Don seeks death penalty for railway vandals

Transport and logistics experts have blamed lack of political will and poor policy implementation for Nigeria’s failure to develop an efficient integrated transport system.

They lamented that the country was still lagging in integrating the transport system despite the array of local expertise and repeated government policy initiatives.

The experts spoke in Lagos, at the weekend, during the second edition of a transport summit themed: “Navigating Global Disruption and The Road Ahead: Mobility, Energy and Trade Facilitation for Resilient Future.”

A senior lecturer at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Dr Femi Aiyegbajeje, while speaking during a panel session on the paper titled “Rail-Led Multimodal Integration: Unlocking Efficient Transport, Trade Facilitation and National Connectivity, said the country’s major challenge was not the absence of workable ideas but the failure to translate policies into concrete action.

He, however, recommended the death penalty for railway infrastructure vandals, warning that attacks on critical transport assets undermine mobility, logistics efficiency and economic growth.

Also speaking at the summit, Executive Director of Operations and Technical at Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited, Warredi Enisuoh, called for the integration of security awareness into Nigeria’s school curriculum from the basic education level.

He also advocated the deployment of advanced facial recognition technology and long-range thermal drones to strengthen the protection of vulnerable supply chains and critical infrastructure.

Managing Principal of AZ Logistics, Dr Azeez Mustapha, said Nigeria had the capacity to develop an effective integrated transport system, but lacked the political commitment required to implement policies successfully.

He, therefore, urged government at all levels to prioritise implementation and develop a transport integration model suited to the country’s peculiar circumstances.

Mustapha maintained that the Federal Government must demonstrate sufficient commitment to ensure that proposed transport infrastructure and connectivity projects deliver their intended benefits.

Also, Managing Director of Expedite Movers Nigeria Limited, Olubowale Ade-Onojobi, faulted the country’s approach to policymaking.

She emphasised that successive administrations had introduced policies without ensuring their effective execution.

Ade-Onojobi suggested that the country could learn from the United Kingdom’s transport system model, but cautioned against adopting foreign policies without adapting them to local realities.

Besides, Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor on Blue Economy, Oluwadamilola Emmanuel, maintained that Nigeria does not need to import an entire transport model from another country to achieve effective integration.

Publisher of MMS Plus Newspaper, Kingsley Anaroke, in his contribution, called for a gathering of Nigerian transport experts to develop a practical framework for integrating the country’s transport infrastructure and services.