SEUN AKIOYE endured a 10-hour train ride from Lagos to Ilorin and back to Lagos and in the process became an unwilling witness to a communal clash that almost derailed the train. Also, he reports about the near inhuman conditions travellers have to endure on the Lagos-Ilorin economy coach.

The Lagos bound Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) Mass Transit train departed Ilorin Central station at the scheduled time of 11am on Wednesday, January 30, 2013. The passengers had made last minute purchases of snacks including bread, eggs, water and soft drinks.

Shortly before departure, the crew had the herculean task kicking the train to life, but after much trial, the train made a violent jerk and with a loud sound, revved to life. Jubilation erupted from the crew. 

The next stop would be Offa and it took the train the whole of 45 minutes to perform the task. On arrival at Offa, it was clear there was trouble. On the platform, hundreds of students from the Federal Polytechnic Offa waited anxiously for the train. They immediately besieged the train, bringing with them tales of woes. The Offa/Erin- Ile communities had engaged themselves in a battle some weeks earlier.

That day, the Erin-Ile people took the battle to Offa, sacking the town closest to them and burning houses. The Polytechnic was immediately shut down and the students ran for their lives. Many of them- those who were able to secure a space in the overcrowded train- began to make frantic calls to their friends imploring them to rush down to the station and join the train. Most of the students came empty handed.

Local residents were seen running into the bush ostensibly to escape to Ilorin on foot. School children too ran helter-skelter on the tracks. The atmosphere resembled a war zone and in the midst of the chaos and fear, the train crew slowly refueled. Many of the passengers began to scream at the crew to depart immediately. It was as if some marauding criminals would swoop on the train and deal the passengers a blow. After 20 minutes, the train departed Offa and the passengers heaved a sigh of relief.

A resuscitated train
On March 12, 2011, President Goodluck Jonathan, Vice President Namadi Sambo, former Governor of Ogun state, Gbenga Daniel and other dignitaries took a ride in the newly commissioned Mass Transit train of the NRC. The journey began at Ebute Meta Junction in Lagos and ended in Lafenwa, Abeokuta. This courageous act was to demonstrate to the unbelieving Nigerian that the government had made good on its promise to bring back the trains. The ride was an epic feat as it was 20 years earlier when such train ride was performed.

Over the last 20 years, the NRC has gone into bankruptcy leaving behind infrastructural decay and disgruntled workers. Between 1954 and 1975 it employed about 45,000 workers but by 2008 according to the then acting director of the NRC Maxi Jetson Nwankwo, it barely managed to retain 6,516 workers. No new wagon was bought and some of the still operational ones dated back to 1948. Nigerians literarily forgot about the train and rail transport.

It was against this background that the administration of Goodluck Jonathan was determined to bring the trains back thereby easing the traffic in the road and reducing the frequent vehicular accidents. Soon the train services were extended to include the Lagos –Jebba and Lagos –Kano axis.

Two years after, the Lagos-Jebba route now plies three times weekly - Tuesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Initially, there were provisions for a first class cabin which has provisions for single seats, a television set, air conditioner and rugs. This extra luxury costs N1,100.

But this service has been discarded since December 2012, according to NRC officials. The economy class is less luxurious and it caters for the poor.  A trip to Ilorin from the Iddo station on the economy costs N680. This is great savings, because the same trip cost N2,500 on the commercial buses.

So what has changed since the train service was resuscitated, what improvements have been made to passenger comfort and security? These were the questions this reporter sought answers to on an experiential train ride from Lagos to Ilorin on Tuesday, January 29, 2013.

Broken Down Infrastructure
It was almost impossible to prepare one for the events that would shape the 10-hour journey as the train moved with sluggish abandon out of the Iddo train station at 9:06 am. The ticketing official had announced almost with glee the abolition of the first class compartment much to the disappointment of the traveller.

Everybody is equal in the economy, you have to sit with others in the economy, it is even more exciting, you will meet all kinds of people, some will annoy you, others will make you laugh,” the official said.

But this ride was a marked difference from the one undertaken by President Goodluck Jonathan and his officials. While the President was all smiles, the passengers on the Ilorin train were in pain. In the six coaches, sign of neglect was visible. Inside each cabin-which sits an average of 90 passengers but usually has about 120- the seats were divided into two sections with two seats facing each other and a table in between. The cabins were extremely filthy even though the train was yet to make any trip that day.

The toilets are all derelict and totally unusable, when there is overcrowding- and this is always the case- toilets are converted into rooms for passengers. Cobwebs hung on every available space in the ceiling and smell of urine pervaded the cabins. Ventilation is limited so the windows were hung up, suspended in place by a rope. Because the overhead compartment is insufficient, luggage was placed wherever space was available: that is, under the table, on the aisles and in the toilet.

The emergency alarm system is non-existent; therefore there is no way the driver would be alerted in the event of an accident or real emergency. The only working part of the train was the horn which the driver utilised to its full capacity at the slightest of provocation, deafening the passengers, especially those in the cabins closest to the engine.
        
A ride through hell
Immediately the journey began, ticket checkers, paramilitary officers (Man-O-War) and the police escort began to do their job with scrupulous efficiency. Every ticket was checked and those who were found without tickets were made to purchase the highest ticket available.

Stowaways were also discovered, a boy of not more than eight years was found hiding in one of the toilets, and his back had severe lacerations while blood was still coming out from some of the wounds. He was instantly detained by the Man-O-War and handed over to the police in Agege.

The train made slow progress through Ebute Meta, Oyingbo all the way to Ijoko in Ogun state. At every stop, passengers rushed to find a space in the now almost full coaches. At every stop the checkers went round and found new culprits. At Ijoko, chaos broke out. More than one hundred passengers struggled for the few spaces left on the train. Bags were thrown in through the windows while the owners struggled to find a way inside.

Exactly two hours later, the train pulled into the Dugbe station in Ibadan where the head was replaced with another.
It was an unbearable ride; as the train meandered through the thick forest it cut down bushes along the way, those who sat at the windows suffered.

Twigs and leaves repeatedly assaulted their bodies mercilessly. There were also victims of insect bites and in the towns, the train kicked up dusts sending it into the eyes, the nose and the mouth. Children cried and mothers quickly cleaned their faces with water.

Also because the toilets are not functional, children defecate and urinate in the passenger coaches. The mothers have perfected the act using sachet water nylon to gather the waste for onward disposal through the window.

Official Extortion
Not a few of the passengers spoken to by LEADERSHIP SUNDAY complained bitterly about the high handedness of the train checkers and their security collaborators. “They have no respect for any one, they shout and scream at you and if you don’t have a ticket they will deal with you severely,” says Adeyemi Hamzat a student of the University of Ilorin and a regular train user. But more serious is the allegation of corruption leveled against them by most of the passengers interviewed.

A woman simply identified as ‘Iya Tolani’ said anytime she doesn’t have a waybill for her luggage, the crew made her to pay for them on board and they never issue any receipt. Others said those who paid the fare in the train got no receipt at all. “The money is usually shared between the checkers and the police,” Iya Tolani said.

An immigration officer who was not in uniform also complained of being beaten up by a member of the Man- O- War. This reporter also witnessed instances of this act of corruption.

Love Train
Perhaps it is one of the unlikely places to find love, but people do find love or soul mates on the trains. According to Tosin Edun, a recent graduate from the University of Ilorin, the train ride could be fun especially when students are resuming back to school. “Usually you see that the students make the ride bearable, they crack a lot of jokes and laughter. But the curious part is that there are also many ‘toasters’ in the train and the guys are ready to do anything for the girls.”

“This is the train for the poor”
One may wonder why passengers would subject themselves to the most unpleasant experiences travelling with the train than the customary commercial vehicles. LEADERSHIP SUNDAY interviewed about fifteen passengers who said the reason they chose the train was economic.

“As for me, my reason is economic. I am saving over N1,000 on every trip, and since I am not in a hurry to get to my destination I do not see why I should use the road. Even though I also consider the safety but the economic consideration is main reason,” says Edun.

The others shared this sentiment. It offered a ridiculously cheap alternative to road transportation. According to Alhaji Abdulazeez  Mumuni, the train offered the poor a life line. “If not for the train many people would be suffering now. Look at how filled up the train is and on every trip this is usually how it is. This is the train for the poor people in this country.”

On the return leg of the journey, following several delays it was dark before the train returned to Lagos. But surprisingly, there was no supply of electricity in the cabins as some crew members explained that the backup generator had collapsed. In the pitch darkness, passengers grope for their belongings while lighting their way with their mobile phones.

Someone remarked on how dangerous this situation has become. At every train station, passengers lit their way using the illumination of their mobile phones.

Area boys also used the cover of darkness to enjoy free ride, causing trouble and chaos to passengers. But the train moved on, oblivious of everything going on in its cabin. Soon it disappeared into the darkness of Lagos streets.