Following the announcement by the federal government that the Kaduna-Abuja railway line will remain shut down, there are concerns that bandits who have declared war on the transport sector are winning the battle.
Bandits took train passengers
Recall that some Nigerians onboard a Kaduna-Abuja-bound train were abducted by suspected bandits who launched an attack on the train. While many lost their lives to the attack, about 35 were injured, while majority of the passengers could not be accounted for.
Consequently, the federal government shut down operations on the railway line. It, however, announced the resumption of the railway line a few days ago but later reversed its decision.
Opara’s position
But reacting to the development, a former Anambra governorship candidate and presidential aspirant, Robert Opara said it was sad that instead of proffering a solution to the issue of kidnapping and banditry, the government is incompetently shutting down the railway line.
Opara accuses Amaechi of abandoning important tasks
He accused former minster of transportation, Rotimi Amaechi of ignoring the security threat to the transport sector and chasing after his political ambition. He said shutting down the railway by Amaechi because of an attack on a Kaduna-bound train gave the minister away. According to him, there are other solutions to the insecurity challenge in the transport sector but because the minister’s attention was divided, he opted for the option of shutting down the rail line.
He said:
“A nation that can shut down a railway system that has gulped trillions of dollars still being owed the Chinese, because of an attack is said to be clueless. It’s obviously true that they lack a solution to the nation’s problem. Many depend on train services for their livelihood. But, instead of providing reliable security, they decided to just shut it down. “
Those at the losing end
Opara lamented that the ordinary people who work at the railway line are at the losing end as they have now become jobless. He argued that the solution to the problem is not about shutting down the railway lines, but finding a permanent solution that is not smoke screen.
“Has anybody considered what those who feed on the train services are going through right now? Has anyone considered that shutting the train down could even lead to another phase of insecurity? These people may go into crime just to survive since their means of livelihood have been shut down.
Amaechi concentrating on career
He further affirmed that Amaechi could not have changed the situation because he lacks concentration at the moment, the reason his resignation was the best decision he has ever made.
“And of course, the former minister of transportation couldn’t have done anything because he has been concentrating on having his way as the next president. Must Nigeria shut down totally for every one of us to be president? Must Nigeria shut down the banking sector and other sectors because somebody wants to be president? Is Nigeria a free-for-all? The answer is simply yes! The obvious fact remains that the governance and development structures across the country have shut down because of the political parties’ primaries that would be held across the country.
Can’t the politicians go ahead with their primaries without necessarily interfering in the running of the system? “ He asked.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Chbuike Amaechi, has resigned his position in order to concentrate on his political ambition of becoming the next president of Nigeria, the CBN governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele has since withdrawn his interest to run for the 2023 election.
With this development, it is believed that the CBN boss can now concentrate fully on his job and another qualified person can take over Amaechi’s position as he pursues his ambition.