

~ n d e n c e p r i n c i p a l l y

roblems caused by

- t r a n s p o r t

ind poor management . 5

r t r y went unaba ted

. i n e due t o poor

a d e q u a t e funding.

By large problems A" - "- - 1 --- - 2 ' . --- --4. 2

mountable. I n o r d e r t o r e s u s c i t a

damages c r e a t e d by t h e problcms el

F i r s t , adequa te funris and mate r ia l

Government. second , c r e d i b l e man:

the governmrrlt should be i r i s t i tutcd.

STATEPENT Ok. TnE PROBLEM:

Tne Eas te rn rai lway, l i k e every o t h e r d i v i s i o n of t h e Nigerian

ra i lway faced numerous problems which were r e spons ib l e f o r t h e d e c l i n i n g

fo r tune of t he Nigerian Railway Corporation. The p e c u l i a r d i f f e r e n c e

i n t he problems o f t he Easter11 ra i lway and o t h e r d i v i s i o n s of t h e

Nigerian Railway is t h e e f f e c t of t he Nigerian c i v i l war. Eas t e rn

Niger ia was a war t n e a t r e dur ing the sk i rmish . The lvigerian Coal Corpora-

t i o n and tr~e !uirerian National 1;etrolcum Corpora t ion which were trte k e y

customers of the Waster,, r a i l way were c losed down.

T ~ P most impr t an t p r a b l ~ r n of t h e Eas t e rn ra i lway was poor

tnanagement. The rnanaeement of t L e ra i lway, l i k e o t h e r d i v i s i o n s of

t..e ~v ige r i an ra i lway, has had a long h i s t o r y of i t l t e r n a l c o n f l i c t and

s t r u ~ g l e f o r p o s i t i o n and inf luence . Tnis l e d t o impaired o p e r a t i o n a l

e f f i c i ency . I'oor management o f t h e indus t ry was p a r t i a l l y r e spons ib l e

f o r tile u::der-utilization of human and rrlaierial resources. F;rnpty

wagons a ~ d coaches were not always moved on time t o p o i n t s where they

were needed. Kor d i d the mnnapnent provide r e g u l a r and scheduled

s e r v i c e t o its numerous customers. This u n r e l i a b l e and unpred ic t ab le

na ture of t h e s e r v i c e s d ive r t ed s e v e r a l ra i lway customers t o road

t r anspor t even though i t was more expensive.

k!ajor road t r a n s p o r t e r s exp lo i t ed t h e oppor tun i ty provided by

bad management and lobbied undisc ip l ined o f f i c e r s of t h e r a i lway t o

d i v e r t customers t o road t ranspor t . This a c t helped t o reduce t h e

revenue base of t h e Eastern rai lway and o t h e r d i v i s i o n s where i t was

p rac t i sed . The railway had engaged in commercial ventures as a l t e rna -

t i v e means of r a i s i n g revenue, but most generated revenue disappeared

i n t o p r i v a t e pockets leaving l i t t l e or nothing f o r t h e Corporation.

Another se r ious problem of the railway was poor funding. The

Eastern railway, like other d i v i s i o n s o f t h e Nigerian railway, depended

on the Federal Government f o r funds. I n most cases funds w e r e e i t h e r

unavai lable o r inadequate. This s i t u a t i o n led t o non-payment of

s a l a r i e s and g r a t u i t i e s t o working and r e t i r e d s t a f f respect ively .

Tho inadequqte funds, among o the r th ings , l ed t o labour d isputes ,

s t r i k e s and unwillingness to serve.

The impact of the Nigerian c i v i l w a r on t h e Eastern rai lway was

devastat ing. About 600 employees of various skills w e r e l o s t and t h e

ra i lway was closed down.6 Besides, t h e Eastern rai lway ro l l ing s t o c k

was extensively depleted as a r e s u l t of t h e war. It took t h e Corpora-

t i o n years and a l o t of money t o put th ings i n order a t t h e end of the

war.

The obsole te t r ack system has been a major problem of the

Nigerian railway i n general and the Eastern railway i n p a r t i c u l a r .

T h e present r a i l l i n e f r o m Port Harcourt t o Makurdi was b u i l t

between 1913 and 1918, and i t was character ised by extens ive curves,

l i g h t weight r a i l s , weak bridges, s t e e p grades and obso le te signalling

system. The e f f i c i ency of t h e railway t r anspor t was hampered by t h e s e

problems . Another proble-n was t h a t generated by the exit of the RITES of

Ind ia i n 1902 and the s t a f f r a t i o n a l i s a t i o n e x e r c i s e which came i n t o

e f f e c t i n 1904, The e x i t o f t h e RITES of India crea ted a vacuum in

the Nigerian Railway Corporation genera l ly , The management could not

put th ings r i g h t years a f t e r t h e RITES had l e f t . This was partly

because the Corporation was s tarved o f r egu la r funds. The Management

t o o was not ab le t o continue from where t h e RITES stopped. The na t iona l i -

sat ion exerc i se which took p lace i n 1984, 1992 and 1993 disorganised

t h e industry. Many s k i l l e d workers and a r t i s a n s were l a i d off. T h i s

s i t u a t i o n d i d not go down w e l l with t h e labour i n t e n s i v e na tu re of

the railway. Things began t o f a l l apart as f e w workers were made t o

d o more jobs than were usual a t the same pay.

Other problems included t h e s e r i o u s de fec t s i n t h e Corpora t ion ' s

d i e s e l e w i n e s , heavy backlog o f r e p a i r and maintenance work, ex tens ive

d e t e n t i o n time a t stations, poor f a c i l i t i e s f o r passengers, sale of

rai lway properkies and unre l i ab le communication equipment.

The decl ine of t h e Eastern railway pwsed severe consequences on

both the Nigerian economy and socie ty . Goods were no t r e g u l a r l y

t r anspor ted by r a i l between 1985 and l99Os. The t r a n s p o r t a t i o n o f

goods by road made most g o d s expensive cont rary t o what they would

have been had they been transported by railway, which was cheap.

PURPOSE AND SIGNIFICARCE OF THE STUDY:

The purpose of the s t u d y i s to examine t h e s t a t e of t h e Eastern

d i v i s i o n of Nigerian Railway Corporation s i x e Nigerian c i v i l war and

understand why i t h a s been on the decl ine , The d i l a p i d a t i n g s t a t e o f

t h e Eastern railway i s a case study of t h e degenerating s t a t e of t h e

Nigerian Railway Corporation i n general.

Dilapidation was not pecu l i a r to the Eastern rai lway wi th in

our period of study. It cut-across a l l sec t ions of Nigerian railway.

The Eastern railway is however used a s a case study because it c o n t r o l s

one of t h e major revenue y ie ld ing sec t ions of t h e Nigerian railway.

I f t h e problems of the Eastern railway could be analysed and solved,

a so lu t ion t o t h e general ailment of the Nigerian rai lway could be

easily diagnosed. It is hoped t h a t t h e search f o r a c u r e o f the

problems of t h e Eastern railway would he lp i n solving t h e problems o f

Nigerian railway i n general.

The development of rai lway t ranspor t system i n Eastern Nigeria

where a poor network of roads has hampered t r anspor ta t ion of goods and

services i s a necessary endeavour t o be tackled by t h e government f o r

effective resource mobilization. The high c o s t o f road t r a n s p o r t which

has no a l t e r n a t i v e i n Eastern Nigeria has led to t h e i n c r e a s e i n t h e

p r i ces of ava i l ab le g w d s and services .

Improvement of t h e Eastern railway would h e l p reduce road

congest ion, accidents and s c a r c i t y o f goods and services . It would

also be more cost-effect ive i n the d i s t r i b u t i o n of goods and services.

Applicat ion of some of t h e so lu t ions t o be proffered i n t h i s research

would he lp minimise t h e problems of t h e Eastern railway and other

sect ions o f t h e Nigerian Railway Corporatian.

Many books, archival mater ia ls , magazines and newspapers on

t h e Nigerian railway w e r e consulted for t h i s research work. Most of

t h e mater ia ls consulted deal with t h e bul ld ing of t h e rai lway, i ts

development and impacts on t h e people and economy. A n Economic History

of Nigeria 1860-1960 by R.O. Ekundare is a re levant book on t h i s

research, espec ia l ly on the negot ia t ions by con t rac to r s f o r t h e

const ruct ion of Nigerian railways. This book i s of t h e view t h a t the

extension of t h e railway t o t h e Eastern Provinces and t o Enugu i n

p a r t i c u l a r helped t o reduce the c o s t of t r anspor t ing c o a l from Udi to

Lagos and o t h e r p a r t s o f t h e country.

Humphery Nwosu i n h i s book, Authority and t h e Nigerian C i v i l

Service, discusses the fac to r s t h a t led t o t h e d e c l i n e of Nigerian

railways. The b o k explains t h a t t h e Nigerian c i v i l war led to t h e

l o s s of over 6,000 employees of var ious s k i l l s i n Nigerian ra i lway

and the c losure of t h e Eastern branch. I n explaining t h e major problems

o f t h e r a i l w a y , Nwocu s t r e s s e s poor management, impact o f t h o c i v i l

war, o b s o l e t e t r a c k system and u n r e l i a b l e communication system.

I n Wal ter O f n n a ~ o r o ' s book, Trade and I m p e r i a l i s m i n S o u t h e r n

F l i r e r i a , t h e economic motive o f r a i l w a y c o n s t r u c t i o n , e s p e c i a l l y in

t h e E a s t e r n r e g i o n , is d i scussed . Ofonagoro, however, t r a c e s t h e

c o n s t r u c t i o n o f t h e E a s t e r n r a i l w a y t o 1902 when I t u was c o n s i d e r e d

a ~ o s s i b 1 . e F o r t . iIe is o f t h e view t h a t u n t i l 1908 t h e most f a v o u r e d

r a i l w a y scheme f o r I a s t e r n N i g e r i a was t h o p r o j e c t e d Calabar-Maiduguri

l i n e because i t was expected t o t a p t h e t r a d e of t h e Chud Eus in ,

French Sudan and Gerrnan Cameroons. The d i s c o v e r y o f c o a l i n en up;^,

he argues, a l t e r e d t h e e a r l i e r proposed r a i l l i n e . The book a l s o d i s -

c u s s e s t h e methods c o l o n i a l governments used i n a c q u i r i n g l a n d and

l a b o u r f o r t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f t h e E a s t e r n r a i l w a y .

A.R. A f i ~ b o i n h i s book, Ropes o f Sand e x p l a i n s t h e impor tance

of r a i l w a y t o t h e peop le o f E a s t e r n N i g e r i a . To him t h e r e c r u i t m e n t

o f l a b o u r i n t h e r a i l w ~ y o f f e r e d t h e o p p o r t u n i t y of i n j e c t i n g some

money i n t o I ~ b o s o c i e t y wi th t h e u s u a l r e c o ~ n i s e d b e n e f i t s - r i s e i n

t h e purchas ing power. According t o him, t h e r i s e o f commercial c e n t r e s

s!? around r a i l w a y s t a t i o n s &one of t h e o p p o r t u n i t i e s t h e r a i l w a y p r o v i d e d

t o t h e peop le of F a s t e r n Niger ia .

I n h i s book, t h e Economic Revolu t ion i n n r i t i o h Ves t Africa,

Allan k p h e e has a rgued t h a t rail t r a n s p o r t was e s s e n t i a l t o t r a d e ,

communication and a d m i n i s t r a t i o n . I n t h e c o l o n i a l p e r i o d , f o r i n s t a n c e ,

r a i l t r a n s p o r t helped i n t h e e x p o r t t r a d e i n t i n , c o a l , palm k e r n e l ,

palm o i l , cocoa and groundnuts he po in ted ou t . To him the b u i l d i n g

and development of r a i l x a y t r a n s p o r t were paramount i n t h e economic

t r a n s format ion of D r i t i s h G!est Afr ica . Railway t r a n s p o r t was essenm

t iaZ t o t r a d e , communication and a d m i n i s t r a t i o n a s Mcphee has a rgued ,

but ra i lway l i n e s which were cons t ruc ted from t h e s i t e of raw m a t e r i a l

t o the s e a by the c o l o n i a l i s t appear t o have added l i t t l e o r no th ing ,

i n contemporary Nigeria , t o t r a d e , communication and admin i s t r a t i on .

Except f o r l rnperial B r i t a i n , t h e ra i lway had no s i g n i f i c a n t p o s i t i v e

impact on the co lonis ed people.

Cllufemi Omosini i n h i s a r t i c l e uF3nckground t o Jlailway P o l i c y

i n Niger ia '1877-191)q" surveys t h e o r i g i n o f t h e r a i lway i n N ige r i a and

p o i n t s out t h a t ra i lways more than any o t h e r s u b j e c t f e a t u r e d promi-

n e n t l y i n t h e d i s cus s ions on t h e conso l ida t ion o f B r i t i s h admin i s t r a -

t i v e cont ro l . He emphasised t h a t a l thouph t h e c o l o n i a l i s t knew t h a t

ra i lway was ind ispensable t o t h e m a t e r i a l and s p i r i t u a l development

of West Af r i ca , the p o l i c y of developing t h e Nigerian h i n t e r l a n d

through ra i lway was b e l a t e d l y forced upon B r i t a i n by t h e commercial

imp l i ca t i ons o f European r i v a l r y .

I n t h e i r a r t i c l e , llRailways and 2 u r a l Development: The Niger ian

Ferspect ive", I1.M. bbubakar and A.S. Elikailu a r c a good sou rce o f

m a t e r i a l f o r t h i s research . They examincd t h e r o l e of r a i l w a y i n

s u s t a i n i n g r u r a l development i n Niger ia , I n t h e a r t i c l e t hey observed

t h a t m a j o r i t y o f Niger ian r u r a l d w e l l e r s h a r d l y b e n e f i t from the

s e r v i c e s o f f e r e d by r a i l w a y s because i t h a s n o t been improved beyond

what i t was i n t h e c o l o n i a l pe r iod .

The Dynamics o f Chance i n E a s t e r n N i ~ e r i a by Anthony Nwabughuogu

is o f v i t a l importance i n 4lc a r e a of r e c r u i t m e n t of l a b o u r f o r t h e

c o n s t r u c t i o n of t h e ra i lway . The economic and s o c i a l t r a p p i n e t h a t

came wi th t h e r a i l w a y a l s o form t h e major d i s c u s s i o n of t h e book.

The book c h n r a c t e r i s c s t h r e e types o f l a b o u r used i n t h e c o m t r u c t i o n

o f t h e F a s t e r n r a i l l i n e - p o l i t i c a l , c o n t r a c t , and c a s u a l .

G.K. K. Cfomata and T.C. Monanu's a r t i c l e "roads and Railwayu

enumerates t h e roads c o n s t r u c t e d i n E a s t e r n N i g e r i a between 1959 and

1374. The a u t h o r s a r g u e Chnt road which p r e v i o u s l y a c t e d as feeder

t o r a i l w a y wi tnessed e x t r a o r d i n a r y improvement i n t h e 19303 when

cheap and e f f i c i e n t l o r r y t r a n s p o r t was i n t r o d u c e d . By ?960s road

t r a n s p o r t was competinp f a v o u r a b l y with ra i lway .

E l i z a b e t h I s i c h e i i n h e r book A H i - n a r r a t e s how many Igbo l e f t t h e i r homes f o r t h e f i r s t t i m e when

c o n s c r i p t e d t o work on the ra i lways . Some l a b o u r e r s a c c o r d i n g t o

h e r d i e d on t h e r a i l w a y s , o t h e r s r e t u r n e d home r e p e l l e d by t h e condi-

t i o n s and i n d i g n i t i e s o f t h e l i f e . Others p e r s e v e r e d and fo l lowed

t h e r a i l w a y i n i t s p r o g r e s s t o t h e n o r t h . Althouph t h e book was

publ i shed i n 7077 n o t much was d i s c u s s e d on t h e r a i l w a y a f t e r indepen-

d ence.

Many o t h e r books l i k e Toyin F a l o l a ' s B r i t a i n and Niqeria:

E x p l o i t a t i o n or Developnent?, konomic His tory o f West A f r i c a by

A.G. Hopkin, Wale Oyemakinde's a r t i c l e "The Provident Fund on the

Niger ian Railway 1915-1943" and Y.B. Usman's a r t i c l e "Transport and

Communicationw were consul ted. However, most o f t h e in fo rma t ion on

t h e problems o f t h e rai lway were got from a r t i c l e s i n magazines, news-

papers and in te rv iews with competent i nd iv idua l s . Railway annual

r e p a r t s , t h e s e s and a r c h i v a l m a t e r i a l s a l s o formed part of t h e

m a t e r i a l s f o r t h e research. Not much of t h e problems of t h e r a i lway

and t h e f a c t o r s t h a t l e d t o t h e d e c l i n e of the Eas te rn r a i lway have

been discussed i n books. Thi s research is an at tempt a t investigating

t h e f a c t o r s t h a t led t o the d e c l i n e of t h e Eas te rn rail l i n e .

SCOPE AND MmHODOW:

This work covers t h e per iod from 1967 t o 1990. Niger ian c i v i l

war began i n 1967 and ended i n 1970. Its damage on t h e Eastern rai l -

way was long-last ing, Attempts made a t r e s u s c i t a t i n g the r a i lway

after t h e war were ephemeral.

The apprwnch to t h i s work is both chronologica l and themat ic ,

It combines d e s c r i p t i v e a n a l y s i s wi th t h e n a r r a t i v e of relevant data.

Relevant books, t he ses , a r c h i v a l m a t e r i a l s , newspapers, magazines

and j ou rna l s w e r e consul ted , The information ga thered from them formed

t h e background of the research. Ar t i c les i n newspapers and magazines

and journals supplied the major d a t a fo r t h e work. In terviews were a

v i t a l source of mater ia l e s s e n t i a l l y because only few a r t i c l e s have

been wr i t t en on the decl ine , and many vlews, observations and sugges-

t i o n s of those who had encounters with t h e railways were not reported.

S ince only few a r t i c l e s w e r e ava i l ab le on t h e dec l ine of t h e ra i lway

t r a n s p o r t , r e t i r e d and serving workers of t h e industry formed t h e care

o f my interview.

The work is divided i n t o f i v e chapters. The first chapCer is

a highl ight of t h e problems of t h e Eastern rai lway which c a l l for

concern. It a l s o s t a t e s t h e purpose of t h e study and t h e scope and

methodology.

The second chapter focuses on t h e h i s t o r i c a l background o f t h e

Eas tern railway. It t r e a t s the const ruct ion of t h e Eastern rai lway

and t h e economic and s o c i a l impact on t h e people o f Eas tern Nigeria.

Chapter t h r e e looks a t t h e years of gradual d e c l i n e of t h e rail-

way. It examines t h e e f f e c t of t h e Nigerian c i v i l war, low output of

coa l , competition from m a d s and obsole te t r ack system i n t h e perfor-

mance of t h e industry.

Chapter four examines t h e years of rapid decline. The impact

o f the e x i t of t h e RITES of India , s t a f f r a t i o n a l i s a t i o n , poor manage-

ment and i r r e g u l a r and inadequqte funding w l l l be t h e main concern of

this chapter.

The l a s t chapter, chap t e r f i v e , p rof fe r s suggestions and

s o l u t i o n s f o r r e v i v i n r t h e Eastern railway.

END N(YI!ES

Yakubu Joseph, "Stopping the R a i l s on Its Tracksw A.M. News, Thursday, J u l y 6, 1995, p. 4.

Walter I. Ofonagoro, Trade and Imperialism i n Southern Niqeria 1881-1929 (Lagos: NOK, 1979) pp. 210-11,

Olufemi Ckoosini, "Background t o Railway Policy i n Nigeria 1877-1901" i n I.A. Akinjogbin and S.O. Osoba (eds, Topics on Nigerian ~ c o n & i c and Social History,

(Ife: University of I fe Press, 1980) p. 159.

Walter I. Ofonagoro, op. e,, p. 134. - Humphrey Nwosu, Polltical Authority and the Nlgerian C i v i l Service (Enugu: Fourth Dimension, 19851, pp. 117-

118.

CHAKTER TWO

HISTORICAI, nACKGROUND OF TIIE

EASTERN RAILWAY

E s t a b l i s h m e n t of t h e Railway:

The h i s t o r y o f N i c e r i a n r a i l w a y began i n 1896 when t h e t h e n

S e c r e t a r y of S t a t e f o r t h e C o l o n i e s , Hr. J o s e p h Chamberla in , approved

t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f a r a i l w a y i n Niger ia . C o n s t r u c t i o n o f t h e r a i l w a y

began i n 1898 a f t e r y e a r s of conflict in^ i n t e r e s t s o f v a r i o u s p r e s s u r e

I groups had delayed s t a r t o f work. The f i r s t r a i l l i n e i n N i g e r i a

s t n r t c d i n Layor,. '1"rct l i n e r-encheti Oshogbo i n 1907 and Jebbn on the

Nicer i n 1909. I n Lhe Uarth, r a i l w a y c o n s t r u c t i o n began i n Zunceru

i n 1901. The Northern r a i l l i n e was jo ined w i t h t h e Lagos Line i n 1912.

The F o r t Harcourt-Enugu r a i l l i n e which was opened i n 1916 j o i n e d t h e

Northern r a i l l i n e i n 1926 a t K a f ~ n c h a n .

I n 1909 coal was d i s c o v e r e d a t Enugu. According t o R.O. Ekundare,

t h i s d i s c o v e r y c n c o u r a ~ e d t h e c o l o n i a l p;overnment t o i n v e s t i g a t e t h e

p o r s i b i l i t y o f a n E a s t e r n r a i l l i n e . 2 The ra i l l i n e was not i n t e n d e d

t o s e r v e t h e development necds a f t h e p e o p l e , but t h e economic end

a d m i n i s t r a t i v e i n t e r e s t s of t h e c o l o n i a l government. The h i g h c o s t o f

t r a n s p o r t i n p : c o a l , men and m a t e r i a l s from EnUf~u t o Lagos and o t h e r p a r t s

of N i g e r i a was t h e motive f o r c e behind t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n a£ t h e E a s t e r n

ra i lway . The E a s t e r n r a i l w a y was t h e r e f o r e planned main ly for t h e

e x p l o i t a t i o n of c o a l a t Enugu and o i l palm i n S o u t h E a s t e r n N i g e r i a .

;,A. Olanrewaju has observed t h a t railway

ierved a s t r a t e g i c purpose of penet ra t ing

~p the h inter land f o r the exp lo i t a t ion of

const ruct ion i n Nigeria

i n t o t h e i n t e r i o r t o open

3 a g r i c u l t u r e and minerals.

The adoption of t h e doc t r ine of "effec t ive occupationw o f

territories claimed by t h e European powers by the Ber l in West African

Conference o f 1884 - 1885 acted a s a c a t a l y s t i n t h e extens ion of r a i l -

way t o p a r t s of Nigeria. One of t h e most d e c i s i v e ways of i n d i c a t i n g

such e f f e c t i v e occupation was by const ruct ing railway lines i n the

t e r r i t o r i e s under clam. The B r i t i s h conscious of poss ib le encroach-

ment of e i t h e r t h e French o r t h e Germans on he r t e r r i t o r y i n Nigeria,

conceived a number of r a i l l i n e s wi th in t h e area known as Nigeria.

I n t h e words of Oluferni Omosini:

t h e policy of developing t h e Nigerian h in te r - land through railways was bela tedly forced upon Br i t a in by t h e commercial impl ica t ion of European r i v a l r y and t h e menacing examples of o the r pwers adopting t h e p l i c y . 4

The major considerat ion f o r any o f t h e railway l i n e s among which was

the Eastern l i n e was i t s economic p r o f i t a b i l i t y t o t h e B r i t i s h

inves tors . "A l i n e was considered viablew argued Akin Mabogunje,

"if i t opens up areas which could grow o r produce such crops as t h e

B r i t i s h i m p r i a l i s t would buy, a reas which had valuable mineral depos i t s

o r areas espec ia l ly coas ta l s i t e s with good a c c e s s i b i l i t y t o Europe for

5 expor t of these comociities." Eastern Nigeria had valuable c o a l

depos i t s and o i l palm which impressed t h e B r i t i s h inves to r s and

i n f luenced t h e cons t ruc t ion of an Eas te rn rail l i n e .

I n 1900 Messrs Shel ford and Sons, t h e engineer ing f i r m respon-

s i b l e f o r t h e cons t ruc t ion of t h e Nigerian ra i lways , recommended to

t h e B r i t i s h government t h e ex t ens ion o f t he r a i l l i n e beyond Ibadan.

The B r i t i s h government responded p o s i t i v e l y and conducted series of

surveys i n p a r t s of Eastern Nigeria . Moreover, t h e Governor-General

of Nigeria , t hen S i r Fredr ick Lugard, was anxious t o s e e t h e r a i lway

extended t o Enugu, t h e on ly a v a i l a b l e sou rce o f c o a l supply i n West

A f r i c a then. fie recommended t h a t t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n of a n Eas t e rn l i n e

6 be given urgent consideration. The recommendation of Lugard was

informed by the huge f i n a n c i a l cost of t r a n s p o r t i n g coa

p a r t s of Nigeria by road, admin i s t r a t i ve i n e f f i c i e n c y wl

cou ld help t o e r a s e and t h e e x p l o i t a t i o n o f o i l palm i n

Niger ia .

Severa l a t tempts were made t o exp lo re Eas te rn Nigc

1 from Enugu to

hich t h e railway

South Eastern

?ria and l c c a t e

a p o s s i b l e harbour from where a r a i l l i n e could be cons t ruc t ed . I t u i n

Cross River was first considered as a poss ib l e p o r t i n E a s t e r n Nigeria .

It was r e j e c t e d due t o nav iga t iona l and seasonal problems posed t o ocean

7 going steamers. Thp most favoured rai lway scheme f o r Eas t e rn Niger ia

by 1906 was t h e p r o j ~ c t e d ~ a l a b a r / ~ a i d u ~ u r i l i n e which was expec ted to

t a p t h e t r a d e of t h e Chad Basin, t h e French Sudan and t h e German

8 Cameroons. This scheme was abandoned when c o a l was discovered a t

Enugu and a habour a t Diobu i n Po r t Harcourt.

In 1912 S i r Fredrick Luqard, Captain Child R.N., S l r Esgle-

some and Lieutenant Hughes explored the Bonny River and found a deep

wa te r harbour a t Dlobu s u i t a b l e f o r a port.

S i r L e w i s Harcourt, t h e t hen B r i t i s h Secre tary of S t a t e s for

t h e Colonies whom t h e port was named a f t e r , approved t h e construction

o f a por t a t Diobu. The cons t ruc t ion of an Eastern r a i l l i n e thus

9 began i n Por t Harcourt i n November 1913. By May 1916, the r a i l

l i n e reached Ehugu.

Between 1913 and 1916 a 1.05 metres gauge rai lway was b u i l t

from Por t Harcourt on a branch o f Bonny River to Enugu c o a l f i e l d .

This line which has a d i s t ance o f about 307 kilometres, is g e n e r a l l y

known as t h e Eastern railway. It runs from Port Harcourt t o Iqbede,

t h e l a s t railway s t a t i o n i n Eastern Nigeria. The r a i l l i n e has i t s

headquarters a t Ehugu.

The Eastern railway and t h e c o l l i e r y were under one management

u n t i l 1955. According to P.E.H. Hair , "the railway came to Eslugu

because o f t h e c o l l i e r y and c o a l has always been t h e most important

10 commodity en ra i l ed there," Coal was a very important source of energy

for steam engines, The Nigerian rai lway used c o a l t o power its locomo-

t i v e engines before the in t roduc t ion of d i e s e l engine. This exp la ins

why the rai lway and the c o l l i e r y were under one management.

I n 1944, the Accounts Division of t h e C o l l i e r y was separated

fmm t h e Railway Department. The Nigerian Coal Corporat ion was consti-

t u t e d by Ordinance Number 29 o f 1950 t o engage i n coa l exp lo ra t ion ,

e x p l o i t a t i o n and marketing i n Nigeria. The reasons f o r c r e a t i n g

s e p a r a t e b d i e s for rai lway and c o l l i e r y were t o improve managerial

competence and encourage profess ional e f f ic iency. The t w o e s t a b l i s h -

ments, railway and colliery required d i f f e r e n t managerial c o n t r o l i n

order to increase ef f ic iency. By 1964 t h e Nigerian Coal Corporat ion

came under the Federal Ministry o f Mines and Power while t h e railways

were con t ro l l ed by t h e Transport MinLstry.

The Eastern railway has some short branches. I n Por t !.farcourt

t h e r e i s a 9.6 kms branch from Elelenwa, b u i l t between 1963-1965,

T h i s branch evacuates products from the o i l r e f l n e r y i n Alesa Elme

a t Por t Harcou* Main Sta t ion . Another branch from Por t Harcourt to

Onne, connecting the National F e r t i l i z e r Company (NAF'CON) t o the sea,

was b u i l t i n 1385. In Enugu 8 kms of r a i l lines t h a t c a r r i e d coal

from Ogbete (~bwetti) and Iva mines were constructed. Another 14.8 )oas

branch l i n e from Ogbaho t o Nkalagu, which is used for c a r r y i n g coal

and gypsum t o Nkalagu Cement f ac to ry was b u i l t i n 1958.

Eastern Nigeria has only 10 percent of t h e 3,484.8 ?ems of rail- 11

ways i n Nigeria. S h c e 1970 only Por t Harcourt-Onne rail line, o u t

of a numbcr of proposed r a i l l i n e s i n Eastern NLgeria, has been executed

e s s e n t i a l l y bazause o f lilck o f fund and t h e f r p o l i t i c s f v surrounding the

Nigerian Railway Transport sec to r . The much discussed 1,000 kms East-

West r a i l l i n e which would have t r ave r sed I le- I fe , Akure, Benin,

Onitsha, Onerri and Calabar put at W178 b i l l i o n i n 1985 has been

abandoned because of t h e problem l i s t e d above and poor apprec ia t ion

o f t h e importance of r a i l t ranspor t t o Nigerian economy.

Construction of t h e Railway and Labur Recruitment:

The discovery of a na tu ra l harbour a t Diobu on t h e Bonny River

l e d t o t h e const ruct ion of a por t t h a t would serve South Eastern

Nigeria. Abut 300 workers w e r e employed t o s t a r t t h e cons t ruc t ion of

12 t h e rai lway from t h e port.

Railway construction required huge expenditure on labour, land

and materials . The railway, i n t h e l i g h t of c o l o n i a l policy, was

serious economic and s o c i a l i n f r a s t r u c t u r e aim& at achieving t h e long-

term economic goals of t h e imper ia l government. The cons t ruc t ion of

t h e Eastern r a i l l i n e was a huge f i n a n c i a l burden on t h e c o l o n i a l

government, though t h e i n t e r e s t s of t h e imperial government were rest

assured. Par t of the money used f o r the const ruct ion of the ra i lway

was b r n e by the co lon ia l government which ra i sed loan on t h e London

Money Market, Another part was sourced in te rna l ly . By 1910 t h e loan

advanced t o Lagos by t h e B r i t i s h Treasury f o r the rai lway was put a t

£792,500, This fund was supplemented with t h e surplus funds of t h e

colony. The t o t a l amount used fo r t h e const ruct ion of rai lway i n 1914

13 was put a t E6.6 mi l l ion , The rise was p a r t l y due t o the cons t ruc t ion

work t h a t began on t h e Eastern r a i l l i n e i n 1913.

The P u b l i c I m d A c q u i s i t i o n Ordinances o f 7903 and 1905

empowered t h e c o l o n i a l povernment t o n o t i f y any l o c a l community whose

l a n d s were r e q u i r e d f o r p u b l i c purposes o f i ts i n t e n t i o n t o take

p o s s e s s i o n o f such lands. Such communities were e n t i t l e d t o 21 d a y s '

n o t i c e o f government ' s i n t e n t i o n . For s u c h l a n d s c l a s s i f i e d ea

unoccupied, no compensation was pa id by t h e government. Compcnr;a-

t i o n s made f o r occupied l a n d s were o n l y on p;overrtment su rveyer ' r ;

I 4 e v a l u a t i o n . I a n d s were a c q u i r e d a t P o r t Marcour t , Aba, Umuoba,

Umuehia, I1zuakol i , Ovirn, Afikpo r o a d , ~ p b n n i , Enupu and Igbede f o r

t h e ra i lway . llany communities i n South E a s t e r n N i g e r i a had t ne i . r

farmlands plundered f o r p v e r n m e n t p r o j e c t s . Lands were a c q u i r e d i n

a l l t h e towns t h e r a i l w a y p a s s e d , b u t more l a n d s were a c q u i r e d i n towns

where r a i l w a y s t a t i o n ? and s t a f f q u a r t e r s were b u i l t .

There were p r o t e s t s o v e r t h e s e l a n d a c q u i s i t i o n s , e s p e c i a l l y i n

F o r t Harcourt . However, t h e p r o t e s t s c o u l d n o t change a n y t n i n g

because o f t h e F u b l i c L.and A c q u i s i t i o n Ordinances o f 1903 and 1905.

The r a i l w a y p r o j e c t was a d v e r t i s e d as being a p u b l i c work.

The c o n s t r u c t i o n o f t n e E a s t e r n r a i l l i n e was done by a European

Company wllose Chie f Engineer was E.M. Bland. l5 The l a b o u r used f o r t h e

c o n s t r u c t i o n o f t h e ra i l l i n e came p a r t l y from c o n s c r i p t s r a i s e d by

\ Ja r ran t C n i e f s under t h e s u p e r v i s i o n of t h e D i s t r i c t O f f i c e r s and

p a r t l y from v o l u n t e e r s . Three t y p e s o f l a b o u r were used i n t h e

c o n s t r u c t i o n o f t h e Por t Harcourt-Enugu r a i l l i n e : p o l i t i c a l ,

16 c o n t r a c t and casua l . The Por t Harcourt-Enugu r a i l l i n e was

i ndeb ted to t h e p o l i t i c a l o f f i c e r s f o r the l abour r e q u i r e d i n t h e

c o n s t r u c t i o n . Among them w e r e t h e Commissioners f o r Owerri , On i t sha

and Calabar Provinces. One commissioner i n t h e Owerri Province

warned t h e D i s t r i c t O f f i c e r s o f h i s Province t h a t * @ r e c r u i t i n g labour

f o r the ra i lway must t a k e precedence ove r o t h e r work." 17

D i s t r i c t Of f i ce r s i n Po r t Harcourt , Owerri, Bende, Okigwi,

Abakal iki , Udi, Afikpo, Ikat-Ekpene etc, were used mainly i n t h e

r ec ru i tmen t o f labour. The l aboure r s r e c r u i t e d by t h e Warrant Chlefs

were mostly tax invaders and d i s s i d e n t s . From t h e P i s t r i c t O f f i c e r s *

p o i n t of view, t h e p r a c t i c e of giv ing c o n t r a c t s t o c h i e f s was conve-

n i e n t . Moreover f u l l supply o f labour was ensured. I n 1914, f o r

instance, Ikot-Ekpene and Qwerri Provinces suppl ied 5,000 labourers

t o Port Harcourt, A t o t a l of 11,200 p o l i t i c a l l aboure r s were consc r ip -

t e d for t h e cons t ruc t ion o f Po r t Harcourt-Enugu r a i l l i n e . They w e r e

made up o f 8,000 frcxn Bende, Oloko, Umuahia and Abam Nat ive Cour t s ;

1,400 from Okigwe, 1,000 from Udi and t h e rest from &a and W e r r i

18 Districts. Not a l l t h e l a b o u r e r s w e r e paid.

The c o n t r a c t and c a s u a l l aboure r s w e r e pa id , bu t t h e y w e r e

l a r g e l y Hausa and Yoruba. The p o l i t i c a l labourers on t h e other hand

c o n s t i t u t e d t h e bulk o f t h e l abour force . They were unpaid l abour

sent i n gangs by the warrant c h i e f s on t h e o r d e r s of t h e D i s t r i c t

O f f i c e r s . Each gang worked f o r two months before it was r ep l aced by

a n o t h e r . ' 9 The c a s u o l and c o n t r a c t l e u o u r c r o were p a i d o n l y 2 t o 3

s h i l l i n s s p e r week. Nowever, payment was irreffular because o f t h e

d e s i r e o f t h e manap-ement t o improve on t h e work done wi thou t much

e x p e n d i t u r e , e s p e c i a l l y f o r the v o l u n t e e r l a b o u r e r s . Accord ing to

Ekandem, one of tile vo lu i l t ee r l a b o u r e r s :

I and my Eanp o f 24 boys worked a t ho. 3 C a m p on t h e r a i l w y and got; pay as f o l l o w s f o r f o u r weeks: myself s e v e n s h i l l i n g s six pence,

k l a - o u r e r s s i x s h i l l i n p s e a c h , t h ~ n t h e n e x t wee1 we were u o t p a i d , b u t s t t h e end o f two weeks I g o t t e n nnilli1kt:s ~ n d l a b o u r e r s e i g h t s h i l l i n ~ s s i x s t l i l l i l l j s . I complained t o t h e whiteman an(

- - T w .- - - L .L n L - -

or 1

w a s cor : l we were not senr; r o r our; came on o u r own accord. 'I'r~e,. Lne work vas measured and we were pa id o l ~ e d a y ' s pay f o r 3 d a y s ' work. We worked f o r twa ~ m r e veeks and 3 days and T p;ot t h i r t e e n s n i l l i n p fou r p rncc and l a b o u r e r s e i g h t s h i l l i l ~ , : ~ . 'Je w i l l work f o r any o t h e r whiteman bur: I A O L this one.20

F!r. Samson Umu Men and Akpai, Umu Eden bo th o f whom were v o l u n t v e r

l a o o u r e r s from Uyo i n t h e C a l a b a r P rov ince empr iu t i ca l ly s a i d t h a t a ~ a i n

they would not work f o r !Tr. ~i , re ; s /bncause o f t h e i r r e p l a r wages. -

Apart from t h e r e c r u i t l n e n i o f h i o u r , some c h i e f s were g i v e n

t h e c o n t r a c t LO s u p p l y h tones end q u a r r i e s f o r t h e r a i l w a y c o n s l r u c t i o n .

C h i e f Eke o f Is iaga i n ADatcal.ini was o v e n t h e c o n t r a c t of s u p p l y i n g

q u a r r i e s used i n t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n .

P o l i t i c a l l a u o u r e r s most o f who cou ld not pay t h e whi teman 's

t a x were c o n s c r i p t e d and s e n t under t h e ~ u i d e o f t h e P o l i c e t o t h e r a i l

l i n e where they worked as c a r r i e r s , messengers and casual labourers ,

The wage prospects of such labourers were unbelievably miserable and

welfare ass i s t ance not provided. According t o I s i c h e i , ''many fgbo

l e f t t h e i r homes f o r the f i r s t t i m e when conscripted t o work on t h e

railways. Some labourers d ied on t h e railways. Others returned home,

r e p e l l e d by t h e conditions and i n d i g n i t i e s of t h e life. Others perse- 2 1

vered and followed t h e railway i n i ts progress north."

The more s k i l l e d and e x p r i e r x e d employees oE t h e ral lway i n t h e

1920s and 1930s were m t i v c s of Western Nlyeria where t h e ff rst ra i lway

22 was constructed i n 1890s. Labourers of Eastern Nigeria o r l g i n i n

t h e rallway w e r e l a t e r t r a ined a s a r t i s a n s , masons, carpenters , f i t t e r s ,

plumbers, mechanics, c l e r k s etc. The wages of such t r a i n e d people

improved s i g n i f i c a n t l y and a l t e r e d t h e i r former standard of l i v i n g

f o r b e t t e r . Both t h e railway and t h e c o l l i e r y were l i k e two e v l l s

which the labourers could not e a s i l y choose which one t o engage in .

Michael Croxder observed t h a t before 1940 only t h e rai lways employed

a l a r g e number of regu la r workers among whom w e r e t r a i n e d s k i l l e d

a r t i s a n s . The only comparable indust ry to railways as employers of

23 l abour w e r e t h e mines. However, both industries h p r o v e d the s o c i a l

and economic s t a t u s of those who worked i n them e l t h e r as l a l o u r e r a or

a r t i s a n s a t least above t h a t af t h e ordinary peasants. Some o f them

bought lands i n the toldnshlps and v i l l a g e s ; built modern houses,

married more wives, took titles and celebra ted the funera l ceremonies

of their f a t h e r s and or mothers who had died years before they w e r e

Vany houses i n Coal Camp, Cnuasata, Opui road e t c . i n E n u p were

b u i l t by ra i lway and c o l l i e r y workers. Many r a i lway workers could

e a s i l y pay br ide p r ice of 920 when most o t h e r men found i t very

d i f f i c u l t t o pay as l i t t l e a s '1.00. 24

Economic h i s t o r i a n s should express both t h e bad i n t e n t i o n s of

c o l o n i a l i n f r a s t r u c t u r e and the good t r a p p i n p t h a t came from them.

The rai lway i n f r a s t r u c t u r e cons t ruc ted i n t h e c o l o n i a l e r a had symbio t i c

s i g n i f i c a n c e . I t helped the whitcmen i n e x p l o i t i n p raw m a t e r i a l s i n

N i ~ e r i a and a l s o gave Nirer ians employment which improved t h e i r economic

and s o c i a l s t a t u s . ':'he ra i lway a r t i s a n s earned as much as el50 per

annum, o r about $12 p e r month while t he l aboure r s received lower wages.

The amounts, which o r d i n a r i l y could not be p;ot from farming, helped

t h e workers i n t h e i r s o c i a l and economic i n t e r e s t s .

~conomic and S o c i a l Impact:

By 1916, when the Por t Harcourt-Enugu ra i lway was completed

t r a i n s becan t o c a r r y goods e s p e c i a l l y c o a l and passengers. In

l q l 8 about 130,000 tons of c o a l were moved out from EnugU. I n a d d i t i o n

t o c o a l , about 4,503 passengers and 7 tons of ~ e n e r a l commodities were

t ranspor ted throuph t h e railway. 25 'Phc r a i lway wne a l s o the rnnjor

means of ~ x p o r t i n p palm produce from the c o l l e c t i o n cen t r e s i n t h e

Eas te rn repion.

establishment of an Eastern rai lway gave rim t o r a p i d economic

transformation i n Eegtern Nigeria. The rai lway a f f e c t e d

ry aspec t of the people ls l ife. The f i r s t e f f e c t of t h e rail-

e acce le ra t ion of t r a m p o r t a t i o n whereby diatmnces were bridged

=no mmssessible p laces rendered a c c e a ~ i b l e . ~ ~ Railway .s a me- of

t r anspor t w a s e s s e n t i a l t o t rade. It brought wealth, l i b e r t r , new and

des i rab le goods and s e c u r i t y t o t h e people of E w t e r n Nigeria. In 1929

about 42,000 passengers and 2,500 tons of genera l commodities were

en ra i l ed through the Eaatern railway. Again i n 1950 about 2J,J0O

pmssengers and 9,500 ton8 of genera l commodities among which were 5,500

tom of palm produce were transported through the railway. 27

The Esatern rai lway made eociml and tribal pre jud ices t o diminish

as i n t e rcourse among the various people o f Eastern Nigeria incraasad.

People from various towns began t o t r a v e l t o d i s t a n t p laces unknown t o

them before t o l i v e and look f o r jobs. Natives of O w e r r i , Umuahia, Aba

Hgwa, Ohafia, Hbaise, Nkwerre etc. t r a v e l l e d t o Enugu and Northern

Nipria i n search o f jabs. Those who were employed i n t h e r a i lway

aaa ia ted t h e i r r e l a t i o n s and kinsmen i n t h e asarch f o r job8 and mema

of l i ve l i hood . According t o Afigbo:

The const ruct ion o f t h e ra i l l i n e from h r t b r c o u r t t o W u r d i of fered an oppor tun i t r f o r i n j e c t i n g some money i n t o Igbo s o c i e t y with t h e uaual recognised economic benef i t s - r i s e i n purchasing power, more r e t u r n s f o r producers of food, the expansion and re- enforcement of t h e cash nexus and s o 0n.28

This new economic and s o c i a l l i f e enabled some r a i lway workere t o

bu i ld modern z i n c roofed houses i n towns l i k e Enugu, Umuahia, Owarri

and Port Harcourt and t h e i r v i l l a g e s . New f o r e i g n goods l i k e gramophones,

r a d i o a , wrist watches, shoes , b icyc le8 and i r o n beda were purchased b7

t h e worker^. I n t h e v i l l a g e s and t o w n people looked upon t h e railwar

workers with envy. They a l s o formed t h e bulk o f l e a d s ~ s of t h e i r town

and development unions. Some of t h e ra i lway workera i n E m t a r n Nigeria

took t i t l e d o r added t o t h e one t h e 7 a l r e a d y had. Wale 0yenak.inde i e

of t h e v i e w t h a t railway l abour had a t t r a c t i o m f o r a l l , f r e e o r bonded. 29

As t h e r a i l l i n e t r a v e r s e d Igbo l a n d t h e ra i lway e t a t i a n 8 and

h a l t s became produce p o i n t s of vary ing degree o f importance. Among

these s t a t i o n s and h a l t s were Por t Harconrt , Aba, Umuahia, Uzuakoli, 30

Ovim, Afikpo Road, Agbeni, Enngu and Ehamufu. European companies

which had c l u s t e r e d around t h e c o a s t cmd t h e r i v e r banks p e n e t r a t e d t h e

Eaa t e r n r eg ion e s t a b l i s h i n g p o s t s and depots a t v i t a l po in t8 on t h e

I n t h e worda of R.J. Gavin and Vale Oyemakinde: rail l i n e .

ommercial

... ailw wag turned menqe eyes towards t h e sea and s t rengthened t h e econonic l i nkage between t h e p l aces i t passed through and i n d u e t r i a l Europe. But i t a l s o con t r ibu ted toward8 the growth of i n t e r n a l comerce.32

c e n t r e s sprang up i n ulmaot a l l t h e major towns t h e -tam

r a i l l i n e passed. The r a p i d r i s e and e x p a n d o n o f P o r t Harcourt , kba,

Umuahia, Uzuakoli and t o some ex ten t Enugu w a s aa a r e s u l t of t h e rail-

way. People from Calabar a r e a s t r anspor t ed t h e i r a g r i c u l t u r a l produca

by head and bicycle t o the c o l l e c t i n g cen t res on the rai lway a t a t i o n a

a t Umuahia and Uzuakoli. A t t h e rai lway a t a t i o n s European f i r m

es tabl i shed contact points and employed agenta f o r t h e purchaar of

needed raw mater ia ls for cmpanies i n Europe. According to Walter

Ofonagoro, wtowns l i k e Por t Harcourt, Aba, Umahia arid Enugu were thua

launched on t h e i r new r o l e a as cent res of t r ade and adminia t ra t ion i n

south Eastern ~ i ~ e r i a . " ~ ~ People l i v i n g around the s t a t i o n s and halts

engaged i n hawking and a m l l - s c a l e t rading. Goods produced i n Eautern

Nfgeria aa well ar, foreign ones were sold. A 8 a r e s u l t many people

were employed i n d i r e c t l ~ by t h e railway.

The Eaatern railway wan a t r a i n i n g ground f o r the e a r l y a r t i a ~ a

such as e l e c t r i c i a n s , carpenters , f i t t e r s , rasons, mechanics, plumbers,

welders, foundrere and pain ters . I n the words o f Ekundare, " the r a i l w a r

workshops provided some t r a i n i n g f o r the Nigerians who were employed i n

34 them." I n Enugu, t h e headquarters o f the Eaatern rai lway, t h e locomo-

t i v e workshop w a a divided ps follows: Erec t ing shop, F i t t i n g shop,

Boi ler shop, Machine shop, Wheel shop and Brass shop. The c a r r i a g e

and wagon s e c t i o n comprised of a wood working machine ahap, a coach

r e p a i r shop, a pain t shop and a ca rpen te r s f ahop. The aaw m i l l a e c t i o a

was a t Fort Harcourt. People o f -tern Nigeria who worked i n t h e work-

shops as apprentice8 acquired technica l s k i l l s t h a t gave them s e l f - e a p l o p

ment a f t e r retrenchment o r ret i rement. By and l a r g e , t h e economic and

~ o c i a l impact o f the railway on t h e people of Eastern Niger ia were fel t

i n almost every aspec t of t h e i r endeavour. The railway w a s no doubt t&

spring board economic and s o c i a l development i n Eastern Nigeria.

I n summary, A.E. Afigbo put the impact of tho railway on Eastern

Nigeria thus:

i t increased p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n the d i s t r i b u t i o n and aaaembling of goods..., quickened t h e tempo of economic l i f e and incrersed t h e flow of goods, Also by reducing t h e d ia tance t r a v e l l e d by people t o get t o important assembling and d i s t r i b u t i o n -centres, t h e penet ra t ion o f t h e i n t e r i o r by t h e European firms meant a saving for the Igbo i n labour which could be deployed i n o the r a reas of economic and s o c i a l act ivi ty.34

7. R.O. Ekundare, An Economic Hiatory of Nigeria, 1860-1960, (London: Methuen, 1 9 7 3 ) ~ p. 136.

2. Ibid.

S .A. Olanrewaju , llAdministrqtion of the Nf gar iau Railway Corporationf1 The Nigerian Journa l o f Public Af fa i r s vol. 1 Ho. 1, 1976, p. 50.

Olufemi Ososini , 'faackground t o Railway Policy i n Nigeria 1877-1901rr i n (eds. ) I .A. Akinjogbin and S.O. Osoba, Topics on Niperian Ecui~vmic and Soc ia l History ( I f e : Univers i ty of I f e Press, ?980 ) , p. 158.

Akin Moooguuje (ed. 1, Urbanisat ion i n Nigeria (Londou: Univers i ty of LOJI~OL, I966), pp. 143-144.

R.O. Ekundare, op. c i t . , p. 734.

Walter ufonagoro: Trade al;d Imperialism i n Southern N i g c ~ . i a , 1881-1929, (Lagos: NOK, l979), p. 210.

Ibid.

P.E.H. Hair, "The Study of Enugu 1917-1953w, An Unpubliehed Manuscript, Deposited a t National Archives, Enugu, p. 73.

Ibid.

G.E.K. Ofomata (ed.), Nigeria I n Maps t Eaetern S ta tee . (Benin: Ethiope, 1975)* p. 129.

Walter Ofonagoro, op. c i t . , pp. 210-211.

R.O. Ekundare, op. c i t . , p. 137.

Walter Ofonagoro, op. c i t . , p. 216.

~ ~ ~ , ~ / 2 6 0 6 / 1 9 1 3 , Railway Construct ionrPort Harcourt Labour see CALPROF. 14181/1%6.

A.I. Nwabughuogu, Dynamics of Change i n E m t e r n Nippria 1900- 7960: Indigenous Factor i n Colonial Development (Owcrri: Efither Thornpeon 1993) pp. 59-60.

~ ~ ~ . ~ / 2 6 0 6 / 1 9 1 3 op. c i t .

A . I . Nwabughuogu, op. c i t . , p. 60.

Ibfd.

P.E.H. Hair, op. c i t . , p. 74.

El izabeth I s i c h e i , A Historg of the Igbo People, (Lagos: Macmillan, 79771, p. 209.

P.E.H. Hair , op. c i t . , p. 75. Michael Crowder, West Africa Under Colonial Rule, (London: Hutchinson, 19761, p. 351.

Daniel Ogbodo, Aged c. 58 years, Retired Railway a r t i s a n interviewed at Amechi Awkunanaw on 20 J u l y , 1996.

P.E.H. Hair , op. c i t . , p. 72,

Allan Hcphee, The Economic Revolution i n B r i t i s h West Afr ica (London: Frankaes, 1971), p. 126.

P.E.H. Hair, op. c i t . , p. 72.

A.E. Afigbo, Ropes of Sand: S tud ies i n Igbo Hietory and Cul tu re (NsuWta: Universi ty of Nigeria Press , 1981 1, pp. 326-327.

29. Wale Oyemakinde, "The Provident Fund on t h e Nigerian Railway 1 9 1 5 - 1 9 4 3 ~ ~ Ikenga, V01. 2 No. 2, J u l y 1973, p. 32.

30. A.E. Afigbo, op. c i t . , p. 326.

I . R.J. Gavin and Wale Oyemakinde, "Economic Development o f Niger ia Since 1800tt i n (ed. ) Obaro Ikime Ground Work o f Nigerian Ristorz (Ibadan: Heincmann, 1 9 8 0 ) ~ p. 500.

32. Walter Ofonagoro, op. c i t . , pp. 210-211.

33. R.O. E k ~ n d a r e , op. c i t . , pp. 141-142.

34. A.E. Afigbo, op. c i t . , p. 327.

CHAPTER THREE

THE FOUNDATIONS OF DECLINE

The Nigerian C i v i l War and Its E f f e c t on t h e

Em t e r n Railway :

As t h e Eas te rn rai lway began ope ra t ion i n 1916, f u r t h e r cons t ruc-

t i o n of r a i l l i n e t o l i n k Eaa tern Nigeria with Northern Nilreria continued.

By 1923 t h e ra i lway reached Makurdi and Jos . I n 1928, r a i l w a y t r a n e p o r t

between t h e Northern and Eas t e rn Niger ia w a ~ opened. From t h a t per iod

up t o 1967 when t h e Nigerian c i v i l war began, t h e Eas te rn r a i lway not

only provided a n o u t l e t f o r Eaugu c o a l but a l s o a s h e r t c u t t o t h e s e a

f o r t he t i n from Jcs.' By 1967 a gradual d e c l i n e i n t h e s e f u n c t i o a s o f

t h e rai lway s e t i n .

A cons iderable p e r t o f t h e revenue earned by t h e Niger ian

Railway Corporation came from the Eas t e rn The r a i l l i n e w a s

v i t a l t o t h e Corporation and t h e Nigerian economy. I t c a r r i e d t h e c o a l

produced a t Enugu, palm produce o f Eaatern Region and petroleum. These

products y ie lded cons iderable revenue t o t h o railway. ~t t h a Eas t e rn

ra i lway, over 50 percent of t he revenue came from Ogbahu - Nkalagu and

Elelenwa-Alesa Eleme branch l i n e s . Passenger s e r v i c e y i e lded l e a s than

15 percent of t h e revenue while goods from Por t Harcourt Wharf account

f o r about 20 percent . The r e s t came from miscellaneous sources . 3

However, t h e Nigerian c i v i l w a r l e d t o t h e c l o s u r e of t h e E a s t e r n r a i l

l i n e . Describing t h e cond i t i on of t h e r a i lway between 1967 and 1970,

Akpe, one t ime Acting General Manager of the Nigerian Railway Corpora-

t i o n s t a t e s t h a t i n 1968 t he railway system d e t e r i o r a t e d . 4

The impact of the Nigerian c i v i l war oa t h e Eas t e rn rai l l i n e

a f f e c t e d the genera l ou tput of t he Nigerian Railways y e a m after t h e

war. About 6,OC)O emplojeea of var ious s k i l l s loet t h e i r jobs d u r i n g

t h e war.' This made the rai lway l a c k s k i l l e d manpower a a e yea r s a f t e r

t h e war. Besides, t h e r o l l i n g s tock of t he rai lway wea ex tens ive17

depleted. The few e x i a t i n g s t o c k s were g e n e r a l l y inadequate f o r t h e

needs of t h e indus t ry . They were p a r t l y obso le t e f o r t h e f u n c t i o n s

they had t o perform. Many of those s k i l l e d workers who l o e t t h e i r Jobs

dur ing t h e war d id not r e t u r n t o work i n t h e rai lway. Thta d e r a e t a t e d

t h e Eas t e rn railway. The inexperienced people r e c r u i t e d f o r jobs

could no t perform t h e work of t h e p ro fe s s iona le , I n t he words o f F.A.0.

P h i l i p s , one-time Chief Executive o f t he Nigerian Flailway Corpora t ion

"the ra i lways l o s t a l o t of s t a f f as a r e s u l t o f t h e war and I had t o

t o u r a long t h e l i n e t o in t e rv i ew those who could be r e c r u i t e d f o r

c r a sh t r a i n i n g over a very s h o r t time." 6

When t h e Eastern rail l i n e waa reopened i n September 1970, t h e

number o f paseengers and volume o f goods c a r r i e d by t h e r a i lway

h p r o r e d by 14.5 percent and 3.0 percent Betwiten 1970

and 1974 t h o Nigerian Railway Corporat ion opera ted on a d e f i c i t o f

2 r n 1 o 8 This w a s p a r t l y due t o t h e s k i l l e d workers l o e t during

t h e war and p a r t l y due t o inadequate f i nance and l abour management.

Eren though the use of d i e s e l locomotires had been Introduced i n

Nigeria s i n c e 7956, t h e f i r s t s e t o f t h e s e d i e s e l locomotives o f f i c i a l l y

ass igned t o t h e Earrtern ra i lway s t a r t e d o p e r a t i o n only i n December,

7972. By Auguot 1973, t he re were 20 d i e s e l engine8 and 40 steam

engines ope ra t ing on the Eas te rn rai l line.9 The d e l a y i n t h e in t roduc-

t i o n of d i e s e l engine t o Eas t e rn railway was because o f t h e deft i re t o

make e f f e c t i v e use of coal and t h e c i v i l war. A l l t h e s e con t r ibu ted

t o t h e gradual dec l ine o f the Eas te rn railway.

The poor cond i t i on o f t he ra i lway w a e summed up by A l h a j i Shehu

Wunti, t h e Federal Minis te r of Transport i n 7978:

In 1962 and 1963 f o r every Naira earned by t h e Nigerian Railway Corporat ion, they spen t about 94k as ope ra t ing expeases. Th i s leavee a margin o f 6k ( t n a t ) (

p r o f i t . I n 15 n spen t about #' provis iot la l f i g u r e s r o r I y / / operaLlon m a u z a L e

t h a t f o r every Naira earned by t h e Corporat ion tney spen t bi2.65k.10

This was t h e s i t u a t i o n i n which the war kept one o f N ige r i a ' s major

economic and s o c i a l i n i r a s t r t l c tu re . The impact of t h e war was s i g n i f i -

can t i n almost a l l s e c t i o n s o f t h e Nigeria11 rai lway, bu t more profound

on t h e Eastern ra i lway which w a s w i th in the war thea t r e . Apart from

t h e railway r o l l i n g s tock which were reudered u s e l e s s by Ihe war, part

of t h e r a i l l i n e was damaged d u r i n g t h e conflict. Serious defects i n

t h e d i e s e l engines, heavy backlog o f r e p a i r s and maintenance work,

l a c k of s k i l l e d manpower i n workshops, poor f a c i l i t i e s f o r passengers

and d i l a p i d a t e d cargo coaches were t h e major problems which t h e E a s t e r n

ra i lway s u f f e r e d a f t e r the war.

Be t h a t as i t may, rai lway t r a n s p o r t i n Eas te rn Niger ia was

a f f e c t e d by severe c o n s t r a i n t s i n e a r l y 1970s. A l o t o f f a c t o r s c o n t r i r

buted t o t h i s . I n t h e f i r s t p l ace , t h e c o a l i ndue t ry which was a major

customer o f t h e Eas te rn rai lway was a l s o a v i c t im of the war. Coal

product ion dropped d r a s t i c a l l y because the mines a t Onyeama and Okpara

were c losed down and only s k e l e t a l s u r f a c e excavat ione were done. The

Nigerian Coal Corporat ion, l i k e t h e Nigerian Railway Corporat ion, l o s t

many o f its s k i l l e d workers dur ing t h e war. Enough q u a n t i t y of c o a l w a n

n o t produced f o r t r a n s p o r t i n t h e e a r l y 19709. Moreover palm produce,

a major export of Eas te rn Nigeria was neglec ted a f t e r t h e w a r . The

Nigerian Cement Company, Nkalagu, Nigerian Petroleum Corpora t ion and

Por t Barcourt Wharf which were customers to t h e Eas t e rn ra i lway were

a l l a f f e c t e d by t h e c i v i l w a r .

By and l a r g e , t h e impact o f t h e w a r on t h e Eas te rn r a i l w a y l e d to

t h e growing cha l lenge from roads. The s t a t e o f t h e E m t e r n r a i l w a y

was p a t h e t i c . Customers who had long enjoyed cheap and e a f e t r a n s p o r t

provided by i t had no a l t e r n a t i v e then change t o road t r a n s p o r t which

w a s expensive, though f a s t e r . There is no doubt t h a t t h e amount s p e n t

on road t r a n s p o r t (which could otherwise be made l e s s by r a i l ) i n c r e m e d

t h e p r i c e of goods purchased i n Eas te rn Niger ia - both l o c a l and fore ign .

Though t h e fortuned of t h e Eaa tern ra i lway have been declining,

t h e government has not r e l en t ed i n its e f f o r t t o f i n a n c i a l l y s u p p o r t

t h e Railway ~ o r p o r a t i o n s i n c e the end of t h e war. The 7962-68 Develop-

ment Plan provided Y40.34 mi l l ion f o r t h e railway. The r e v i s e d t o t a l

a l l o c a t i o n i n t he 1970-74 Second National Development P lan wae 1481

mil l ion . By 1973 ~ 1 8 . 6 m i l l i o n of the amount had been d iebursed mainly

f o r t h e e c q u i a i t i o n of locomotives and r o l l i n g s tock . l1 F u r t h e r c a p i t a l

investment i n the ra i lway system w a s c u r t a i l e d t o g i v e t h e

time t o r e - a s ses s t h e p o t e n t i a l o f t h e system and its requirement. The

t o t a l a l l o c a t i o n f o r c a p i t a l inveetment i n the railway dur ing the 1975-

1980 Third National Development P lan s tood a t ~88.5 mil l ion . Th i s money

was t o be spent on t r a c k improvement, a c q u i s i t i o n of r o l l i n g a t o c k ,

improvement of communication system, passenger f a c i l i t i e s and t h e

cons t ruc t ion o f new s t anda rd 1.435 metre @age system. 12

Despi te huge government expendi ture and cons t an t essessment o f

the problems of t he Eas te rn ra i lway, t he fo r tunes of t h e i n d w t r y have

continued t o dec l ine . I n 1985 t h e t o t a l expendi ture of t h e Niger ian

Railwar t o r p o r a t i o n s tood at 1189.16 m i l l i o n whi le its income wm only

~ 9 6 . 9 6 million.13 This w a s t he s i t u a t i o n after t he e x i t of t h e RITES

which had come t o r ev ive t h e r a i l tpanapor t system i n Nigeria .

Low Output o f coa l and l o s s of major customers of t h e Eas te rn Railway:

The c o a l i ndus t ry was and s t i l l is one of the major cue tone r s

of t he Eas te rn railway. The Eastern ra i lway was p r i m a r i l y cons t ruc t ed

because of t h e coa l depos i t diacovered a t Udi i n 1909. With t h e

e x p l o i t a t i o n o f c o a l , which was used t o power steam eng ines , a cons is -

t e n t cheap means o f t r anspor t was assured. Some q u a n t i t i e s o f c o a l

were t r anspor t ed by r a i l t o t h e sea f o r onward shipment t o p lace8 of

its consumption i n Af r i ca and B r i t a i n . P.E.B. Hair has observed t h a t

coa l had been t he most important commodity t r anapor t ed by t h e Eaatern

The rai lway funct ioned with t h e c o a l i n d u s t r y until 1955

when they were separated. A l a r g e p ropor t ion of the.Enugu c o a l w a s

u t i l i s e d by the rai lway i n t he 1920s and 193%; between one-third and

one-half of t h e t o t a l ou tput o f c o a l at mugu was consumed by t h e rail-

way, I n t h e 1940s and 19506, 6% t o 8% of t h e output were u t i l i s e d by

t h e About 33,000 tons of c o a l were used by t h e r a i lway monthly

wi th in the period. I n t he ? 9 6 b only, 17,000 t o n s of coal ware t r a n s p o r t e d

t o o t h e r usars.16 The E l e c t r i c i t y Corporat ion of Niger ia , United Africa

Company, John Hol t , Niger Cement, Nkalagu and E lde r Dempster used coal.

I n 1949 alone t h e rai lway used 320,QOO t ons o f c o a l while t h e E l e c t r i c i t y

Corporation of Niger ia consumed 65,000 t o m . 17

The shipment of coal was stopped i n t h e 197b because t h e

C o l l i e r y could not supply t h e requi red q u a n t i t y o f c o a l t o i t e l o c a l

users . Moreover t h e discovery o f a l t e r n a t i v e sou rce of energy i n

petroleum reduced t h e number of i n d u s t r i e s t h a t made use o f c o a l .

Attempts t o diversifying t h e use o f c o a l , a f t e r t h e i n t r o d u c t i o n of

modern equl pmcnt from Poland proved f u t i l e .

From 1971 coa l p ~ d u c t i o n dropped. Tn 1966, t h e c o l l i e r y

produced 730,153 tons of coal. In 1971 only 24,404 t o n s w e r e produced

since 1971, c o a l ou tput per year has not reached h a l f what was produced

i n 1066 (see table i n page 4 0 ) . The drop i n coal product ion was as

a r e s u l t o f t h e w a r , l a ck of manpower and poor management. T h i s d r o p

however a f f e c t e d t h e p e r f o m a n r e of t h e ra i lway whlch made use of

several t o n s of c o a l and a l s o t r anspor t ed large q u e n t i t i e s to t h e

p o r t s for onward s h i p m ~ n t to Ghana and Br i t a in . Augustine Nwmekezie,

t h e Eas te rn Div is iona l Personnel O f f i c e r o f t h e r a i lway was o f the

view t h a t t h e ra i lway wI~ic:h earned more revenue than other s e c t i o n s

was badly a f f e c t e d by the l o s s of customers who prev ious ly pa txonised

i t . 18

In t h e 1950s and 1960s t h e Eastern ra i lway t r a n s p o r t e d a huge

number of goods and passengers kcause o t h e r a v a l l a b l e means of trans-

port were f e w and e x p e n ~ i v e . From 1970s t h e efficiency, cheapness and

converlicnce of t h ? rai lway transport system were challen.-~ed by t h e road

t r a n s p o r t . According t o M.N. Abubakar and A.S. Mikailu, t h e r a i lway

t r a n s p o r t a t t h i s per iod was c l e a r l y s lower and more uncomfortable than

19 road. The Eas te rn rai lway t h u s pcrfonn.mcd p o r l y i n its g e n e r a l

service. Thi s poor pcrforinance mzde s e v e r a l of i ts customers change t o

a l t e r n a t i v e means of t rans ,pr t . This change rncant reduced revenue t o

TABLE SHOWING THE STATISTICS O F VOLUME OF COAL PRODUCTION

1916 - 1985

YEAR YEAR TONS --

t

2' 2 2

583,425 562 270 673,374 679 * 437 675,919 750 9 058 790,030 846,526 905,397 684,800 565 r 681 596 9 502 615,661

;00229.19 698,502 730,183

War War War

24,404 176,927 323 0 7 314,457 277 753

71 -397.39 82,729.00 439317.5

201,601.4 163.00

118,317

Source: ~ h i r t y - s e c o n d A M U ~ Report of Nigerian Coal Corpora t ion f o r 1985.

t h e railway. Some of t he rai lway customers among which were tne

l r iger ian cement Factory, Nkalagu, Niger S t e e l , Lever Bro the r s , Weet

African Drug Compauy, Shell-BP, Texaco, Mobil, T o t a l , Elf, Agip,

Nigerian B o t t l i n g Company, K. Chellarams, I n l a k s , Cadbury, N e ~ t l e ,

Dizengoff, Dunlop, Guinness, Turners Asbestos, A b a T e x t i l e M i l l ,

h i g e r Gas, Saf rap , Deminox, F.Z., NAFCON, Crush Rock and U n i r e r a i t y

o f Niger ia , Nsukka nad r;o make use of road t o t r a m p o r t t h e i r goods.

Tne h i g e r i a n n a t i o n a l Petroleur, c;orporation made w e of road and pipe-

l i n e a l t e r n a t i v e s to ra i l t r auspor t .

Apart f ro i9 -?e l o s s of some customers by t h e r a i lway , i n d i a c i p l i n a

and co r rup t ion among t h e staff con t r ibu ted t o theai tzzat ioa t h e i n d u a t r y

found i t s e l f . These were cases o f bribbed r a i lway s t a f f t h a t discouraged

customers from us ing rai lway t r a n s p o r t on the gu i se t h a t r a i lway coachee

were fill o r t h a t t r a i n would not be a v a i l a b l e w i th in t h e per iod . 20

I n t h e workshops r e p a i r s were not r e g u l a r l y done ae c o a l ~ n d

o t h e r raw mate r i a l s were i n s h o r t supply. Adminis t ra t ive bo t t l enecks

and poor a t t i t u d e t o work helped t o h inde r t h e ra i lway e f f i c i ency .

Some ra i lway a r t i s a n s used the railway f a c i l i t i e s f o r t h e i r own p r i v a t e

jobs. The money generated throuph t h i s source w a s not p rope r ly accounted

for . By the end of 1978, t h e ra i lway was d e ~ c r i b e d ae a dead horee and

t h e c o l o s s a l bane of t r a n s p o r t a t i o n i n Nigeria .

By and l a r g e , t h e problems of the Eas t e rn rai lway which were hard

t o overcome, made some of i ts customers s eek a l t e r n a t i v e meam o f trans-

por t .

Challenge from Road Transport :

It has been argued t h a t t r a i n s consume l e s s energy than cars,

cause l e s s p o l l u t i o n and take l e s s l and space t h a n roads. T r a i n

passengers were spared the h a s s l e s of a i r p o r t f o r m a l i t i e s and t h e

t r a f f i c jam o f motor roads. Thme advantages could not s w t a i n t h e

ra i lway which faced seve re road competit ion.

I n t h e 1920s and 19306 roads were p r imar i ly b u i l t t o feed t h e

ra i lway and a c t a s a complementary meana of t r a n s p o r t . I n t h e l a t e

1930s when cheap and e f f i c i e n t l o r r y t r a n s p o r t was made a v a i l a b l e , i t

r evo lu t ion i sed the t r a n s p o r t system i n Eas t e rn Nigeria . The cha l l enges

from r o a d ' t r a n s p o r t i n t he 1970s were profound. By 1972 road network

i n Eas te rn Niger ia improved cons iderably b o t h i n terms o f t o t a l l e n g t h

and qua l i ty . The t o t a l road l eng th i n Niger ia increased from 59,082

k i lome t re s i n 1958 t o 95,374 k i lome t re s i n 1972. Tarred road l e n g t h

increaeed from 6,284 k i lomet res i n 1958 t o 18,109 i n 1972. 22

I n t h e 1962-1968 Development P lan , t h e pub l i c investment on

roads uss ~150.6 million.Z3 About ~ 0 . 8 m i l l i o n wee provided for

upgrading the Trunk ' A r f e d e r a l roads. I n the 1970-1974 Second Nat iona l

Development Plan + about ~398 .884 mi l l i on was budgeted f o r t h e Fede ra l

roads , while t h e S t a t e road programmes had a budgeted expendi ture of

t4233.526 mil l ion . A si s n i f i c o n t p a r t of thr! road a l l o c a t i o n i n t h e

1970-1974 Plan went i n t o roiid rehabilitation i n t h e Eas t e rn S t a t e s . 24

Some of t h e r e h a b i l i t , ~ t e d r - o ~ d e t o g e t h e r with br idges w e r e Port-

Harcourt-P.ba-Lhuahia-:,wgu-Enugu, Oni t sha- Ih ia la -Qwerr i , Aba- Oron

and Onitsha-Awka-Vdi-Enugu. From 1975-1980 double l a m expres s roads

were cons t ruc ted . Th* Enugu-Port Harcourt , Enugu-Onitsha expres s roads

were b u i l t dur ing the pcrlod. The s i n g l e l a n e express road from Enugu

t o Makurdi was a l s o cons t ruc ted . The c o n s t r u c t i o n OF t h e s e mads

wi thou t a correspnd ing extens ion of t h e Eas te rn r a i lway to major towns

i n Eas te rn Nlyeria made ra i lway t r a f f i c d e c l i n e by 33.63 pe rcen t

2 5 between 1959 and 1974.

The Trunk ' A ' rosds l i nked d i f f e r e n t s t a t e s i n N ige r i a and the

Trunk 'B' rcads connected t h e var ious s t a t e s i n Eas te rn Nicjeria. The

Trunk ' A ' and 'B' roads were cons t ruc t ed and r n ~ i n t a i n c d by t h e Federa l

Government. Thp Trunk 'C' roads connect ing tams and v i l l a g e s w e r e

cons t ruc t ed and maintained by the s t a t e governments. I n t h e Eastern

States t h e Trunk 'A' roads form t h e b a s i c network on which o t h e r road

systems were construzCed. By 1967 t h e total mileage of Trunk ' A '

r c a d s i n t h e Eastern States was put a t 1,112 ki lomctres . 26 The

t r a f f i c . d e n s i t y i n Eas te rn Niger ia before t h e w a r shows t h a t t h e

volume of t r a f f i c was heavy along t h e roads connect ing P o r t Harcourt-

Aba, Owerri-Onitsha roads. Onitsha-Enugu road also had heavy traffic

b u t t h e heav ie s t was t h e Aba-Ikot Ekpene-Oron roads. 2 6

The new road networ-ks connect ing t h e commercial c e n t r e s of

Eas te rn Nigeria wcrp a cha l l enge t o t h e ra i lway t r a n s p o r t which lacked

modern improvcmcnt. The a t tempts made by t h e Nigerian Railway Corpora-

t i o n t o expand t h e r a i l l i n e s i n o r d e r t o con ta in t h e c h a l l e n g e s from

road t r a n s p o r t w w e marred by f inance and manpower.

Thc rai lway has bcen unable t o con ta in the compet i t ion from road

t r a n s p r t system because f i r s t , road t r a n s p o r t pene t r a t ed almost a l l

sections o f Eastern Nigeria. Road was convenient t o customers because

goozs were de l ive red t o the door steps of c u s t o m r s . Secondly, road

t r a n s p r t was f a s t e r and more convenient t o customers and passengers .

T h i r d l y , i n d i v i d u a l s an3 f Lrrns h q h t veh ic l e s and used them to t r a n s -

port t h e i r goals . Fourthly, wi th road t h e long waiking and load ing

p e c u l i a r t o r a i l was avgided. The r a i l t r a n s p o r t covered f e w a r e a s

i n Eastern Nigeria while road l i nked mo:-t bus iness toms. F i n a l l y ,

t h e s t e a l i r q of ~ ~ 0 0 3 ~ I n th.3 r~a i lway coaches was a t h r e a t t o cxstomers.

Apart froin goods, some pnsspncjers had l o s t t h e i r money and p rec ious

m a t e r i a l s t o t h l e v e s I n t h? t r a i n . 27 A l l these factors sur;tal.ned road

t r a n s p o r t , a d made t h e rai lway l o s e i t s cus toams .

Nevertheless , road t r a n s p r t i n Eastern Nlgeri a a l s o faced s e r i o u s

problems, though i t was b e t t e r off than t h e rai lway. Tho numerous

unt a r r ed roads c o n s t i t u t e d hazards t o road users . Pot-holes, e ros ion ,

c o n s t a n t acc idents and poor painterlance wore the major problems of t h e

Eas t e rn roads. Had the ra i lway i n Eastern Niger ia been improved and

extended t o connt?ct major co~nmercial towns i t s former customers might

not h ~ v e c l ~ m g ~ d t o r o ~ d t r anspor t . M.N. Abubakar and A.S. Mikali

have observed t h d un le s s t h e e f f i c i e n c y and t h e equipment of the rail-

way w e r P irnprov~d, and a new f l c i d b i l l t y bu i l t i n t o t h e system, t h e

ra i lway would l o x t h e b a t t l e against road t r a n s p o r t even i n areas

where i t had enjoycd ccmplra t ive advantage. 2 8

A l l i n a l l , road t r a n s -

por t was a big blod to tho rai lway. Though t h e B a l l India Technical

an'3 Economic Services {RITES) w a s i n v i t e d to save t h e railway i n d u s t r y

its e x i t l e d to rapid dec l ine .

NOTES

G.E.K. Ofomaka and P.C. Monanu, IIRoads and Railway1' i n (ed.) G.E.K. Ofomata, Niger ia I n Maps: Eas te rn S t a t e s i ~ o n i n : Ethiope, 19751, p. 129

Ib id .

Ib id .

E.A. Akpe, "I know experienced Nigerians who can put life t o Railways" The P res iden t , December 1978, p. 47.

Humphrey N. Nwosu, P o l i t i c a l Author i ty and the Nigerian C i v i l Se rv i ce , (Enugu: Fourth Dimension, 1977). p. 117.

F.A.O. P h i l i p s "Ministry s t a r v e d Rai lwaysl~ The Pres iden t , December 1978, p. 44.

G.E.K. Ofomata and P.C. Monanu, op. c i t . , pp. 13-730.

Humphrey N. Nwosu, op. c i t . , p. 117.

G.E.K. Ofomata and P.C. Monanu, op. c i t . , p. 129.

Alha j i Shehu Wunti, V h y we s igned t h e Agreement wi th RITESu The P res iden t , December, 1978, p. 40.

S.O. Olayide (ed.), Economic Survey of Niger ia 1960-1975, (Ibadan: Aromolaran, 1976), pp. 110-111.

Ib id .

U.M. Igbozurike, E.E. Okpara and M.A. Ijeome (eds.) , Co-operato Role i n Rural Development (Owerri: Karta, 1991), p. 97.

P.E.H. Hair, "The Study of Enugu 1917-1953" An Unpublished Manuscript, Deposited a t National Archives, Enugu, p. 72.

Ib id .

Ib id .

I b i d .

18. Augustine Nwanekezie, Aged c.45 yeara, Eas te rn Railway Div ia iuna l Personnel O f f i c e r , Interviewed J u l y 20, 1996.

19. M.N. Abubakar and A.S. Mlkai l i "Rdlways and Rural Developnent: t h e Nigerian Perspectivevv i n (eds.) U.M. Igbozurike, E.E. Okpara and MoAw Ijeoma, Cooperative Role i n Rural Development, ope cit., p. 209,

20. Daniel Ogbodo, Aged c. 58 years, Retired Railway Art isan , Interviewed a t chi Awkunanaw on 20 Ju ly , 1996,

21. Yakubu Joseph, tfStopping the r a i l s on its Trackst9 A.M. News, Thursday J u l y 6, 1995, p, 4. -

22 . S.O. Olayide (ed.1 Economic Survey of Nigeria 19t OP. ci t , PO 105.

24. Ibid. - 25 . G.E.K. Ofomata and P.C, Monanu, "Roads and Railway

op. ci te , pp. 129-130,

the 27. John Aniagu, Aged c. 45 years, a t r a d e r t h a t used Railway Transport for his business, interviewed 411mll@+ 4, 1996.

28. M w N o Abubakar and A.S. Mikaili, ttRailways and R i Development: the Nigerian Perspective" op. cit.

CHAPTER FOUR

THE TEARS OF RAPID DECLINE. 1985-1990

The Exi t of t h e RITES of India :

Between 1967 and 1979 t h e fo r tunes of t h e Eas te rn railway i n

p a r t i c u l a r and the Nigerian railway i n genera l dec l ined gradual ly .

This dec l ine made the industl-y seek f o r e x t e r n a l h e l p from the R I T B

o f India . The Federal Government of Niger ia had engaged a Canadian

f i rm, Canac i n t h e 19&, i n i n v e s t i g a t i n g the p r o b l e m of t h e rai lway.

am on^ other t h ings , t h e f i rm recommended immediate engagement of a

fo re iqn firm i n t h e management o f the ra i lway f o r 5 years . I n 1979

t h e Federa l Government adopted t h e recommendation and en te red i n t o a n

agreement with the RITES f o r a per iod of 3 years . 1

The agreement with Rail I n d i a Technical and Economic Services

Limited (RITES) provided t h a t a f t e r a per iod not exceeding 3 years,

an e f f e c t i v e and e f f i c i e n t l y managed rai lway system manned f u l l y by

Nigerians, should be handed over t o t h e Federa l ~ o v e r n m e n t . ~ Between

the per iod 1979 and 1982 the RITES managed the Nigerian rai lway.

S i g n i f i c a n t improvements on the e f f i c i e n c y and t h e annual revenue of

t h e rai lway were recorded, though t h e agreement c o s t t h e f a t Bum of

Y 125.7 mil l ion . One important reason f o r t h e recorded improvement

wi th in the per iod 1979 and 1982 was t h a t funds were provided wi thout

much admin i s t r a t i ve cons t r a in t s . New wagons were procurred m d some

grounded d i e s e l locomotives repa i red . The performance of t he r a i lway

was i l l u s t r a t e d by t h e fact t h 3 t passengers i nc reased from 8.5 m i l l i o n

in 1379 t o 11.6 m i l l i c n i n 1952. Df 1984 t h e number had gone up t o

4 15.00 mi l l ion . I n 1932 a l s o t l w raLlway Lransported 2.1 rnilli.on

tonncs o f goods as against 1.G mLllion tonnes i n 1980. 5

Between 19P5 'in3 lQ90, poor manx~cmcnt, m o q o t h e r t h i n g s , led

t o rapid dcclin? i n t l ~ ~ per fo~-mnre o f the railway. I n 1985 out o f a

t o t a l cxprmdi tu rc 0.' N10X.16 rni l l fon, o n l y M96.96 m i l l i o n was earned , 6

a s aga ins t M 3 6 . 7 h i l l i o n ou t OF a t o t a l experidlture of N184.40 m i l l i o n

i n 1992. Dntw~cn 1982 and 2905 t h e ra i lway held no General Manager o r

Chief Executive. Depsrtrn-nts op:3rated indcpm&nl ly oZ any a u t h o r i t y

w i t h i n t h e C o r p r d t f c n . T h i s s i t u ( ~ t i o n qave rlse to poor a t t i t u d e to

work among t h c rai lway s t a f f . Indisc11

There were cases of i n a c c u r a t e accounting and misappropr ia t ion of r a l l - -7

way revenue. Dekween 1987 and 1990, the N l g e r l a n railway was plaguzd

w i t h i l l e g a l sales o f its s c r a p metals, fake t i c k e t s and landed

propcrty. The landed property of t h o E a s t e m ra i lway among other t h i n g s

was s o l d t o privaLe in3ividual.s i n Enugu, Aba and Por t Harcourt. Some

o f t h e property was under-valued and so ld to friends. of the railway

o f f i c i a l s .

T h r s i t u a t i o n was confounded by sho r t age o f locomotives: 148

locomotives were r equ i r ed d a i l y f o r ra i lway s e r v i c e s but o n l y 80 p e r

day were a v a i l a b l e i n 1985.~ i n 1987 Lhe number f u r t h e r dec l ined to

GO and i n 1099, 40. .Ybot!t 440 coaches out o f d total of 674 w e r e Pn

a working cond i t i on by 1907. The r ap id d e c l i n e i n t h e number of

d i e s e l l o c m o t i v c s , wagons and passenqer coaches de r lved from t h e

d r o p i n f u n d s , techn1c;ll and sd rn in i s t r a t l vc services.

I t ha: a l so been pointed o u t t h a t part o f t h e reasons for t h e

r ap id d e c l i n e i n t hc pcrfo, I A K ~ o f t h ? ra i lway i n 1995 was t h a t t h e

RITES camibalised p a r t s o f redundant d i e s e l locomotives for t h e

r epa i r o f func t ioning ones. Though f e w s p a r e p d r t s were imported,

no th ing was done t o rcpai~- redundant d i e s e l engines. Kany of t h e

locomotive ~ n g i n c s were yroun-lcd !irithout anything for t h e i r r e p a l r

a f t e r t h c exit of t h c RITES. f tcnry Okoro was quick t o p o i n t out t h a t

t h ~ e x i t of th? RITES created more problems for t h e railway c o n t r a r y

t o t h e expzctations, According t o him t h e company was i n t e r e s t e d i n

f u l f i l l i n g t h e c o n t r a c t agreement w i t h i n t h e s t i p u l a t e d pe r iod and no t

9 t o leave t h e rai lway b e t t e r t h a n i t found i t . There were more

grcunded locomotives without anything for r e p a i r i n t h e Eas te rn r a i l -

way workshop by t h e t ime t h e RI'rEX l e f t , t han anyone had expected. 10

M.C.U- Okoro d i d not agree t h a t t h e RITES con t r ibu ted t o t h c r a p i d

d s c l i n e o f t h e ral lway. I!? was o f t h e view that: t h e primary cause

of t h e d e c l i n e was cause thc cjoverrlment went back to i t s o l d approach

of i r r e g u l a r funding.'' Oy 1995 .t l o t or railday cquipmont and materla1.s

l i k e d i e s c l locomotives, coaches, wagons, t r a c k s and communication

were in bad condition.

Despite huge yea r ly f i n a n c i a l budget expendi ture on t h e ra i lway,

t h e problems c o n t i n u d . For 1n:;t ance, over ~ 5 0 0 m i l l i o n had gone i n t o

12 t h ~ rai1'r:ay b c t w c n 1987 an3 1989, wlkhout any obvlous lrnprovcment.

Th+- r ap id dcc l inc of t h e rai lway made t h e Nigerian government t o

engage Cli? Chinese i n resmci t ~t ing t h e rdilway .

Staff r a t i o n a l i s a t i o n and i r r e g u l a r funding of t h e r a i lway

contributed tc t h e rap id d e c l i n e of t h e i n d u s t r y from 1985. There

were ~ p c c u l < ~ t i o n s t h ~ t one of t h e major problems of t h e ra i lway wns

l a r g e number o f redundant s t a f f . The Federal Covcrnmcnt had the view

t h a t t h e on ly solut ion t o the prcblem was t h e r a t i o n a l i s a t i o n of r a i l -

way staff. R a t i o n a l i s a t i o n e x e r c i s e was to reduce the number of s t a f f

and make thc i n d u s t r y pr-cf i t -or iented. According t o Kalu Idika Kalu

1 ,256 loccmotive drivers were cmploycd to opcrate 40 locomotives while

?,000 workers wcre employed t o s e r v i c e locomotives and deple ted number

of r o l l i n j stcck. 13

R a t i o n a l i s a t i o n e x e r c i s e began i n 1984. Though t h e rai lwlly

l a i d off 6,000 s t a f f during t h e c i v l l war, a b u t 2,104 workers were

re t renched i n la%. The mass retrencl~rnent a t t r a c t e d s e v e r e c r i t i c i s m .

Somr! c r i t i c s argued t lmt i t was not c a r r i ~ d out o t d ~ r l y . It was opined

t h ~ t somc of t h e workers were L-e t~enched 33~cau:;e t o p o f f i c i a l s o f the

managercnt d id no: l i k c them and not becduse they xcrc redundant , o ld ,

I11 or unproductive. 14

Ho'n'ever, t h e retrenchment e x e r c i s e could not

s o l v e t h e proSlems cf the rai lway.

I n 1PE6 more rctrenchmcnts xcre mde - about 400 men and women

were l a i d off , More workers were re t renched i n 1987 and 1988. A

t o t a l of 1,380 were wrcded ou t i n 1987 and 1,600 i n ~ 9 8 8 , ~ ~ wi thout

g r a t u i t y and pmsion . The mass retrenchmcnt o r t h e so-ca l led staff

r a t i o n d l i s t i L i o n spclt d c o m for t he rallway. Many of i t s s k i l l r ? d

workers w i t h yea i s o f o x p r l c n c e were l a i d o f f . Th i s compounded t h e

problems of the i ndus t ry which t h e exercise was intended t o so lve .

The number- of locomoCLv~s m d r o l l i n g s t ~ k awal t ing repair m u l t i p l i ~ d

because experienced a ~ t i s a n s and t cchnic ians W P ~ C f e w and f a r between.

T h e few e x i s t i n g technic ians were not s e n t on t r a i n l n g cour se t:o

improve their s k i l l s because funds were not ava i l ab l e .

Apart fram those who were re t renched , many ra i lway workers

r e t i r e d because o f many months o f non-payment of s a l a r i e s . Some o f

t h e r e t i r e d o r retrenched workers e s p e c f a l l y t hose t h a t worked i n

e l e c t r i cal, foundry end mechanical workshops cs t a b l i s h e d p r i v , l t e

bus in6sses . file ser luus e f f e c t of the retrenchment e x e r c i s e was t h a t

workers s t i l l i n s e r v i c e saw t h a t t h e i r employment was i n p reca r ious

cond i t i on . The z e a l with which they worked decl ined. Th i s more or

l e s s a f f e c t e d t h e g c n ~ r a l l y bad s i t u a t i o n i n t h e ra i lway Indus t ry , 16

Abiodun Odunuga EOL-?cast t h a t "If anything, retrenchment w i l l not;

only worsen t hc fundamental beacons o f t h ~ e x i s t e n c e of t h e i n d u s t r y ,

i t would further complicate t h e a l r eady p reca r ious transportation

problems i n t h e country, e s p e c i a l l y s i n c e t h e very experienced and

t r a i n e d workcrs a r e b ~ i n g thrown ou t . 17

The number of ra i lway pensioners r o s e from 4,000 i n 1984 t o

24,053 i n 1995 because about 8,846 workers were l a i d o f f a t t h e

i n s t ance o f Technical Committee on P r i v a t i s a t i o n and Commercialisation

(TCPC). The Eas te rn rai lway had a t o t a l o f 7,904 workers i n 1993 cus

a g a i n s t 5,000 a few years ago. i 8

I r r e g u l a r funding among o t h e r t h ings con t r ibu ted t o t h e decay

o f t he rai lway i n f r a s t r u c t u r e . I t had been argued t h a t ra i lway wan

not a profit-making business but a ~ o c i a l s e rv i ce . References were

made t o B r i t a i n , J a p n and Germany where government8 funded t h e rail-

WRY t r a n s p o r t s e c t o r heavi ly . The B r i t i s h Government granted $704

mi l l ion t o the rai lways i n 1976 and $928 mil l ion i n 1982. ' 9 I n t h e

Nigerian s i t u a t i o n , t h e government expected the rai lway to pay i t a

way. The government thus funded the rai lway i r r e g u l a r l y i n o r d e r to

watch the revenue.

However, t h i s funding r a t n e r tnan improve t h e performance of

the rai lway cont r ibu ted t o its decay. The Fede ra l Government was

r e l e a s i n g smut ~4 m i l l i o n monthly f o r the running o f t h e i n d u s t r y

while t he wage b i l l o f t h e s t a f f s t o o d a t H76.5 m i l l i o n monthly i n

1985. Records show t n a t i n tne e a r l y 1960~ t h e Corporat ion had an

ope ra t ing annual s u r p l u s of #9 mill ion. Between 1976 and 7979, i t

opera ted on a d e f i c i t of ~ 4 5 million.20 One important exp lana t ion t o

t h i s problem was poor funding.

Records shod t h ~ t while X224 m i l l i o n was giveri Lo t h e Nigerian

rnilnajers of t h ? r a i 1 : q for eight y e a r s (1970-19771, t h e RITES was

given N55 m i l l i o n i n 1373, ld80 m i l l i o n i n 1380 and ano the r W80 m i l l i o n

i n 1981 totalling H215 rnl l l lon i n t h r e e years.21 By the t i m c t h e

I n d i m s lcit i n June 1?82, they had rece ived a t o t a l of N431 m i l l i o n

and genrra ted cnly r1214.7 : n i l l i o n l cav lng a deficit of N116,9 m l l l l o n ,

Besides, i n a d ~ q u q t e a l l o c a t i o n s were made i n a l l t h e four Nat iona l

Dev.-lopm?nt Plans . R c c ~ r d s shod t h d t i n the 1962-1968 Plan o n l y N30.9

m i l l i o n was a l l o z a l c d t o t h c ra l ' l uny out of H309.032 rn i l l ton i n v e s t e d

on t h e t ranspor t s c c t o r . I n t h e Thi rd National Development Plan t h e

ra i lway got 3.4% ant1 25% in t h e Fourth National Developinent Plan. 2 2

A I . 1 t h e w l e d t o t h e decay of the ra i lway .

Apart i r o n inadequate funding t h e indus t ry was unable to ge t the

total sum a l l o c a t e d to It. I n t h e 1970-1974 Second Nat iona l Development

P l a n f o r i n s t ance , uu: of 381 m i l l i o n budgeted expendi ture on ly W18.6

2 3 m i l l i o n reached t h z Corporat ion i n 1973. Th i s t ype of funding gave

r i s e t o non-paymmt of s a l a r i e s . Avrirage ra i lway warker was ea rn ing

N5?4 per dnnum i n 1978. Though t h e amount was r a i s e d to M800 by 1989,

i t was not r e g u l a r l y p a l d t o t h r b ra i lmen who had t o cater f o r t h e i r

children, wivos and ~ ~ l a t i o n s . Non-pnymnnt o f s a l a r i e s r e s u l t i n g from

i r r e g u l a r funding, and ga l lop ing i n f l a t i o n changed t h e a t t i t u d e of many

wotkcrs. The m-tnaqern~nt of the i n d u s t r y on i t s w m was handicapped

because t h e funding a f f cc t ed every arm o f t h e indus t ry . E r r lng staf f

were not d i sc ip l ined . AZnaji Shehu Wunti was quick t o p o i n t ou t t h a t :

The ra i lways which used t o be one of the r i c n e s t publ ic s e c t o r agencies. . . lost a l l its s k i l l e d man- power t o o t h e r s e c t o r s o f t h e economy f o r want of adequate motivation.24

Some people were o f t h e opinf on t h a t t h e staff r a t i o n a l i s a t i o n

e x e r c i s e could have been a panacea t o t he problems of t h e r a i lway had

i r r e g u l a r funding not s k i l l e d a l l t h e ga ins t h a t accrued from t h e pol icy .

A sys temat ic r a t i o n a l i s a t i o n e x e r c i s e could have helped t o f i n d a

s o l u t i o n t o t he problems of tire rai lway, had i t been c a r r i e d ou t i n

good s p i r i t . Inadequate fund atld unwarranted e t a r f r a t i o n a l i a a t i o n were

the bane of t ne rai lway system which should have been p l ay ing a s i g n i f i -

cant r o l e i n t h e economic s e c t o r .

Poor Management :

Management whicn deah with t h e p r i n c i p l e s mid p r a c t i c e s o f

o r g a n i s i ~ g men and ma te r i a l s with t t a e s o l e aim o f ach iev ing an end

r e s u l t i n a p a r t i c u l a r i l - , s l i t u t i o n , is a v i t a l t o o l i r r the a u r v i r a l

of any busineee. The poor management o f the ra i lway w a s blamed on

the ignorance of t h e func t ions and o rgan i sa t ion o f management by t h e

edrninis t r a t i v e s t a f f .25 Non-application of t h e p r i n c i p l e s and p rac t i c c s

o f admin i s t r a t i on , f i n a n c i a l management, t r a n s p o r t economice and i n t e r -

personal communication were t h e major handicaps of t h e management. I n

t he 1970s t h e r e were cases o f General Managers whose managerial s t y l e and

p e r s o n a l i t y s t i f l e d t h e i n i t i a t i v e and p r o d u c t i v i t y o f t h e i r subord ina t e s . 26

The Canac's Report of 7967 had emphaaised poor management as

t he major bot t leneck i n t he development o f t he The manage-

ment problem p e r s i s t e d u n t i l the RITES was engaged i n t h e management

of the industry. Ry t he time i t l e f t t h e rai lway, t h e problem resur faced .

Between 7982 and 1985 s i x Di rec to r s were l e f t with t he management of the

indtm t r y without nny c h i e f execut ive. They engaged i n c l a n d e s t i n e

s t r u g g l e f o r power and p o s i t i o n i n s t e a d of working f o r t he improvement

of t h e indus t ry . Ethnicism was a major f a c t o r i n t h e s t r u g g l e f o r

p o s i t i o n s among t h e s t a f f . Commenting on t h e problems of the railway,

Humphrey Nwosu s t a t e s t h a t :

.--- .---- 0- .--- '-- - - ---- --- r-- - ---- - --- ---- --- 0 ------- >f i n t e r n a l c o n f l i c t and s t r u g g l e fo r power and inf luence and t h i s l e d t o impaired o p e r a t i o n a l effi- :iency...poor management is p a r t l y r e spons ib l e for i nde r -u t i l i za t ion o f human and m a t e r i a l resourcee. h o t v vanom are not slwavs moved i n time t o t h e v-- - -- - - -- " - - .. . - - ...

p o i n t s where they a r e needed. Nor could the Corpora- t i o n guarantee r e g u l a r and scheduled s e r v i c e t o its customers. 28

Managerial f a c t o r a f f e c t e d eve ry th ing i n t h e r a i lway within t h e

period 1982 and 1990. The type6 o f s p a r e p a r t s , r o l l i n g e tock and

d i e s e l locomotives were a f f e c t e d by it. The poor t r a i n i n g which t h e

s t a f f rece ived was a l s o t h e product of the management t h a t e x i s t e d .

There were cases of impor ta t ion of ra i lway equipment by t h e General

Manager without due consu l t a t i on with t h e experienced r a i lway engineers . 29

This s i t u a t i o n l e d t o mutual susp ic ion , l a c k of confidence and d i a t r u e t

among those who were supposed t o work as a team. The management and

t h e Transport Minis t ry were i n some case8 accused of Importing rail-

way equipment without adequate p rov i s ion f o r t h e i r maintenance and

Locomotives were imported from d i f f e r e n t c o u n t r i e s l i k e

U.S.A., Japan, Canada, Romania and Netherlands without due p rov i s ion

f o r cons tan t supply o f s p r e parts.3' S t a f f t r a i n i n g on t h e use end

maintenance of imported equiirnent from those c o u n t r i e s were not

assured. A t t he time t h e imported d i e s e l locomotives, r o l l i n g s t o c k

and o t h e r equipment were grounded s p a r e p a r t s were out o f s t o c k and

experienced engineers not i n t he indus t ry . Some of t he grounded aquip-

ment had t o be canniba l i sed t o keep o t h e r s func t ioning .

There w a s a l s o the problem of bad a t t i t u d e t o j u n i o r workere

by the s e n i o r o f f i c i a l s of t h e Corporation. Evidence abounds showing

t h a t some s u p e r i o r o f f i c e r s gave misleading c o n f i d e n t i a l r e p o r t s and

recommended wrong persona f o r Hard work vaa t h u s dia-

couraged i n t h e indus t ry . Those re t renched between 1984 and 1990 were

not n e c e s s a r i l y found wanting but because some s u p e r i o r o f f i c e r s wanted

them out .

However, t h e r e were a few people who be l ieved t h a t the one-sided

blame on t h e management was no t reasonable. One o f them, F.A.O. P h i l i p s

w a s of t h e opinfon t h a t the rai lway was i n a s t a t e of neg lec t by t h e

Transport Minis t ry which i t came under i n 1969. To him t i g h t m i n i s t e r i a l

c o n t r o l was more of a problem than t h e ra i lway management. 33

Thm r;\il:.!~y h ~ i l no con t ro l over fares and r a t c s . Yet some p u b l i c

corporations which oyc r ,~ t cd i n t h e same way as t h e railway were a l lowed

certain m~tonnrry o w r their own affa i rs . The N i q ~ r h n Airportr , Author i ty

a n d t h e Pr:jcrlc;n ;LLrr.:qs W L P g iven more autonomy thcln t h e ra l lway,

Aboc-e a l l , t h e Minis t ry i n s o m c a s c s recornncndcd t h e appointrwnt of

G ~ n e r a l Vanxyrs who l i d r m I -nod ldgc of the ra i lway problems.

Poor p!?rsotlncl management was a con t r ibu to ry f a c t o r t o t h e

g e n e r a l F o r m.m?pncnt i n thn corpora t ion . Poor i n c e n t i v e s t o workers

and weak d i x i p l f n x y m c m u - e s , mcng others, com~oundcd the problem.

Lorg~--. . ;c~lc cor r l lp t ion by Lhp ra j lway officials was cndemlc, O f f i c i a l s

o r g ~ n i s e d i l l c -ga l salcs o f sc rap metals, fake t i c k e t s and f r a u d u l e n t l y

34 under-assessed r e n t a b l e p r c p e r t i e s of the rai lway to t h e i r own benefits .

Long months of non-paym~nt of s a l a r l e s ard i n s t a b i l i t y i n govr l r t l r~n t

were con t r ibu to ry f a c t o r s t o puor management.

n7is genera l poor mnayement oE t he rai lway had s e r i o u s conse-

qunrlrcs on t h e ZasLern ra i lway, which i n t h e p s t had performed b e t t e r

t h m rnost secticns of t h e Corpration. Althmqh management was a s e r i o u s

c log t o t h e dcvrl3p1r.nk nf t h a rai lway, i t was by no m:?ans. t h e only

problem. Tn ;I wa;., ! i o ~ ~ , ~ v c r , ?;.hiit: a p p c n ~ ~ d t o !X m~nagernent prohlcm

s o u l 2 be - ~ t . t ~ c h x l t o 1olnl:;:cri,31 bolt len?ckr; and yovcrnment a k t i t u d c t o

t h e corporfit ion.

NOTES 59

1. Chukuumah Eneh, "No Regard for Meri tV1 The P res iden t , December 1978, P. 47.

2. Alha j i Shehu Wunti, I1Why we s igned t h e Agreement with RITES", The P res iden t , December, 1978, p. 40.

3. J .A. Owosini, llAgreement came too l a t e . " The P r e s i d e n t , December, 1978, p. 40.

4. NRC Booklet on Nigerian nailway Corporat ion (Lagos: Railway P res s , Ebute Metta, 1987) Deposited a t the Eas t e rn Railway Divis ion , Enugu, p. 11.

5. Ib id .

6. Yakubu Joseph, llStopping t h e Rails on Its Tracksqf A.M. Newe, Thursday, J u l y 6, 1995, p.4.

7. Kenneth Tadaferua and Nik Ogbube, "Rail o f Hoperf This Week, J U ~ Y 3, 7989, p. 22.

8. N.C.U. 0k0r0, Chairman of t he Nigerian Railway Corporat ion i n 1985, In te rv iew with Nigerian En te rp r i s e , 1987, pp. 38-39.

9. Henry Okoro, Aged c .36, PRO Eas tern Railway Division, In te rv iewed a t Enugu an 16 September, 1996.

10. Ib id .

11. N.C.U. Okoro, op. c i t . , pp. 39-41.

12. Kenneth Tadafarua and Nik Ogbube, op. cit., p. 22.

I Debo Adesina e t al, "A R a i l Behind Timel1, The Afr ican Guardian, September 26, 1988, pp. 11-12.

14. Yakubu Joseph, op. c i t . , p. 4.

15. Debo Adesina e t a l , op. c i t . , p. 12.

76. Kenneth Tadafarua and Nik Ogbube, op. c i t . , p. 22.

18. Augustine Nwakekezie, Aged c. 45 y e a r s , Eas te rn Railway Div i s iona l Personnel O f f i c e r , Interviewed a t Enugu on 20 and 21 J u l y , 7996.

l i l h a j i Shchu :.'unti, "Lhy wc signed t h e Agreement with RITES" op cit . , pp. 49-41.

Patrick Jakpa, ":.,?lat hnnt wrong w i L h the Railways", P r e s i d e n t , Dccrrnbcr 1978, pp. 34-35.

fIum$xcy Nwosu, PoliLica? hu t h o r i t y an3 t h e Nigerlan C k ~ i l

Service (Enuyu: Fourth Dimension, 1977) pp. 117-118.

Debo Adcsina et al, op. ci t , , pp. 12-14.

Pa t r i ck Jakpa , ":.'hat went wrony with thc Railways'', op. tit-, p. 34.

F.A.I>. F h i l i p s , M i n i s t r y starved Railways", The President, Deccmb~r 1370, pp. 44-45.

ffIAPTEA FIVE

Experts are OF t h s op in ion t h < ~ t t h e rsilway consumcd rcmarkably

less energy than oth-L rnodr; of. t r anspor t , mldc use of a l l p~imary

sources O F energy - coal , d i e s e l , nuclear - as a g a i n s t other modes

of t r anspcx ta t ion t h a t d-paic!cd s o l c l y on oi l . Bes ides the railway

t r a n s p c r t ir, rnost ic~yor",r;Lly, chcap. Thcse views were pcrh,lps t h e

rndjor factors t l l z t cncwragcd s o w comrncr.tators t o suggest that the

r a i l~ t ' ay a s thc! nost cccnomic node of t ranzpor t needed resourceful

In order t o r?susci ta te the railway, t h e problems enurncrated

i n chapt:crs three and four 01 t h i s project must he tackled. Poor

rnan~gerncl-it h~lr , kecri p i n t e d out as t h e most important problem of t h e

i n d u s t r y . P o ~ r r n a n q m ~ n t i s a s e r i o u s mattcr For a big corpora t ion

l i k e :he Niserian r a l l h s y wi th branches a l l over the count ry .

I n p r c v m e n t cn thc n x q c n p n t d c p ~ d s on t h e appolnCmcnt o r qualified

s t dff t o lc;.l?rship p s l t i o n s i n thc corporation. Such s t a f f should

possess qudif i ( . -d certificat~(s) i n Managcrnmt Sciences with experience

i n Raili..ay Malajmcn L . Scctlcrnd scntimw-ks or Ltie so -ca l l ed f e d e r a l

c h a r a c t e r , V:~G;C z;pl icat ian 1x1 must cases, discourages. merit and

prumolqs ncpotism, should wroidcd.

S l ~ r t cou :~cs m l wdr kstiops on Pl,magcmentr. should be organ l scd

for tile o f f i c x s m d o t h e r s taff o f t h e Corpora t ion t o upda t e Lheir

s k i l l s and improve t h e i r knowlcdye wh i l e i n office. Through t h i s

app:oc?ch the rndnagers and o t h e ~ s e n l o r o f f icers would be made

conversan t w i t h m+Jern conccpts of rnanagrrnent. Moreover, t h e mmagc-

ment should improve t h e sklll s of t h e i r s t a f f by o r g a n i s i n g o v e r s e a s

and i n t e r n a l t r a i n i n g cou r sc s t o acqua in t t h n i r Cechnlcians and

eng inee r s with ncw sL-ills and dwelopmcnts i n t h e l r p ro fe s s ions .

I n i I i x F p l i n ~ an3 c o r r u p t i o n which hzd d e b i l i t a t e d the Corpora-

t ion could be clicxkr-.d by i n s t a l l i n g good mandgcmcnt . The i s s u a n c e

of f&> t i c k c k c , cmbczzlcmrnt of revenue, s a l e s of r a i lway p rope r ty

for p ~ r r o n s l gains, a m n 3 n t h r r t h i n s s , should be cu r t a i l ed wl th good

rn?nagnnirr,t.. Thp p r i n t i n g of t i c k c t s which had been done by t h e

C o r ~ o r a t i o n ' s P r i n t i n 7 D iv i s ion could be assigned t o t h e N i se r i an

Security P r i n t i n 5 and W n t l n g Company Lo reduce fraud.' Once t h e

fake t i c k e t s a r e circumvented by c n s u r l n ~ gcnuine p r i n t i n g maximum

a n n l ~ a l ~ c t u r n would be guaranteed. Annual rise i n revenue would no

d o u b t h e l p i n maintaining the C o r p a r a t i o n t s workshops and workcirs'

The wclfare cf workc~s i s another important ared which g o d

man;ge~r!cnt wauld h e l p to rev ive . It has becn dgued t h a t p a r t of

t h e reasons why i n d u s t r i e s do not ge t the best from t h e i r workers is

inadequate 01- l a ck of rcclfare proqrarnmils. A 1 1 grades of workers i n

t h e r,>il:.:ag yhould bc provided with adequate welfare package to Pnsure

optirnun prcduc t ivbpi Ly . Too2 ~ i ~ l f are package is an ent icement to workers . It i s a l s o t h e p i l l t h ~ t J i sccurays . co r rup t ion and i n d i s c i p l i n e .

The e f f c c t i v c usc of the various s e d i o n s of t h e Corpora t ion

l i k e Publ ic R e l a t h n s , P r i n t i n g P r e s s , M v c r t i s i n y ctc. should be

cncourdgcd to L ~ L t r x - t more cuctorrtcrs and win back t l ~ c o l d ones,

T h e r c were many busincssrncn ti'lio d i d no t knod the facilities a v a i l a b l e

i n the rai lway, . \ d v e ~ t i s c n c n t would make them conversant wi th the

o p p o r t u n i t i e s ava l l ah lc in t he ra i lway t r a n s p o r t s c c t o r , particularly

i n Eas tc rn PILgcrla.

Fli n i s t e r - i a l Cons t ra in ts :

E i n i s t e r i a l cons t ra in t s : were p s r t of t h e major f a c t o r s t h a t

c ~ n f r o n t c d the Nigerian Railway Ccrpordlion. The Federa l Gowrnmcnt

by an A c t of P a r l i a n r n t o f October 1955 made the railway a S t ~ a t u t o r y

Corpcra t ion 7 ~ 1 t h an autonomy t o determine wages and o t h e r c o n d i t i o n s

of se rv l ccs . T h i s status was r ~ v e r t e d i n 1369 when t h e Corpora t ion

cam! vndcr t h ~ FJLinistrlf of Transpor t , Railwaymen w e r e q u i c k t o point

o u t t h z t t h e 1969 sLstv~s was r e spcno ib l e f o r the s t a g n a t i o n i n t h e

Organisation of t h n i.nciustry, Lack of autonomy gave rlse to c i v i l

service red-taplsm and o t h e r pi-oblems t h a t pu l led t h e ra i lway back-

wards.

For a ver-y long time, on? of the mcri1; c o n s l s t c n t demands of

t h a t if t h s Coz~oration is g i v m t h c oppor tuni ty to exist on its own,

it :,:auld ba a b l e t o talc? : lccis ions and implement them faster and

9 L

b ~ t t ~ ~ . . This V ~ C Z : a111 O ~ . ~ I Z L - S had It:(! t o 1-tl? suycps t lons th;lt three

autoncmous ccmpa i i~ s diould Llc carved out of khc Corporat ion, namely:

Nl:;crim Railway L in i t cd whici) would c m p c t e passengers and f r e i g h t

3 h a u l 3 g ~ wf!.h p r i v a t e ccrpanics, t h c Nigerirm Rail-my Track Author i ty

which would m i n t s i n the tracks and develop nl?w ones, charge fees

f o r t h e u s e of i t s facf1itLc.s and s c r v i c c s ; and Nigerian Engineering

Cornpany Limited which rcould t s k e over t h e Nigerian Railway Corporation's

major workshaps i n Zar ia , %ugu and Lagos.4 Thz activities of t h e

companies would be m n i t o r e d arid regulated by a Ra i l I n s p s c t o r a t e

Un i t iihich would be au tcmmous and accountable only t o t h e plinistry

5 u f Transport .

Dividing t h 2 railway i n d u s t r y i n t o three dutonoinous compmins

is q u i t e in order .mJ c o u l d yiclcl t h c requi red r e s u l t , Ilw.~ever, the

f a c t rexL]ins thd t ~ r r L u i ~ ' d i s c l p l inruy r n l s u t - e s would be required

o t h e m i s ~ z r.h;lt happmcd tn the rai lway might happal to t h ~ three

cornpmies .

! !?~l t l ly m i n i s t c r i a l c c n t r o l js good for t l~c c o r p o r d t i o n b u t

n o t .I s t r i n g e n t t y p tllst could d i s c o u r a y . ~ p rof l r imcy . The F e d e r a l

E i n i s L r y o f T r a n s p o r t s h ~ u l d i n most cases a l l o w the ncmagernent of

t h e i n d u . ~ t r y t o a d v i z c 1'. on t h e t e c h n i c a l i t i e s involvcrf i n the

i n p o r t a t 1 on of ccrLdirl mdchincs, spare p a r t s and locornot lves . Thcre

w e r e cases whsre rnin!'r;try w i t h h e l d allocvlt-lons due to the railway

d n n u a l l y wi thout c q c n l E a s o n s . Thlz type of s i t u a t i o n should d l s -

c o n t i n u c becau~ys, arn13n3 n:hm t h i n g s , i t d i s t o r t s the p l a n s of t h e

corpordt ion s n l r c n d o r s t h ~ whole s y s t m unwo~kable . A s i t u a t i o n

whcr-c t h y c o r p r a t i o n would hsv.2 to v i s i t t h e ministry many timcs t o

g 2 t iLs znnual a l l o c a L i o n i s unheal thy clnd s h o u l d be d1r;ccurnged.

T n a d e q u s t ~ and I r r q u l a r F'unding:

N o i n d u s t r y , hoxevcr e x c e l l e n t i ts management might n o t be able

t o perfoAm without adequate fundlng. Though t h e corporation was not

~rnder-funded, l n d d e q u l t e and i r r e g u l a r fund ing have crippled Its

c p z r a t i o n s i n c e 137Cs. The rnanxjement of t h e industry had i n many

cacez ccmplaincd OF i n a J c q u a t e and i r r e g u l a r f u n 3 i n g as major b t t l e -

necks i n devclaipinj t h e t r a n s p o r t s x t o r . Nthough huge m o u n t of

money was ~ L l c c a t e ~ I to t h c t r a n s p o r t s e c t o r in t h e 1962-68 Ndt lonn l

Dcvelopixnt Plan - N309,C32 - o n l y N30.9 mllllon reached Che corpora-

t i o n . I n 1980-1085 P!atignal ikvelopment Plan also a b u t 25% O F the

Federal Scvernrnent a l l c c a t i o n t o T r a n s p o r t S e c t o r %en'; into the railway.

I n 1995, out or a tct31 d l l a - a t i c n of ::6 b l l l i o n to t r a n s p r t sector,

6 t h e rai lway got a p a l t r y sum of W3OO mil l ion . One

Executive of the indus t ry , F.A.O. P h i l i p s has s t a t e l

t ime Chief

d t h a t money given

t o t h e ra i lway was inadequate f o r the running o f t he Corporat ion. 7

Annual a l l o c a t i o n t o t h e t r a n s p o r t s e c t o r is however not small, but

t he a l l o c a t i o n t o t h e ra i lway and i r r e g u l a r disbursement were no t

encouraging. These exp la in why t h e ra i lway has been unable t o perform

s a t i s f a c t o r i l y .

Inadequate and i r r e g u l a r funding c r e a t e d p r o b l e m f o r t h e rail-

way corpora t ion . When the s t a f f o f t he i n d u s t r y were no t pa id t h e i r

nontnly s a l a r i e s and s p a r e p a r t a not purchased and loco rno t ive~ no t

imported t o r ep l ace o ld ones, and communication not kep t i n o r d e r ,

t h e i ndus t ry would be grounded. It has been argued t h a t B r i t a i n ,

Japan and Egypt provided more funds t o t h e i r r a i lway annua l ly than

Nigeria with more k i lomet res o f r a i l l i n e . , N i g e r i a n government should

provide adequate fund necessary f o r t h e func t ion ing o f the r a i lway s o

t h a t its organs would not decay and its con t r ibu t ions t o t h e t r a n s p o r t

s e c t o r would be maintained. If the government could g ive t h e r a i lway

under Nigerian managers ~ 2 2 4 m i l l i o n i n e i g h t years and 1431 m i l l i o n

t o RITES i n 3 yea r s , then the Minis t ry was aware t h a t t h e y e a r l y a l l o c a -

t i o n t o ra i lway was inadequate. The ges tu re extended t o t he r a i lway

during t he period of the RITGS should continue.

Nigerian Government has neglec ted the r a i lway f i n a n c i a l l y .

Canac, t h e fo re ign f i rm t h a t i n v e s t i g a t e d the problems of t h e Corpora t ion ,

i n t h e 1960s recommended t h a t tne ra i lway needed el80 m i l l i o n wnicn i t

8 hoped would reduce i t s problems by two-thirds. Needleas t o p o i n t

out t h a t one of the m o s t important medicines f o r t he c u r e o f t h e r a i l -

way problems is adequate funding. However, t h e ra i lway shou ld a l s o

explore ways of complementing its y e a r l y a l l o c a t i o n through i n t e r n a l

sources , a p a r t from j u s t i f y i n g the use of the money a l l o c a t e d t o it

annual ly.

Technical Cons t r a in t s : --

Technical c o n s t r a i n t s were perhaps p a r t s of t h e major problem8

o f the railway system. Problems of worn out ra i lway t r a c k s , bad

g rad ien t s and l a c k of s t anda rd gauge were t e c h n i c a l problems t h a t

could be so lved by t e c h n i c a l experts . Almost every k i lome t re o f t h e

r a i l - t r a c k was bad and t h i s l e d t o exc ruc i a t ing slow speed and

f requent derai lment of t r a i n s . Tra in speed w a s r e s t r i c t e d t o about

18 ki lomet res per hour because of t h e s e t e c h n i c a l The

ope ra t ion of outmoded and obso le t e s i g n a l l i n g and communication equip-

ment was a l s o hampered by t echn ica l c o n s t r a i n t s . A l l t h e s e r e s t r i c t e d

t h e ope ra t iona l performance of the railway.

Se l ec t ed rai lway s t a f f should be sent. on cons t an t t r a i n i n g cour ses

i n o r d e r t o s o l v e some of the t echn ica l problems of the indwstry.

Although re t i rement and retrenchment have l e d t o t e c h n i c a l constraint^

because of t he number o f s k i l l e d and experienced t echn ic i ans and

cncjinccrs ?aid off , :hc! i n d u s k y should, i f f inenced, t r a i n i ts

techn ica l s t a f f i n N i 3 c r l n and abroa?. This would minimise the

t e c h n i c a l c o n s t r , ~ i r ~ b s of Chc Corporation. Constant Technica l Agree-

ments -&th cxp?r lcnzc? f c r e i q firms could be renchcd on t h c resusci-

t a t i o n of thrs ra!.l..qr dnJ t r a i n i n g or i L s t e chn ica l s t a f f . Though

Fcdc ra l GovcrmnnL c o n t r ~ c t Agrf?cmcr.t w i t h t h e RITES was not an

encouraginq cxa;ripln b - c a n x of i t s short pried among o t h e r things,

l o n 7 ~ ~ - conskmt aqrci'mcnts s:',th o t h c r forc lqn r-irrns a t s o l v i n y the

el p c t r i c a l , m c c h ~ n i c a l , foundry, s i ~ n a l l i r r g and communication problems

af thc i n d u s t r y k ; ~ u l d Lo a nrccssilry panilcca. Thls arrangcmcnt would

a l s o s o l v e stlor-tage o l spare p a r t s and r c p i r - s of the r a i lway

i n f r a s t r u c t u - n .

If t h e milwaymen arc adequately t r a i n e d to repair most of the

grounl-d t r a i n s dnd i n s o x cases c o n s t r u c t unava l ldb l e sparc parts,

the t ~ c h n i c n l p~-oblcms of the railway would be rninimlscd. Attractive

;:elfare package and s d l z r i c s Lo t c ~ h n i c a l s t a f f of thc ra l lway should

bc cncourag-d. It is h ~ . . ~ r v e r t h c ke1ir.f of most r a i lway t e c h n i c i a n s

t hd t t h n i !- welfare vas not looked aftcr nor t h e i r monthly sa! a r i ~ s

guar~lr,t e r j . p o n s L s C , ~ n t wcX fsrc P;IcI:;~c t o thr? technicians and o t h c r

rail~n's;. s taf f r h c ~ ~ l d bn adcplcd i n order t o rncourdgo hard work and

d c d l c a t i c n t o tlu!y.

5 i v i n . j Lh? ~ - ; t i l ' + ' ~ y t'72 f r -ee h m 3 t o op;-dl;c on a commercial

bas i s could he12 t h z i n d u s t r y mcct up w i ! - t ~ t h e dynanics of t i m e .

It has bnen a~-cjue3 thak bccausr the railway l a c k ~ d the freedom to

act i n , a dynamir s c t t i n g dun to s t r u c t u r a l chccks and balances i n

t h e X i n i s t r y , i t could n c t m c e t up 'riith the cliallcnges that faced

i t 05tix- tlmc . Tl~i? N i g e r i a n R>il:.:ay C o r ~ o r a t i o n o m s such D ~ p a r t m c n t s l i k e

t h e &?dldnica't, Fabricd';ion, Foundry, S m i t h i n 3 and E l e c t r i c a l .

Thcse d~partrnctl ';~, i t i s o f t e n clairncd, co.cr1.j turn the wheels of

many indus t r - i c s an:! fccl m-rrn;. homes with dnm..stic products at a f fo rdab le

prices. T!le N i g w l m R d l Li\'ay P r i n t i n g PL-czs, i t s f lospitdls and out -

d0o.r arlvert.icln3 servizc2s could b1.1 coinrnercialtscd to y l c l d more

revcnu: t o Lho i n d u s t r y . Evcn t h e Im3cJ p r ~ p e r t y of t h e r a i lway

could bc r9nLracted o u t t o rni ikc tli.2 corpocdtl.on viable.

10 of c e r t a i n depar ' immts i n Lhc corpora t ion . Although t h c corporation

had cornnercialisnd son^ of i t s secticns care must be t aken i n orier

s u l v i n j ;umc of t h c , - ~ ~ b l v r ; of the c u r p r . l t i o n . However, p r i v a t l s a -

t i o n 2nd c o n \ m c r c i ~ l i s d t l o n without a r e spcnz ib l c b a r d t t ~ a t could

monitor dnd S I I ~ C T V ~ S C th2 s r c t i o n s could be a fruitless exercise.

Morrovcl-, t h n social :prv!.zc :rhich thc ailw way had k c n provldfnq to

t h o ;rc..ing t!i3cri;ln ~ p x l ~ l t i o n could be com;~romlsed f o r c?conomic

gd inz ~ i ' - h o u t s ~ h h a r d .

Thc Chnllenge from R c x k and Lw:s of Custoncrs:

Tllc r a i l w a y lost nost of i t s custoiners t o roads bccause

of i n n f i l c i e n r y . tbreo-:er, rsll l i n ~ s have not bccn constructed to

m r l j o r corrmercial cen t rcs Lo cazp L r a n ~ ~ o r t d t ion. Our cconurny has

s u f f e r 4 S x a u s e of t h e c x t r s amount people had to spend on ma!clng

use of alter.1lstic- nimns of t r a x p r t i n j thoLr goods. Ext.ra cost

i npcsed by t he use of r o d h3s 1-d t o i n c r e 3 s c i n the p r i c e s of goods

~ n 3 scr \? i~rs .

In order to meet t h ? cha l l enges of road transport, d r a s t i c

improveinent i n t h e s t r u c tu-es an-1 f a c i l i t i e s of the r a i lway should

be undertaken. First, t h e ra i l%ay should be extended to l i n k up

trnportant curnmct.cia1 c i t i ~ s t l ~ o u 3 h o u t t h c na t ion , Second, t h e three

ral1-road competition 15 good for thc country and t r anspor t users.

The issue is t u havc an I n t c y r , , t c d t r anspor t syctern i n which rail,

roxl, a1 r mr1 hi2 tnr-l.'dys cu~1.2 p l a y ccmplemtntclry r o l c ~ .

tag" of w i n g t!ic most ecc-ncnic xeans of t r a n s ~ o r t . ~ c c o r d i n g t o

c x p c r t s , t r a i n s ccnsun: ren.:lrksbly less energy than c a r s a d lorrics,

11 an? cause lcss p l l u t i o n . Constant t raff ic jams and road accidents

could hc dnimised w i t h the use of rdilway. I n fact, t r a i n s arc

N i j e r i a n 0xpcricr;cc i r , ~:r.iyu? l x c ~ u s e of t l ~ o ld equipment, narrow

In csnclusion, r ; c . l - ~ i n j L!IL* protlcms of the Eastezn rallway and

ttlc Ni;crian r ; l i l i . ' k ~ y ill ~ - t : ~ ~ - d would helve far-ranging positive

of f ~ s t s . kjricultu~~?. J I , ~ la t ~rlurdcturcd yoo~ l s m u l d be transported

ch paply v.l? hi11 :he connkr;, passcn,cr t r a f f i c would lncrease i n voli~rne

h h i l e thc ccs!. ; , ~ u 1 3 go ?2b~;...

NOTES

U.rl. Ijtozur-:kc, C.C. @kp;ira srld M.A. Ijcorno (cds. 1 , "or por~tc P2l - i n R u t - s Z D c v e l o p m m L , op. ciL . , p. 137.

Rcmi Cyillr;trin, "Scircrr,n?nt Zeriour; on Rail Revitalization Says Tluki-:eql 3- Tu.:r.dizn, Fri:lay, J s n u x y 5 , 1936, p. 20.

YaGuS.1 Josc>h, Skipping t h c ?ails on Its Tracks" c ~ . cit., p. 4.

LIST OF INFORMANTS

Approxi- mate k j c

c.GC) 'fears

c.45 Years

Rctirctl Rai l - way Artisan

D i v i s icna l Fcrsunncl 0 f f icer

Divisional P u b l i c Rcla- t lons Of fr.

Ret i red Col Zicry Manager

D r i v e r

Datc of I n t e r view

20 J u l y 13%

20 July 1936

4 A u ~ u s t 1936

26 Scpt. 1336

16 Scpt . 1996

10 O c t . 1336

a. Archival M a L c r i ~ 7 . s :

BIBLIOGRAPHY

~p

b. Official . Publicat ions:

RIVPROF, 0/6/14, O:d. 86, Transport on Eas tern Railway 2919.

CSE, 12/1/614, SP. 3/35/488 Elelenwa--Change of PJ;1:;im oi ' r i i i u k ~ ~ - o ~ h ~ Railway S t a t l o n 1945.

RIVPtVF. 8/6/66, fXr. 51, Contract with Chicfs f o r t h e Suiply o f Labcur 1918.

P R ,,LL r rill ‘SF. 51/5/29, I t u Railway - Surveyor to hand over r n ~ k e r i a l s 1906

ADADTST. 13/3/49, Rccruitrncnt of Labour for Const ruc t ion , 2919.

CSE. 5/17/3, C.14, R ~ i p i ~ i t i ~ n 05 Land fo r t h e E t x i t c r r i Railway North oi b u g u , 1923.

AIII)IST. 2/1/427, AW. 675, Rosd Competition with Railway 1935.

CSE 8/7/11, CSO 51, Udi Coal Mlncs Railway, 1912.

CALPROF. 14/0/1546, E/26-06/1913 Labour for the const ruct ion of Port ftarcourt Line, 1913.

Mi l i t a ry Resorts on Nigcr ia prepared by t h e General S t a f f !?ar Office V o l . I (General) (London: Harrison and Sons 1929)

Annual Wport on the Govcrmmt Railway anJ C o l l i e r y for t h e f i n a n r i a 1 ycsr 1936-1937.

Guidelines for t h e Third National Developent Plan 1975- 130 ( L a p s : The Cen t ra l Planning Office, Federal Minis t ry O F Economic Dfvelopncnt and Reconstruction.

N i g ~ r i a n Co31 C o r ~ r ~ t i o n T h i r d - Sccond Annual R e p & for t h 2 y e w 1395.

Booklet on Nigerian Railway Corporat ion (Lagos: Railway P res s Ebute Metta, 1987).

11: SECONDARY SOURCES:

a: Books:

Afigbo, A. , Ropes of Sand: S t u d i e s i n Igbo H i s t o r y and Cu l tu re , (Nsukka: Un ive r s i t y of Nigeria P r e s s , 1981).

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Akinjogbin, I . A . , and S.O. Osoba (eds . ) , Topics on Nigerian Economic and S o c i a l His tory ( I f e : Un ive r s i t y of I f e P re s s , 1980).

Buchanan, K.M., and J.C. Pugh, Land and People i n N ige r i a , (London: Univers i ty o f London P r e s s , 1969). '

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Fa lo l a , T. ( e d . ) , B r i t a i n and Nigeria: E x p l o i t a t i o n o r Development? (London and New J e r s e y , 2nd ed Books, 1987).

Hopkin, A.G., An Economic Hi s to ry o f West Africa. (London : Longman, 1982 1.

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Mcphee, A. , The Economic Revolu t ion i n B r i t i s h West A f r i c a , (London : Frank Cass , 197 1 ) . Nwabara, S.N., Iboland: A Cen tury o f Contac t w i t h B r i t a i n 1860-1900, o on don: Hodder and S t r a i g h t o n , 1977).

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b. F u b l i s h e d A r t i c l e s :

Abubakar, N.M. and A.S. M i k a i l i , Railways and Rural Development: The N i g e r i a n Perspective11 i n (eds.1 U.M. I g b o z u r i k e e t a l , Corpora te Role i n R u r a l Development, (Owerri : Kart P r e s s , 1981).

Gavin, R.J., and Wale Oyemakinde, ''Economic Development i n N i g e r i a s i n c e 180011 i n (ed . ) Obaro Ikime, Groundwork o f Niger ian H i s t o r y ( Ibadan: Heinernann, 1980).

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E x p l o i t a t i o n o r Development? (London and New J e r s e y : Zed Books, 1987).

Obadike, D.C., E x p l o i t a t i o n of Labour: Waged and Forced i n (ed.) Toyin ~ a l o l a , B r i t a i n and ~ i p p r i a : E x p l o i t a t i o n o r Development? (London and New Je r sey : Zed Books, 7987).

Olanrewaju, S.A., "Administration o f t he Nigerian Railway Corporat ionM, Jou rna l of Publ ic A f f a i r s , Vol. I , 1976.

I1The I n f r a s t r u c t u r e of Exp lo i t a t i on : Transport Monetary Charges, Banking e t c . i n (ed.) Toyin Fa lo l a , B r i t a i n and Nigeria: Exp lo i t a t i on o r Development, (London:and New J e r s e y , Zed Books, 1987).

Omosini, 0. The Background t o Railway Po l i cy i n Niger ia 1877 t o 1901 i n (eds.) I.A. Akinjogbin and S.Q. Osoba, Topics on Nigerian Economic and S o c i a l H i s to ry ( I f e : Univers i ty of I f e P re s s , 1980).

Ukwu, I. Ukwu, "The Development of Trade and Marketing i n Igbo Land" J o u r n a l of H i s t o r i c a l S o c i e t y of N ige r i a , Vol. 3 , No. 4, 1967.

Usman, Y.B., "Transport and Communications" i n (eds.) M.O. Keyode and Y.B. Usman, Niger ia S i n c e Independence: The F i r s t 25 Years, Vol. 11, The Economy, (Ibadan:

c . Unpublished Thesis and Manuscript:

Abuka, N.U., I1Role of t h e Railway i n Niger iau (B-SC. Economics P r o j e c t , U N N , 1986).

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The Guardian, October 5, 7995.

79

The Guardian, November 24, 1995.

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The Guardian, A p r i l 23, 1996.

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