By Abdulkareem Haruna
A protest broke out in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, on Sunday, as hundreds of locals gathered to decry the planned removal of railway coaches from the terminus of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) to Jos, Plateau state.
The residents, carrying placards, thronged the roads leading to the terminus to express their outrage at the plan to relocate the disused coaches.
Some officials said the coaches were allegedly being deployed to Jos to serve the state’s commitment to revive the intercity rail system.
Drama unfolded on Saturday, Oct. 14, when locals spotted five trucks being loaded with coaches, which had been separated from their wheels. The incident escalated, resulting in police involvement and shots fired at the truck wheels, forcing the drivers, accused of theft, to run for their dear lives. About six of the NRC personnel were arrested and detained.
The NRC released a brief press statement on the same day to address the widespread allegations of illegal removal of the coaches, as suggested by the residents.
The statement read: “NRC management wishes to clarify this erroneous reportage by stating that the said coaches are officially being moved to NRC Running Shed Jos, Plateau State for refurbishment and re-operation. NRC is trying to extend Rail Mass Transit all over the country.”
However, Borno State residents hold a different perspective. They perceive the removal of the coaches without repairing the rails as a contradiction to NRC’s claims.
A protest leader voiced their concerns: “They simply want to take the coaches away, refurbish them, and transport them to other parts of the country, denying Borno state future access to railway services.”
Borno State’s deputy governor, Umar Kadafur, who visited the terminus, urged the demonstrators to remain peaceful as the government investigates the matter.
Speaking to the press, Kadafur stated: “We are here to intervene and listen to the people. We have heard their cries and as a responsible government, we are urging the federal government to reconsider reviving the railway system in Borno state, rather than removing the existing infrastructures. We have reassured the protesting crowd that we will prevent such actions from continuing. As a government, we are exploring ways to support the revival of the railway system to benefit our people.
“The railway was brought to Maiduguri because this state borders three countries and its services support trans-Saharan commerce. The people here are passionate about the railway system. If the NRC wishes to conduct any legal activity, they should establish clear communication channels to inform the public. They arrived without notice, provoking the passionate locals to protect their interests.”
Fact Untold
Further investigation by The Humanitarian Times has revealed that a group of coaches, which were initially removed, had already departed from Maiduguri and arrived in Bauchi before the process was halted on Saturday. An anonymous official from the NRC has confirmed this information, stating that the coaches belonged to the NRC. That the decision to remove them for refurbishment came from the NRC’s Lagos headquarters following a request from the Governor of Plateau State.
“The Governor of Plateau State expressed interest in establishing an inter-township rail system in collaboration with the NRC. Since we had unused coaches in Maiduguri, a directive was issued to relocate them for use in Plateau. It is important to note that although the coaches are in Maiduguri, they are the property of the NRC and can be deployed anywhere.”
The government of Borno and people of state may have probably gotten the above hint much later that the coaches were being ferried to another state, before they began to protest that decision.
The Humanitarian Times 