By: Kamal Hammajo | August 30th, 2025
In Nigeria today, the rising cost of goods and services has become one of the most pressing challenges facing households and businesses. While factors such as inflation, foreign exchange instability, and insecurity play their part, one of the least discussed yet most significant drivers is the high cost of transportation. The road-dominated system of moving people and goods across Nigeria is both inefficient and expensive. With dilapidated highways, overburdened trucks, and security threats along major routes, transporting food from the North to the South or industrial goods between States adds enormous costs that consumers ultimately bear.
The Lost Promise of Rail in Nigeria
Rail transportation, if well developed, offers a cost-effective, safe, and reliable alternative. Trains can move bulk goods and large numbers of people over long distances at lower costs compared to road transport. Unfortunately, Nigeria’s railway story is one of missed opportunities.
At independence in 1960, Nigeria inherited about 3,500 kilometers of railway lines constructed under colonial rule. These lines connected key agricultural and mining regions to ports for export. Instead of expanding and modernizing this system after independence, successive leaders neglected it. By the 1980s and 1990s, corruption, mismanagement, and lack of investment had driven the Nigerian Railway Corporation into near collapse. Passenger services dwindled, freight virtually disappeared, and the once-promising network became a shadow of itself.
This failure stands in sharp contrast to India, which also inherited a colonial-era railway system. At independence in 1947, India’s leaders saw railways not as a relic of colonial exploitation but as a national asset to be improved and expanded. By 1951, the Indian government had nationalized the railways, ensuring centralized planning and investment. Over the decades, India built one of the largest railway systems in the world, carrying over 8 billion passengers and 1 billion tonnes of freight annually. Instead of letting the system die, Indian leaders turned it into the backbone of national development.
Nigeria’s leaders, on the other hand, “killed their own” railway by failing to maintain, modernize, or even protect it from decay. Today, Nigeria is left with a skeletal network that covers less than 20% of what is needed for a country of over 200 million people.
Transportation Costs and Rising Prices
The impact of this neglect is felt directly in the economy. Transporting tomatoes, yams, rice, or maize from the North to Lagos or Port Harcourt often costs more than the production itself. Heavy reliance on trucks not only makes goods expensive but also damages roads, creating a cycle of more costs for government and consumers.
If Nigeria had a functional rail system, bulk freight could move at a fraction of the cost, reducing the price of goods in urban markets. Industrial raw materials and finished products could also move more efficiently, stimulating manufacturing growth. Railways are not just about transportation, they are about reducing inflationary pressures, improving food security, and connecting markets.
Lessons from Abroad: The Role of the Private Sector
One major lesson Nigeria can learn from other countries is the role of the private sector in railway development.
• United States: From the 19th century, railways in America were driven largely by private companies. Even today, freight rail is owned and operated by private corporations. Passenger services may rely on Amtrak, but the freight system, arguably the most efficient in the world, is a private sector success story.
• England (UK): Britain pioneered rail transport in the early 1800s through private entrepreneurs. After nationalization in 1948 and later restructuring, the system now operates under a hybrid model. Tracks and infrastructure are owned by the State (Network Rail), while private train Companies run passenger services under Government contracts. This public-private mix ensures investment, competition, and service delivery.
• India: While Indian Railways remains Government-owned, private participation is growing. The government has encouraged private firms to modernize stations, manufacture coaches, and even run certain high-end passenger services. Freight corridors and container operations also benefit from private investment. The system remains national but thrives through public-private partnerships.
Nigeria must borrow from these models. A purely government-run rail system will likely struggle with corruption, inefficiency, and lack of funding. At the same time, handing over everything to private operators could make rail unaffordable for the masses. A balanced approach, where Government builds and regulates while the private sector invests, operates, and innovates, is the most sustainable path.
The Way Forward for Nigeria
1. Revive and Expand the Network: Nigeria must not stop at building flashy passenger trains like the Abuja, Kaduna line. The priority should be freight corridors that link farms, factories, and markets across the country.
2. Encourage Public-Private Partnerships: Government should provide incentives, tax breaks, access to land, and security guarantees, for private firms to invest in track laying, station modernization, and rolling stock.
3. Learn from India’s Discipline: India’s leaders protected the railway from collapse by ring-fencing investment and ensuring it remained a national priority. Nigerian leaders must make rail development a long-term national project, not a short-term political slogan.
4. Cut Costs Through Rail Freight: With functioning freight rail, the cost of transporting goods can drop significantly, easing inflation and making food more affordable.
5. Transparency and Accountability: Past mistakes in Nigeria’s railway history were rooted in corruption. Any revival must include strict accountability and monitoring systems to ensure funds are properly used.
Conclusion
Nigeria’s struggle with high prices cannot be divorced from the failure of its transportation system. Every bag of rice, every basket of tomatoes, every manufactured product carries a “transportation tax” caused by the inefficiency of road-based haulage. The solution lies on the rails.
Countries like India, America, and England show that with proper planning, political will, and private sector involvement, railways can transform an economy. Nigeria must confront the mistakes of its past leaders, learn from global examples, and finally lay the tracks toward prosperity.
If rail transport becomes the backbone of Nigerian trade, the high cost of goods will ease, businesses will grow, and ordinary citizens will breathe a sigh of relief. The journey to affordability begins on the railway line.
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