https://guardian.ng/news/fg-to-unbundle-nigeria-railway-corporation-for-private-sector-investment/
The success of the locomotive retrofitting is firstly down to the innovation, tenacity and industry of the De Sadel Consortium, a gas, power and rail investor.
Second, is the faith and confidence of HMT, Sen. Saidu Alkali in not allowing himself to be swayed by the resistance and pessimism in some quarters.
It is a testament to the philosophy that he who dares wins. It demonstrates how entrepreneurs solve business problems through innovation while the public enterprise stubbornly resists change and clings on to what it knows, even as its once dominant market position is eroded by the competition.
Fuel and lube are the railway’s major operational expense representing about 70% of its OPEX. A reduction of 70% in fuel costs completely transforms the operating ratio and the business case ceteris paribus.
The De-Sadel loco retrofitting exercise is a foretaste of what unbundling the NRC portends as long as we learn the lessons from the restructuring of the power sector. We must ensure that cronies with no capacity, technical or financial, are shut out. Let us do right by ourselves for a change.
Congratulations to De Sadel and HMT and his team at FMT. Congratulations to the NRC too for being dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century. All glory is shared but it’s not over until it’s really over. Let’s make hay while the sun shines.