The federal government has further explained the economic benefits of the $1.9 billion Kano -Maradi rail line to Nigeria, affirming that Nigeria currently is lagging behind compared to its smaller neighbouring West Africa countries in the areas of cargo transportation to and from the sea ports.
The Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, said the idea behind the construction of the rail line is for Nigerian to be able to transport cargo, not just from Niger Republic but from neighboring states.
Speaking while on a tour of the Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge rail lines, he said, “We are not competing well with Togo, Benin Republic, Ivory Coast and Ghana over cargoes that come from landlocked states.”
According to the minister, “The excuse they give for the poor competition by Nigeria is that our roads are bad, criminals attack them and there are police checkpoints and customs checkpoints. They are not able to do business due to the high cost of transactions. If we have to compete favourably, it means that Nigeria has to repair or rebuild their roads. But a rail line will solve the problem”.
Mr. Amaechi further stated that goods coming from Niger will be processed in Maradi by the Nigerian customs and straight to Apapa sea port which attracts more business for the country.
Reacting to criticism by a cross section of Nigerians on the project, the minister said, “We are tired of giving this explanation. We do not have wives from Niger Republic. The first time I was in Niger Republic was about three weeks ago, to ask the government to give us right of way and where we can build warehouses for these businesses.”
He added that “We are doing this to grow the economy and create employment. Even if we stop at Jibya, Jibya to Maradi is just 12km.”
