Issues
Improving Nigeria’s Transportation System Via The Dutch Model
By most accounts, an effective transportation system is a fundamental component of any solid economy, as it enables the citizens to achieve their set goals at appointed schedules.
The Netherlands or Holland, as it is unofficially referred to, has a very organised and unique transport system that makes it easy for its citizens to move around.
The major means of transportation in the Netherlands are bicycles, cars, buses and trains.
Bicycles are the preferred means of transportation for short distances in the country and many riders usually park their bicycles at designated spots at bus or train stations while going on long journeys.
Similarly, most people often drive their cars to these stations and park there before going aboard buses or trains for longer trips.
Some even haul their bicycles into trains, while setting out on long journeys, to enable them to use the bicycles to complete their journeys after disembarking from the trains.
Riding a bicycle in the Netherlands is somewhat a thing of pride and it is not restricted to any particular status of class because every citizen of Holland, from 15 years and above, owns a bicycle.
Besides, there is always a train in every 20 minutes at every train station, while a bus leaves a bus stop in every 30 minutes.
Whenever there is going to be a delay in the arrival of a train at a railway station, the expected period of delay would be displayed on the electronic board at the station and this is usually about 5 minutes and never more than 20 minutes.
And within five minutes or ten minutes later, depending on the time indicated on the electronic board, the train arrives.
Even train or bus commuters in the Netherlands can check arrival or departure times for trains and buses on the Internet, meaning that they do not have to linger at the stations waiting for the arrival of a train or bus.
Mr Edwin Van-Scherrenburg, the Public Relations Officer of Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS), the Dutch railway company, however, conceded that the country’s weather was largely unfavourable to the transport business.
He noted that the snow in winter and the falling leaves from trees in autumn, for instance, usually made it somewhat difficult for trains to operate efficiently during the seasons.
Van-Scherrenburg, however, said that in spite of these challenges, some measures were put in place to ensure that passengers were not delayed for too long.
One notable feature of the transportation system of the Netherlands is the synergy between buses and trains. Information usually comes on the bus about the next train and the nearest train station and so, if you are interested in catching a train, the information becomes quite handy.
Van-Scherrenburg expatiated that the symbiotic relationship between NS and bus companies was aimed at connecting the two modes of transportation in a way that would ensure the smooth movement of passengers, while reducing travel disruptions via unnecessary delays.
He, nonetheless, acknowledged that there was still room for improvement, saying: “We are continuously looking for ways to improve the relationship.’’
Funny enough, you hardly hear anyone in the Netherlands talking about boarding a plane to another part of the country. Planes are only used by those travelling outside the country.
Some Nigerians, who have lived and worked in the Netherlands for some years, attested to the efficiency of the Dutch transport system.
They agreed that if the system was adopted by Nigeria, living in the country would be well structured, orderly and more appealing.
Mr Kingley Ogbuneke, who has lived in the Netherlands for over four years, said that the country’s transportation system was so effective, noting that trains and buses usually kept to scheduled travel times.
“These days, you can hook on to the Internet and know the precise time you’ll be arriving at your destination; honestly, it will work exactly that way,’’ he added.
Ogbuneke, however, noted with disappointment that Nigeria’s transportation system was still facing a huge challenge, even after five decades of political independence.
“In Nigeria, we still rely heavily on private vehicles for our transportation because our public transportation system is not well organised,’’ he said.
Ogbuneke stressed that if more resources were invested in the country’s transport sector, the ordinary Nigerian would not have to rely solely of private vehicles for his or her transportation.
“Here in the Netherlands, people hardly use their cars because the public transportation system is very effective,’’ he added.
Ms Sylivia Oheme has been living in the Netherlands for the past 20 years.
She said that the Dutch transport sector was well structured and organised, stressing that for instance, when a person wanted to travel from Amsterdam to The Hague, he or she would know exactly how long the journey would take, barring instances where there were a few minutes’ delays.
Oheme emphasised that Holland’s transport sector was very efficient because of the constant electricity supply in the country
She particularly attributed the efficiency of the country’s railways to the stable electricity, as the trains are all electricity powered trains.
“Here the Prime Minster rides bicycles, the Prince rides bicycles; even the Queen rides bicycles and I ride bicycle too; and we all enjoy it.
“In the Netherlands, cycling is a way of life; the mere fact that you see a man riding a bicycle does not mean he is poor.
“It also takes a lot of pressure off the roads as well,’’ she added.
Oheme bemoaned the fact that road transportation was the in-thing in Nigeria, as the country’s railways was now in a derelict state.
She recalled with nostalgia how she took a train ride from Lagos to Jos in the 1970s and lamented that government and other stakeholders allowed the railways to go into a comatose state.
In the Netherlands, rail transportation is very popular, as trains are readily available. There are also trams and bus networks in and around the major cities, while an extensive railway system connects all the cities.
Besides, there are concentric canals around the cities, especially Amsterdam, the country’s capital, where tourists could make boat trips.
In spite of the unpredictable nature of the country’s weather, the citizens of the Netherlands still ensure that everything in their country works.
The orderliness of the country will surely excite a first-time visitor and official statistics from the Dutch government reveal that not less than 10,000 Nigerians reside in the Netherlands.
Analysts, however, maintain that Nigeria stands to gain a lot by adopting the Dutch patterns of development.
They insist that Nigeria should make tangible efforts to take a cue from the Dutch development patterns if she is truly serious about its ambition to transform into one of the world’s 20 largest economies by the year 2020.
Sombo writes for News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
Wandoo Sombo
This is an open letter to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Chief Nyesom Wike.
Your Excellency,
Sir, ordinarily, I would not be writing an open letter to you, but like a wise man once said, “Silence would be Treason.” So I prefer to stay alive than face the consequences of silence in the face of crime. With each passing day, and as the socio-political tides continue to turn, it has become more pertinent that more people speak up in a concerted MANNER to prevent the death of our party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as we appear to be, in the words of W. B. Yeats, “turning and turning in the widening gyre” heading for an end where the falcon will no longer hear the falconer
It is unfortunate that since losing control of the Federal Government, with the loss of President Goodluck Jonathan at the poll in 2015, our party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has continued on a downward spiral. It is much more painful, that where it is expected that leaders within the party should rise to the challenge and put an end to this decline of our great party, some have instead taken up roles as its undertaker.
It will be hypocritical to claim aloofness to what I believe is your grouse with the PDP and I am not a hypocrite. It will be uncharitable on my part to discountenance the role you have played in strengthening the PDP from 2015 up until the last Presidential primaries of the party. It is my belief that your grouse against certain members of the party who you perceived worked against the party and abandoned it in 2015 and then came around much later to take control of the party, is justified. Also know that your decision to remain in the Party and stifle its progress on the other hand, as a sort of payback, stands condemned. For a man of your pedigree and stature, it is a dishonorable act, highly dishonorable and stands as testimony against all you claim to stand for.
At least, it can be argued that those who you hold this grudge against, abandoned the party completely and did not sit back while actively working to destroy it from within. But what then can be the argument on your own part, seeing that those you are currently working with against your party are the same people who set in motion, and executed surgically, the plans that not only ended our Party’s leadership at the centre, but ended up dislodging the first Niger Deltan to occupy Aso Rock as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. Is this not akin to “cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face?” That will be worse than folly. Let us not throw away the baby with the bath water because we do not like the soap used in bathing the baby. It will be a grave mistake.
Honourable Minister, sir, it is rather unfortunate that of all people, you have also decided to play the role of an undertaker not only for our party, but for our dear Rivers State.
I will like to take you down memory lane a little. Let me remind you of your emergence as Guber candidate of the PDP in Rivers State, against all fairness and justice in 2014. You will remember that despite the reality being that you as an Ikwerre man was poised to replace a fellow Ikwerre man in Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi in our multiethnic state, Rivers people overwhelmingly stood by you and pushed for your emergence as Executive Governor of Rivers State in 2015. I dare say that your popularity in the entire Niger Delta region was at an all-time high at this point.
I want you to understand why you were loved across board leading to your eventual emergence as Governor of Rivers State in 2015; it was because when it looked like all were against the second term ambitions of the first Niger Delta man to emerge as President of Nigeria, you became not just a pillar but a beacon of resistance by standing for Goodluck Jonathan. Rivers people, as grateful and rewarding as they can be, paid you back by ensuring your electoral victory against the incumbent All Progressives Congress (APC) led by your predecessor. On your emergence, where there were second term Governors in the region, you, a first term Governor, was seen by the people as not just the leader of the PDP, but the leader of the entire Niger Delta region. You earned it, and no one could dispute it.
In 2019, when your re-election bid was being challenged ferociously, Rivers people once again stood solidly behind you. Many were killed in the process of defending your votes. Do you remember Dr. Ferry Gberegbe that was shot and killed while trying to protect your votes in Khana Local Government Area? There are many more unnamed and unrecognised sons and daughters of Rivers State who sacrificed their lives so that you could emerge as a second term Governor of Rivers State.
In 2022/23, Honourable Minister, you oversaw a party primary across board that saw some candidates imprisoned and internal party democracy jettisoned for your wishes, leading to the emergence of flag bearers of our party all singlehandedly picked by you. You have on more than one occasion publicly stated that you paid for all their forms. Even those shortchanged in this process licked their wounds and continued to play their roles as party members to ensure the success of the party at all levels. In what will go down as one of the most keenly contested elections in recent Rivers history, with formidable candidates like Senator Magnus Abe of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Mr Tonye Cole of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and the vibrant youth driven Labour Party (LP), PDP emerged victorious across board except for Phalga Constituency 1 that was lost to the Labour Party. (Not that you did not loose in some other LGA’s but let’s stick to the official figures declared by INEC).
It begs the question, why then do you want to burn down Rivers State, when everyone who now holds political office emerged through a process designed and endorsed by you? Is it that you do not care about Rivers people and you are all about yourself? If so, I am forced to believe that those around you are not telling you the truth. The truth being that in a state where your words were law; where houses and businesses could be demolished or closed down without any recourse to legalities, where Executive Orders could be deployed to stifle the opposition, that your popularity is now at an all-time low. Probably because they are afraid of you, or of losing the benefits they gain from you, they fail to tell you that what you might perceive as a battle against your successor, has slowly but gradually degenerating into a battle against Rivers State and Rivers people. You know, there is a popular saying that, a man can cook for the community and the community will finish the food, but when a community decides to cook for one man, the reverse is the case.
LEAVE FUBARA ALONE
You have gone on and on about being betrayed by Governor Siminalayi Fubara. You point fingers forgetting that some of those same fingers quick to spot betrayals point straight back at you. It is not Governor Fubara that has betrayed the PDP by working against it in the just concluded General Election, and working with the opposition at the State and Federal level to destabilise the party. It is you, Honourable Minister. It is not Governor Fubara that betrayed Rivers people by instigating a political crisis with propensity to escalate ethnic tensions in Rivers State. It is you Honourable Minister. It is not Governor Fubara that has declared himself God over all in Rivers State and has no qualms with burning the state to the ground to prove a point. It is you Honourable Minister. It is you Honourable Minister who told the world that the APC was a cancer and you can never support a cancerous party. It is you Honourable Minister who ended up facilitating the emergence of the same “cancerous” APC that has accelerated the economic decline of this country and further impoverished our people with no remorse. All so you can be a Minister of the Federal Capital Territory? The lack of self awareness is gobsmacking.
Some days back I came across a video where you talked about death and how you do not cry when you hear about the death of some people because you have no idea what might have caused it considering many a politician swear “over dead bodies” and still go back on their words. Those words made me think, and I could see the reason behind them. You see, in chosing to be God in the affairs of Rivers people, you have closed your eyes and ears to reason; you see nothing and hear nothing that can cause you to rethink on the path you have chosen. In your quest to “show Fubara” you have unwittingly united a vast majority of Rivers people behind him, so much that even those who despised him because of you, now like or love him, because of you too. In your scheming, I will advise you not to forget that “the voice of the people is the voice of God”.
Note that the war which you have or are waging against Governor Fubara, has gone beyond being merely political as you might see in your minds eye. It is now one that, fortunately for some and unfortunately for others, has evolved into a war against Rivers people. It is good to point out that no one has taken a stand against Rivers people and won. No one has gone against God and won. In your defiant characteristic manner, it will be unfortunate if you believe your own hubris and that of those around you on the possibility of you being the first to successfully go against Rivers people. It will be a needless gamble; one where if you win you create more enemies for yourself than you can withstand on your political journey, and if you lose, your legacy becomes an inglorious and irredeemable one in Rivers State, the Niger Delta, and Nigeria at large. For your sake as regards posterity, it is my greatest wish that you have a moment of sobriety and a deep reflection and introspection on this path you have chosen.
Honourable Minister, sir, what is left of your legacy is on the brink of being completely desecrated and relegated to the dustbin of our political history, and it will be a sad end to what I will say has been a wonderful political career that many can only dream of. The ball is in your court, and may God Almighty have mercy on us all and forgive us for our shortcomings.
Gabriel Baritulem Pidomson
Dr Pidomson is former Chief of Staff, Government House, Port Harcourt and former member, Rivers State House of Assembly.
In 2015, I made a conscious decision to invest my financial resources, my time, and energy into supporting Nyesom Wike’s gubernatorial campaign. I poured my heart and soul into ensuring Nyesom Wike emerged victorious even at the risk of my personal safety.
Again in 2019, I doubled down on my commitment. I invested a significant amount of money to procure campaign outfits for all twenty-three Local Governments Areas of Rivers State. I spared no expense in supplementing Wike’s election efforts in my own local government, and once again putting myself at great risk to safeguard the fairness and transparency of the electoral process.
However, despite my unwavering loyalty and sacrifices, I found myself abandoned and forgotten by Wike. Throughout his eight-year tenure, he failed to acknowledge my contributions or fulfill his promises and agreements. Even as a former Deputy Governor, Wike denied me my severance benefit.
My investment in Wike’s governorship was not just financial – it was a commitment of passion, dedication, and belief in a better future for Rivers State. Yet, his leadership style of dishonesty, greed, drunkenness and rash abuse of senior citizens brought me nothing but disappointment, misery and losses.
By the grace of God, today I speak not as a victim, but as a hero. I have accepted my losses, and I have moved on. And as I reflect on my experience, I cannot help but urge Wike to do the same and allow peace and development to reign in Rivers State.
Nyesom Wike, when you speak of investing in Governor Sim Fubara’s election, remember those like me who also invested in you. Remember the sacrifices I made, the risks I took, and the promises and agreements you left unfulfilled.
It is time for you, Wike, to let go of the past and allow Governor Sim Fubara the breathing space he needs to lead Rivers State forward. Allow him to focus on the challenges of good governance and the aspirations of the people. Spare him these unwarranted and ill-conceived political manoeuvrings founded on personal agenda and not for general good of Rivers State and her people.
I may have lost my investment on Wike, but I have not lost hope in the future of Rivers State. And together, we will continue to strive for a brighter tomorrow.
Long Live the Governor to Rivers State, Sir Siminialayi Fubara!
Long Live the Good People of Rivers State!!
Long Live the Federal Republic of Nigeria!!!
Engr Ikuru is former Deputy Governor of Rivers State.
Tele Ikuru
