Kayode Opeifa, Managing Director of the Nigerian Railway Corporation, has provided more information on why the federal government is eager to complete the Kano-Maradi Railway project.
According to him, the government is linking Nigeria to the Niger Republic as part of its attempts to assure the country’s food security.
During a Saturday interview on Channels Television, Opeifa stated that the Kano-Maradi railway line is crucial for Nigeria’s food supply system.
He stated that Nigeria and West Africa’s cereal and animal food security is related to Maradi, and that once the link to Kano is completed, transit to other parts of Nigeria will be easier.
“According to AU 2063, African countries are encouraged to form partnerships with landlocked countries because they have potential. According to the information I’ve studied, Maradi is critical to Nigeria and West Africa’s cereal and animal food security. So, you can see why Kano is linked to Maradi.
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“In addition, if mobility is removed from the equation, there will be no food security. When you remove mobility from logistics and supply chains, you are just joking, and Nigerian food security managers should realize this.
“Mobility is at the center of food security, and that’s what the Kano-Maradi, which will now be Kano to Kaduna, Kaduna to Abuja, Abuja to Lagos, will represent,” according to the NRC chairman.
He stated that most people do not grasp the importance of addressing the mobility problem in food security and are mainly skeptical of the mention of Maradi, which is in another nation.
He stated, “Now, the government is also aggressively pursuing.” Many individuals don’t grasp what Kano-Maradi is; all they hear is Maradi.
Further, it was claimed that Opeifa emphasized the government’s commitment to ensuring major cities are connected via a new rail infrastructure plan by adding new rail lines between cities.
He stated that by moving the rail system to the concurrent list, states now have more options to get subsidies to build their rail lines.
