FLAGGING off the $1.96 billion Kano-Maradi rail line in February this year, President Muhammadu Buhari said that the project would enhance import and export trade between Nigeria, Niger Republic and neighbouring countries when completed in 2023. According to him, the project would, on completion, establish an end-to-end logistic supply chain in railway transport services between the northern and southern regions of the country, reaching ports in Lagos and Warri. He said: “The country would earn revenue through expansion of trade and commerce, while the people of Niger Republic will benefit from ease of transportation logistics at affordable cost in their import and export business…The entire route encompasses territory inhabited by close to 80 million people across 10 states of the country.”

The president added that the Kano-Maradi rail line had been identified as a viable line that would significantly enhance the movement of passengers and freight to the hinterland, especially raw materials from both agricultural and mineral resources for Nigeria’s industries. The connection to Niger Republic through rail, he observed, would also foster trans-Sahara trade and contribute to the expected gains in the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement. While the president did receive some flak given what critics termed the urgency of particular projects of great economic benefit within the country, there is no doubt that an international rail line between Nigeria and Niger Republic does offer economic opportunities. There is, however, another rail line that potentially offers greater economic benefit to the country if given utmost and immediate attention: a rail line linking Lagos to Cotonou, Benin Republic.

The fact is well known that, between them, the 15 member states of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have an annual GDP put at $687.66 billion. But this figure can increase dramatically with a functional rail line between Nigeria and the Republic of Benin. Lagos is Nigeria’s economic capital and a rail line connecting Lagos and other West African countries like Togo and Ghana through the Republic of Benin while also, on the Nigerian end, linking Ibadan to Kano and Maradi, promises to engineer great economic benefits. It is also well established that the volume of trade along the route is heavy and Nigeria being the economic hub of the sub-region, of sub-Saharan Africa and indeed of Africa as a whole can leverage on it for sustainable results. When considered critically, the proposed Lagos-Cotonou rail can pay for itself within reasonable time. It is sure to attract investors once put in place. In any case, a rail network along the route can provide an alternative to the long, hazardous journeys by road and free the roads along the border communities and the neighbouring countries of heavy-duty trucks causing damage to them. It is also more commercially viable than the Maradi project.

Over the years, rail transporthas proved to be cost-effective, as rail has lower fuel costs compared to road transport, and less costs associated with drivers. Because trains burn less fuel per ton-mile than trucks, experts have noted that shipping via train tends to be more environment-friendly than road travel. Indeed, According to the Association of American Railroads (AAR), freight railroads can move one ton of freight an average of 479 miles on a single gallon of fuel. On top of that, using rail transport over road transport can lower greenhouse gas emissions by 75 per cent.

And what is more, building the proposed rail will enable Nigeria to actualise some of the goals outlined for it by international agencies. For instance, in its 2019/2020 Regional Economic Outlook, theAfrican Development Bank posited that West Africa could benefit immensely from many opportunities, including diversification, infrastructure development, and linking production to global value chains. Overall economic growth in West Africa was projected to be at 3.6 percent in 2019 and 2020, boosted by the recovery of commodity prices and improved production and service sectors in the region. Instructively, the projection showed how regional integration, of which an international rail network is a vital part in our own view, can spur structural transformation and foster economic prosperity on the continent.

We urge the Buhari-led government to give the proposed rail project urgent consideration. In the last few years, it has shown some commitment to the revival of rail transport in the country even if there are extant conceptual and structural issues to address. Linking Nigeria to the Republic of Benin via rail will further cement that commitment and help in advancing the country’s economic fortunes.