Professor of Transport and Logistics, Lagos State University, Samuel Odewumi, has called on the government to create a transport policy that will accommodate all modes of transportation for the nation.

He also said the government must quickly tackle the issue of insurgency in the country, stating that if not tackled, the transportation system in the country cannot progress.

He said the government should engage retired officers in the military and paramilitary to form clusters with a promise to increase their pensions as part of efforts to tackle insurgency in the country.

Odewumi stated this at the 99th inaugural lecture in Lagos, titled: “Walking our way back to the Garden of Eden: Envisioning a model of the complete metamorphosis of the urban transportation system trajectory.”

He called on the government to address the prevailing insecurity that has dampened Nigeria’s transport system, which has made it unattractive to many, including farmers.

According to him, all modes of transportation in Nigeria needed overhauling as none is independent of the others. He expressed dissatisfaction in the transport sector, stressing that industry has been balkanised such that the activities in the sector are scattered across many government ministries and agencies.

According to him, this situation greatly displeased the Nigerian academia and professional associations such as the Chartered Institute of Transport Administration of Nigeria (CIOTA).

Odewunmi noted that road and rail management, inland and international waters, the Ministry of Aviation and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), which served as pipeline, and the Ministry of Works (road construction) should all have been under one umbrella body- Ministry of Transportation, with an overall minister while a minister of state to head each of the other units.

This arrangement, he pointed out, would have unearthed the sector’s full potential in its facilitation and contribution to the national economy. Speaking further, the don, who was the former dean of the School of Transport and Logistics at LASU, gave several other recommendations capable of substantially moving the nation’s transport sector forward.

He said the government would need to give special attention in terms of effective management of road transportation because about 90 per cent of all mobility in the country is carried out on roads.

He equally emphasised the professionalism of the transport sector at the three levels of governance by allowing experts, who understand the system very well to be in charge at all levels of governance- local, state and national.

The inaugural lecturer, however, commended the Lagos State government for concluding its transportation policy, which has already been presented to the stakeholders on May 28, 2024, advising that any further review necessary on the document should be carried out without delay. He said the document, if well reviewed to become a policy, would set a pace for the Federal and other state governments still battling with their formations.

Odewumi also recommended that the government should adopt the use of local materials, technologies and expertise for road repairs and construction rather than relying on expensive foreigners, especially from China and Germany, who will repatriate their income back home. He also called on the Lagos State government not to abandon the research on converting solid wastes like plastics, polythene and sand to road repairs and construction materials.

He noted that the first phase of the research work funded by the state government had been concluded and now that it required testing of the durability and sustainability of the fabricated blocks in the laboratory, the government has abandoned it.

Introducing the inaugural lecturer earlier to the audience, the Vice-Chancellor of LASU, Professor Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello, who was represented by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), Professor Olufunsho Omobitan, extolled his virtues. She described Odewumi as a great scholar and an administrator par excellence.

Also speaking, Executive Director, Centre for Sustainable Mobility and Development, Kayode Opeifa, said the inaugural lecture is an academic tradition for whoever becomes a professional to come to the public and express or explain to the public his or her contribution to knowledge and beyond.

Opeifa said the professor’s contribution is also an opportunity for the town to meet with the gown, stating that the gown, which is the university community, the academia, can share information about the research work they have done and how it has impacted life. Opeifa, a former Commissioner of Transport in Lagos, said the professor went beyond what many people are used to. He said the professor went as far as a predictive modeling of our institutions, while also expressing his thoughts about some national issues.

“We belonged to the Chartered Institute of Transport and Administrators, and the sector was shocked by the breaking of the entire transport ministry into different ministries, and what he said, just like what many of us also think about. There is a need for a policy organisation among the different sectors.

He said the professor also mentioned the issue of integration and coordination within the transport system, stating that he also mentioned an efficient, reliable transport system.

He mentioned that the professor spoke on the model of a centre-centric, multiple centre centric, while also touching on the human capacity for the transport sector.