Nigerian Engineers Advocate Railway Privatisation

The Nigerian Society of Engineers has advised the Nigerian government to privatise the Nigeria Railway Corporation in order to create an alternative transport system and decongest the nation’s roads. Addressing a news conference in Abuja on Friday, the President of the Society, Mr Ademola Olorunfemi, attributed the high volume of traffic on the nation’s highway was due to the inability of the Federal Government to provide alternative means of transportation. Part of the President Jonathan’s administration’s agenda is the reform of Nigeria’s rail system to provide an alternative means of transportation for persons, goods and service from one part of the country to another, but the group said the sector is yet to showcase the efficiency need in the sector. However, since the reform began there have been reports of improvement in the rail sector, as the Lagos Kano route commenced operation, but the union is calling for its privatisation in order to facilitate the reform. ‘Collapse Of Buildings’ The group also spoke on the increasing collapse of buildings, explained some of the reasons behind such occurrences and sought to end the trend. “The use of unqualified engineers has contributed to collapse of buildings in Nigeria and there is the need for property developers to engage the services of relevant and qualified engineers,” Mr Olorunfemi said. He insisted that the use of qualified engineers would provide the technical expertise that would help reduce cases of building collapse and improve the quality of buildings. He also asked developers to ensure that they use quality cement in building construction. some cement companies in Nigeria had earlier embarked on sensitisation programme to educate artisans on the best ways cement should be used and mixed to guard against poor standard buildings that could collapse over time.