Nigeria enters the era of state-backed airlines: “Enugu State has joined the exclusive club of Nigerian states running their own commercial airlines, following the official launch of Enugu Air on Monday. The new carrier becomes another state-backed aviation venture in the country, after similar initiatives in Imo, Akwa Ibom, and Cross River states.”
I want to wish Enugu the best of luck with this. Yet, my preference remains rail tracks to connect communities. The “main street” Nigerians do not fly; they move, and until we give them rail tracks, nothing much will happen. We can have airlines and airports, but we need train stations and tracks.
I call regional governors to come together and pull resources to have railway systems understanding that railways must not be designed to be profitable. Indeed, if we have a functional market system, we can tax the economic activities and cover losses from rail tracks. In other words, if Southeast Railways loses N0.5 billion but expands the economy by N200b, and when you tax that expansion, you can recover N2b which does imply, you are doing great. (Check Amtrak USA, which is yet to make any profit since 1971).
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Enugu, Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, and Imo: we need a regional railway system. But since no one has the capital to do this alone, we need all to come together. We want the trains even as we celebrate Enugu Air.
Enugu Air Takes Off: State Joins Aviation Industry Amid Questions Over Strategy and Ownership
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