Category: Auto Guid

There is no argument about which language of instruction should be used in early education in any serious country other than the mother tongue. The recent announcement by the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa that as from now English will be the medium of instruction for education reminded me about his predecessor in the same ministry, Tahir Mamman who suddenly decreed that only children 17 or older will be permitted to write the JAMB admission examination for entrance to Nigerian universities as if there were unchallengeable reasons to bar younger people of admission into university especially in a global environment where Nigerians and others were graduating in British and American universities abroad at ages lower than 17.

It seems the ministers were getting out of step with their positions. They seem to arrogate know-all powers to themselves until they are brought down to the reality of being removed from office.

I wonder whether the current minister was properly advised to take this decision because the research council in the ministry could not have done this because the council’s position and those of most departments of education in our universities are clear on this: they have said and written that one of the reasons for the low quality of our graduates in all departments of learning is that whatever we studied in other peoples’ language cannot be properly absorbed and internalized and if the foundation is not solid, whatever floors constructed on a weak base will be ab initio unreliable.

This fact may be stretching the argument too far but there is no doubt that if the foundation is not strong, the superstructure cannot be reliable. Besides researches by the late Babs Fafunso a professor of education and others suggest that we should study English as a subject in our local languages just as we use English to study many subjects now .This is what great countries like China, India and Japan as well as most of the Arab countries have done and it has not stopped them from making advances in science and technology.

The biggest argument one may have for the minister’s policy of teaching in English to infants is that this is what essentially but unofficially exists in practice among the educated middle class in Nigeria and among most Nigerians in urban centres where people speak a multiplicity of languages. But this does not make it rational to the point of becoming the law. We can also argue about how difficult it would be to translate all existing books in the sciences, medicine, technology and all subjects into our native languages.

Which of our about 300 languages would we choose without alienating the other speakers of languages not selected? This is apparently why the choice of Igbo, Hausa and Yoruba as official languages is not strictly enforced in official communication but English which is neutral has remained the lingua franca. The current policy is that early education should be in our local languages presumably in English, Igbo, Hausa and Yoruba which have remained the official languages of the country. But what has become the constitutional provision of primary education remaining in the province of states? Then what happens to over 200 plus languages spoken by millions of other Nigerians?

If we can learn from our colonial experience in the North where Hausa was taught to all school children even though people in Northern Nigeria spoke other languages like Kanuri, Shuwa, Bura, Jukun, Chamba, Tiv, Angas, Birom, Fulfude, Nupe, Yoruba, Maguzawa, Igala, Idoma , Ebira and others if taken together may have outnumbered the Hausa native speakers. This policy has successfully knitted together perhaps more than 50% of Nigerians who now speak Hausa. There was no such language policy in the South though over the years Creole or Pidgin English is spoken all over Nigeria by people with a few years of exposure to the English language. This Creole/Pidgin of course cannot be seen as a native language. Some years ago, the late Professor Armstrong of the University of Ibadan in the 1960s suggested Igala as a strong candidate if Nigeria wanted a language to adopt as a national language because according to him, Igala has elements of Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa. This was based on his academic study of Nigerian linguistics but I am not sure how far his suggestion got in the corridors of power in Nigeria where it was simply laughed out of court.

This new policy cannot be rejected on the basis that English was imposed on us by an outside authority. It has the support of presumably most people in Nigeria who may have taken up arms against government if a local language or group of languages were imposed on the country. The government probably learnt from the experience of the government of India which met stiff opposition while trying to impose Hindi on the vast country and population which had accepted English a neutral language. It also put us within the global medium of English with its abundant development of instructional material at all levels of the educational ladder. The argument of supporters of English is that if we don’t belong to the wide medium of the English language world, we would have to learn English to understand the language of computing and AI.

If we will gain something from early learning of English, and that the better we started early and this does not mean we will naturally not speak our mother tongue at home and in the market, worship places and perhaps as secret language when negotiating with foreigners or when sending what will amount to ‘coded language’ in the wider global world. This is my personal experience in diplomacy when we want to arrive at a quick decision without our opposite party knowing our position, this will depend on if some of our people speak the same language. This experience made decisions maker to insist that any young recruit into our foreign service must have passed at ordinary level a Nigerian language.

One cannot overemphasize the importance of the ability to speak a mother tongue. Inability to do so undermines one’s indigenous personality and character in a world where confidence in one’s skin is an imperative for one to be able to assert one’s personality in a world of competition of cultural sensitivity. In conclusion, studies in mother tongues, many of which we have in Nigeria will continue to be an advantage for those who study for use in politics, business and the market place economics.

Ito Progressive CDA in Ikorodu North Local Council Development Area has lauded Lagos State Governor, Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, for rural development projects reshaping their community.

Speaking during a project inspection, Prince Taiwo Dosunmu, chairman, said the community is witnessing ‘a new dawn’ under Sanwo-Olu.

He noted that Ito, once plagued by infrastructural neglect, is experiencing improvements that directly enhance the standard of living for residents.

Dosunmi said the governor’s interventions is a commitment to ensuring that rural communities are included in the state’s development agenda.

‘What we are seeing in Ito is dividends of democracy reaching the grassroots,’ he said.

‘Sanwo-Olu shows that every community matters.’

Chair of Ito Project Committee, Alhaji Bika Moshuru, also praised the government for a combination of essential and life-enhancing projects delivered in a short period.

He listed key interventions, such as installation of a new transformer, establishment of a water scheme, and installation of solar-powered streetlights.

A notable project is grading and rehabilitation of 3.8-kilometre Ito Road, for long a major concern for residents.

Bika said the road, once nearly impassable during rainy seasons, is being reshaped into a more accessible route that will enhance transportation, encourage business, and connect the community to neighbouring areas.

Dosunmu lauded Deputy Governor, Obafemi Hamzat, describing him as a dependable pillar in implementation THEMES Plus Agenda. He said his technical expertise and support have strengthened rural-based projects.

He praised Special Adviser to the governor on Rural Development, Nurudeen Agbaje’s engagement with Ito.

He disclosed that every request submitted by Ito Progressive Community had received the Special Adviser’s attention, following thorough on-the-spot evaluations conducted by his office.

These assessments, he said, ensured that interventions were well-informed, relevant, and timely.

‘Residents of Ito say the projects have begun to yield significant benefits, including improved access to basic services, reduction in community-level hardships, and enhanced local security’.

‘Many community members expressed optimism that the new infrastructure will help attract investment, encourage youth productivity, and stimulate socio-economic growth in the area.’ He added

Other executives of the CDA described the Sanwo-Olu administration as ‘listening, responsive, and inclusive,’ pledging to continue supporting government initiatives aimed at rural transformation

There comes a moment in the life of a nation when denial becomes complicity, when silence matures into surrender, and failure to act is tantamount to endorsement of the very horrors that civilisation is meant to prevent.

Over the past 90 days, Nigeria has been subjected to attacks, kidnappings, and so on. From the ravaged farmlands of Benue to the charred compounds of Borno, from the blood-soaked villages of Plateau to the mass graves of Nasarawa, what has unfolded across the country is nothing short of a national emergency. The League for Social Justice (LSJ) has documented 24 major atrocities across multiple states within this period, accounting for over 350 deaths, hundreds of abductions, massive property destruction, and the complete erasure of entire communities.

Yet these incidents represent only a fraction of the violence. In Yelewata, Benue State alone, more than 150 people were burned alive in their sleep, an atrocity so gruesome that it defies the boundaries of language.

A nation under siege

The LSJ report paints a terrifying picture of systemic, patterned violence. Across the north-west, north-central, and north-east regions, armed groups, bandits, Fulani militant factions, jihadist insurgents, and transnational criminal networks have unleashed coordinated attacks with devastating precision.

The LSJ report leaves no ambiguity:

More than 350 civilians killed, hundreds abducted, including schoolgirls. Villages burned, churches and mosques desecrated.

Security personnel ambushed and executed

Over 5,000 displaced in a single attack in Kirawa, Borno.

On page 4 of the report, a graph entitled: ‘Number of Major Atrocity Incidents by Month’ shows October as the deadliest month, with nine major attacks, nearly double the incidents recorded in August.

Alongside it, a ‘heat map’ of documented incidents ranks Borno, Plateau, Benue, Nasarawa, and Taraba as the epicentres of bloodshed, indicating a premeditated geographic concentration.

The method behind the scourge

The LSJ analysis reveals a devastating pattern, a convergence of factors that signal deliberate strategy.

It is a war against rural communities across Plateau, Benue, Nasarawa, Taraba, southern Kaduna, and parts of Katsina, attackers employ identical tactics including, night raids, multi-directional assaults, door-to-door executions, burning of homes, killing of farmers in their fields.

The report notes that both Christian farming settlements and Muslim communities have been targeted, a fact that underscores the complexity of the conflict but does not reduce its brutality. The signature of these attackers is uniform, chilling, ideological, territorial, and organised.

It is an economic warfare through farmland destruction. The occupation, seizure, and burning of farmland is quite strategic. They destroy food sources, cripple livelihoods, and displace families.

The LSJ report emphasises that, in a nation already plagued by food inflation and widespread hunger, this targeted destruction strikes at the heart of the country’s existence, posing a palpable threat to life and survival. Destruction of farmlands and attacking food supply goes beyond destruction of property; it is a deepening poverty, amplifying instability, fueling displacement, and driving the young toward desperation or exploitation by armed groups. You cannot starve a region without destabilising a nation.

And you cannot destabilise a nation without threatening its survival. And Nigeria’s survival is its food supply.

Expanding geographies of terror

Areas of hotbeds, which were confined to insecure zones, have metastasized far beyond their original epicentres. States that were once considered relatively safe, such as Kwara, Kebbi, Kogi, and large portions of Bauchi, are now absorbing the same patterns of mass killings, kidnappings, farmland seizures, and nighttime raids that previously defined the crisis corridors of Plateau, Kaduna, Zamfara, and Borno.

These murderous marauders take advantage of porous borders, weak policing, and the total absence of deterrence to inflict their mayhem, emboldened by networks of militias, bandits, and extremist factions.

The moral question before Nigeria is stark and unavoidable: Will we continue to drift toward a future in which the most dangerous men dictate the fate of the most vulnerable, or will we summon the courage to reclaim the republic from the jaws of lawlessness?

Symbolic and sacred spaces under attack

Schools, churches, mosques, traditional palaces, and military bases. These are the nerve centres of our identity, continuity, and sovereignty; however, they have become random soft targets, struck with impunity by the very forces a functioning state is meant to repel. Schools are there to safeguard the future, churches and mosques shape the moral conscience of the people, traditional palaces preserve our heritage and communal legitimacy, and military bases embody the coercive authority of the state. To attack, burn, or overrun them is to attack Nigeria’s essence, erase our collective memory, and plunder the very idea of the republic.

The abduction of schoolgirls in Kebbi, the burning of palaces in Borno, and the overrunning of military checkpoints are disturbing.

The Nigerian Constitution is unambiguous in its sections. Section 33 guarantees the right to life. Section 14(2)(b) defines the security and welfare of the people as the primary purpose of government.

Section 44 protects property. Every one of these provisions is violated daily.

The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which was domesticated into Nigerian law, prohibits extrajudicial killing, torture, and forced displacement. Yet villages are burned, civilians slaughtered, and families uprooted in their thousands. Under international law, Nigeria is obligated to prevent widespread or systematic attacks on civilians.

To reverse this trend, Nigeria must confront this crisis with the urgency it demands. The LSJ report recommends rapid-response security deployment, constitutionally regulated state policing, intelligence reform, judicial overhaul, and the establishment of a National Commission on Mass Atrocities and Internal Displacement. A Certified True Copy of this report has been sent to both houses of the National Assembly for immediate action.

We cannot keep burying victims or counting the dead.

History will remember this moment.

The world is watching. And so are the graves.

A coalition of international business groups has unveiled the Global Trade Accelerator (GTA), a new digital platform designed to connect one million women-led enterprises to global markets.

The initiative, launched under the Connecting One Million Women to Trade (C1WT) programme, is positioned as one of the most ambitious efforts to scale women’s participation in cross-border commerce.

Organisers estimate that the platform could unlock up to $900 billion in new trade opportunities across Africa, the Caribbean, the Americas and diaspora markets, offering integrated tools for onboarding, market access, policy support, financing and global marketplace linkages.

The platform made its debut at the GUBA Trade and Investment Conference in Barbados before a multi-country rollout in Accra, Ghana.

The Barbados launch, held under the patronage of Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley, drew high-level attendees including President Dame Sandra Mason of Barbados; Grenada’s Prime Minister, Dickon Mitchell; the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II; and senior representatives from Mastercard and the Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Former Costa Rican Vice President, H.E. Epsy Campbell Barr, described the platform as ‘a collaborative framework to accelerate women-led trade across the Atlantic corridors.’

A follow-up forum in Accra convened delegates from Ghana, the United States, Liberia, Nigeria, Jamaica and the United Kingdom. Hosting the meeting, Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI) President, Stéphane Abass Miezan, said the initiative reinforces Ghana’s role in intercontinental trade.

‘This initiative positions Ghana as a critical bridge in global commerce. By supporting the rollout of the GTA, we are putting in place structures that enable women to participate competitively and confidently in international markets,’ Miezan said.

The U.S.-based National Black Chamber of Commerce also announced new financing tools to help women-owned businesses prepare for cross-border investment.

C1WT founder, Dr. Ky Dele, said the platform marks a decisive transition from advocacy to infrastructure.

‘From Bridgetown to Accra, we are moving from symbolism to structure. C1WT exists to build an architecture where the grassroots connects with the grasstops, and where women-led enterprises finally have a unified global system that allows them to scale beyond borders,’ she said.

A live demonstration in Accra showcased the GTA’s multilingual onboarding, digital KYC tools, workflow dashboards and global marketplace linking women entrepreneurs across 102 countries. Messages of support also came from Senator Ireti Kingibe and former Nigerian Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Adeniyi Adebayo, reinforcing the platform’s potential in boosting women-led trade across continents.

Bitget Wallet, teveryday finance app, has launched a Bank Transfer feature in Nigeria and Mexico, allowing users to convert USDT and USDC into naira and peso and send funds directly to local bank accounts.

The feature turns stablecoins into a practical payment method, enabling users to pay merchants, send money to friends and family, or settle bills from their wallet. The rollout marks the first time a global crypto wallet has enabled direct stablecoin-to-bank transfers at scale in these regions, making crypto more usable.

The feature enables users to pay and transfer seamlessly from crypto to local currency, without relying on peer-to-peer (P2P) platforms or centralised exchanges. It works much like a mobile banking app – users choose a cryptocurrency, enter the amount and bank account, then confirm. Bitget Wallet’s network of licensed partners manages fiat conversion and settlement through regulated payment channels, ensuring instant processing, compliance, and reliability. The service supports 45 banks in Nigeria and 35 in Mexico.

The feature supports USDT and USDC across BNB Chain, Ethereum, Solana, Tron, and Base networks.

By merging crypto payments with traditional banking rails, Bitget Wallet bridges onchain assets with real-world spending. The launch comes as stablecoins play a growing role in emerging-market finance, where crypto is increasingly used to store, move and spend value amid inflation and currency volatility. According to Chainalysis, Nigeria remains Africa’s largest crypto market, accounting for most of the region’s onchain activity with over $90 billion in annual transaction value. In Latin America, Mexico recorded more than $70 billion in onchain volume over the same period. Through Bank Transfers, Bitget Wallet enables users to use crypto as easily as local money – whether sending, spending, or saving.

The feature addresses long-standing challenges in these markets, where turning crypto into usable local money has often been slow, risky, and costly. In Nigeria, users typically rely on P2P platforms subject to liquidity gaps and exchange-rate volatility, while in Mexico, limited infrastructure and regulatory friction constrain access. Bitget Wallet’s Bank Transfer automates the process, reducing risk and enabling instant, compliant one-tap conversions.

‘Stablecoins are quickly becoming a new layer of everyday payments in emerging markets, and connecting them to local banking rails is the next step in that evolution,’ said Jamie Elkaleh, CMO of Bitget Wallet. ‘Nigeria and Mexico together process more than $160 billion in annual onchain volume. Bringing instant stablecoin payments directly into their banking systems makes self-custody more practical, more usable, and increasingly aligned with how people pay today.’

‘The new feature will expand to additional emerging markets in the coming months, complementing Bitget Wallet’s suite of payment tools, including its crypto card, QR code payments, and in-app lifestyle shop, allowing users to pay globally in local ways across shopping, rent, remittances, and everyday expenses. To mark the launch, Bitget Wallet is offering a zero-fee promotion. For more information, visit Bitget Wallet’s blog.’ Jamie Elkaleh explained.

Tomorrow, Akeem Akintayo Amosun, federal commissioner in Revenue Allocation Mobilisation and Fiscal Commission will bury his mother, who died in October.

He invites everyone to celebrate a mother who instilled in him discipline, selflessness, hard work and loyalty.

H said: ‘I am who I am today by the pivotal roles of this peace-loving and accommodating angel whose doors were opened to all.”

The finale burial, to be anchored by seasoned thespian, Yemi Sodimu, will hold at Em Felix Event and Conference Centre, Abeokuta, Ogun State.

Expected are politicians, former governors, deputy governors, lawmakers, commissioners and others.

The Zamfara State Zakkat and Endowment Board has facilitated the settlement of debts and subsequent release of 909 inmates over the last two years under the administration of Governor Dauda Lawal.

This was made known by the Executive Secretary of the Board, Alhaji Habib Muhammad Balarabe, during the 2025 End-of-Year Activities held at the Board’s premises, Bypass, Gusau.

According to him, the Board secured the freedom of 473 inmates last year and, this year, released N67,204,700 in settlement of debts owed by 436 inmates, bringing the total beneficiaries to 909 within two years.

In addition, 200 women small-scale business owners received ?50,000 each to strengthen their enterprises.

The board also presented starter packs to 100 women who completed a three-week poultry production training program to help them start their own businesses.

Furthermore, mini-computers were donated to orphans who underwent computer literacy training as part of the event.

Represented by the First Lady, Hajiya Huriyya Lawal, Governor of Zamfara state, Dr Dauda Lawal, expressed great pleasure to witness the impactful work of the Zamfara State Zakat and Endowment Board.

Two of the parents of some of the abducted children of St Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary Schools, Papiri in Agwara local government area have died.

One of the parents, identified as Anthony Musa, was said to have died from a heart attack while the cause of death for the second parent was yet to be ascertained.

Catholic Bishop of Kontagora Diocese, Rev. Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, confirmed the parents’ demise yesterday.

Yohanna said: ‘The man, Anthony Musa died of heart attack but the female we don’t have the details yet because we couldn’t get the family.’

Over 300 people were kidnapped by armed terrorists who invaded the primary and secondary schools in Agwara. So far, 50 of the pupils have returned.

The Catholic Diocese of Kontagora on Monday released the names of the abducted children and teachers.

In the conference hall of the Sheraton Lagos Hotel, as Nigeria marked this year’s World Children’s Day, the 71st globally, the air carried an unusual mix of hope and urgency. Editors in crisp suits and Ankara sat shoulder to shoulder with schoolchildren in bright uniforms. A visually impaired teenager who had taught himself to code prepared to take the microphone. A diplomat from the Netherlands struggled to steady his voice. The UNICEF Country Representative declared that the real bosses in the room were the children. For one morning, almost everyone present seemed to agree.

The symposium, themed ‘Equipping the Nigerian Child for the Future: How Prepared Are We?’, was jointly organised by UNICEF, the Nigerian Guild of Editors, and the Diamond Awards for Media Excellence. While the event celebrated World Children’s Day, it felt less like a festival and more like a national reckoning. Mr Eze Anaba, President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, did not mince words. ‘Nigeria is in a state of emergency,’ he said. ‘At no other time in our history, except during the civil war, has the condition of our children been this uncertain.’ He cited school abductions, 10 to 20 million out-of-school children-the highest number in any country-millions of zero-dose children who have never received a single vaccine, persistent malnutrition, and the recruitment of minors by armed groups. ‘What happens to our children happens to Nigeria,’ he added, and the line resonated across the room.

Ms Wafaa Saeed, UNICEF Representative in Nigeria, presented the stark numbers. Under-five mortality, once near 200 per 1,000 live births in 1990, now sits around 100-still among the highest globally. Full immunization coverage has tripled in two decades, yet more than two million children remain unvaccinated annually. Birth registration has improved, but millions of children still do not legally exist. Three out of four children who reach age ten cannot read a simple text. Forty-eight million Nigerians still practice open defecation. ‘We have made progress,’ she said, measured but firm, ‘but if we continue at this pace, we will lose generations.’

The mood shifted when schoolchildren performed Unstoppable. As the last note faded, Tinafi Akawo, a seventeen-year-old visually impaired coder and child-rights activist, walked to the stage. ‘Thank you very much. Good to see you,’ he said, smiling at an audience he could only discern. Tinafi spoke of artificial intelligence and blockchain as the backbone of the child’s future. He outlined AI-based security systems capable of detecting anomalies and alerting authorities before school kidnappings occur. ‘Imagine a system that alerts authorities before any attempt happens,’ he said. ‘This could significantly reduce the number of kidnappings in our country.’

He also highlighted digital exclusion, urging policies that train young Nigerians in AI and machine learning to place the country on the global map. ‘I am visually impaired. I developed an app that lets blind people navigate using a smartphone camera. This is just me. There are thousands more children with ideas that never leave their rooms.’ He closed by urging the media to be the voice of children and push the government to nurture talent. As Cobhams Asuquo’s Unstoppable played again, Tinafi left the stage to sustained applause, crystallising the central theme: Nigerian children are unstoppable if given the opportunity.

A panel moderated by Dr Chinonso Egemba (Aproko Doctor) pressed duty bearers to account for daily gaps. Ronak Khan, UNICEF Deputy Representative, explained that interventions follow data, not sentiment. About 90% of Lagos households have clean water access, compared with less than 10% in Kebbi. ‘No child chooses where they are born. A child in Maiduguri deserves the same chance as a child in Lagos,’ he said.

Mrs Mariam Fitumi Shaibu, Deputy Director of Child Development at the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, highlighted initiatives with nationwide potential: the National Commission on Out-of-School Children, the Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) in eighteen states, the Lumina Project linking maternal economic empowerment to girls’ education, and the forthcoming national policy on menstrual health and hygiene management.

Mr Henshaw Ogubuike, with editors Ehi Braimah and Ijeoma Popoola, reminded the room that political will and implementation, not policy, remain the biggest gaps. In 2025, some SS3 students still sit on bare floors. Laws alone cannot replace intentional parenting or combat poverty and cultural pressures pushing girls into early marriage. Michel Deelen, Consul General of the Netherlands, delivered a pointed message. ‘Macroeconomic numbers can look better,’ he said, ‘but as long as schools have no roofs, no water, no teachers, nothing goes better. That is a disgrace.’ He noted that part of the Netherlands’ UNICEF funding supports water, sanitation, hygiene, and adolescent entrepreneurship initiatives. ‘The future is bright. The future is you. But we must steer it in the right direction.’

By morning’s end, editors made public commitments. Mr Anaba vowed to keep child rights on the front burner. Mr Braimah pledged dedicated columns and investigative reporting. Beneath the pledges lay a sober truth: by 2050, Nigeria will have the third-largest child population globally. If today’s out-of-school children become tomorrow’s unemployed, traumatized, or radicalized adults, the consequences will extend far beyond Nigeria. The children have demonstrated talent and determination. The challenge now falls on adults to provide the policies, resources, and guidance that will ensure Nigerian children remain truly unstoppable. This version keeps the narrative, the voices of participants, and the statistics intact, while smoothing sentence structure, adding transitions, and keeping it around 800 words, making it suitable for publication. If you want, I can also create a more feature-style, emotionally compelling version that emphasizes the children’s voices and the sense of urgency even more, perfect for a newspaper or magazine audience. Do you want me to do that?

Quietly and without fanfare, the Nigerian Railway Corporation under Kayode Opeifa is showing early signs of renewal. Yet in a system long weighed down by bureaucracy, rust, and broken promises, the real challenge lies in keeping the wheels turning after the applause fades.

When Opeifa was appointed managing director of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) early this year, the announcement barely stirred headlines. But among transport watchers, it drew attention. Here was a man once associated with Lagos traffic, an arena of daily chaos now handed the task of reviving a system meant to connect the whole country.

The Nigerian Railway Corporation once symbolised unity and progress, linking far-flung hamlets, communities, towns and feeding their local economies. Over time, it slipped into decay and nostalgia, a monument to what Nigeria once had and lost. Every new management promised revival; each left behind more rust and regret. Opeifa’s arrival came into that atmosphere of fatigue, one more technocrat stepping into a place heavy with expectations and history.

What has stood out so far is his visible, unceremonious style of engagement. Instead of remaining behind desks and memos, Opeifa has been out on the tracks inspecting stations, talking to workers, and listening to passengers. At the Lagos’ Iddo Terminal, he was reported to have seen the gap between reports and reality: dim platforms, faulty toilets, flickering lights, and weary coaches. His immediate instruction was to fix what could be fixed. Toilets were cleaned, lights repaired, and platforms tidied. It wasn’t dramatic, but it was symbolic a reminder that leadership sometimes begins with simple attention.

In other parts of the country, quiet attempts are underway to reconnect dormant lines and stir local economies back to life. The long silent Jos-Kuru corridor in Plateau State is reportedly being reconsidered for reopening. The Eastern line from Enugu to Port Harcourt has re-entered national conversation, with cautious optimism about renewed work. Freight services, too, are being repositioned as a growth engine. The Lagos-Ibadan cargo line, still evolving, could eventually ease the unbearable pressure on highways and cut logistics costs for manufacturers and traders.

That shift in focus is significant. For decades, discussions about Nigeria’s railways have revolved around passengers and comfort, often ignoring that rail systems across the world survive mainly on cargo. If the NRC succeeds in moving more goods efficiently, it will do far more for Nigeria’s economy than endless speeches about ‘modernisation.’

Inside the corporation, there’s a noticeable calm. Staff unions, once quick to challenge management, are reported to have pledged cooperation. That may not sound like much, but for an organisation long plagued by distrust and internal friction, it’s a big deal. Industrial peace doesn’t fix tracks or coaches, but it creates space for real work to happen.

Still, optimism must be measured. Nigeria’s railway story is littered with bright beginnings that fade into frustration. Chronic underfunding, sluggish procurement, weak maintenance, and a culture of secrecy remain major threats. There’s talk of acquiring new coaches and wagons a welcome plan, if executed transparently. But details are still hazy: no firm timelines, no public cost breakdowns, no delivery schedule. Nigerians deserve more than reports in newspapers; they deserve information. Transparency builds trust faster than announcements.

Beyond new equipment, the bigger challenge lies in maintenance. New coaches will not survive old habits. The NRC’s history is full of once proud assets left to rot after minor faults. Opeifa has warned against vandalism and theft, but punishment alone won’t change much. What’s needed is a working repair system, spares, workshops, and community ownership. Rail stations should not become scrapyards by neglect.

Another obstacle is the railway’s isolation from the rest of the transport ecosystem. Rail must connect meaningfully to ports, highways, and industrial clusters to make sense. The NRC has started engaging state governments and private players, but success will depend on how far these partnerships go beyond paper. A line that ends in the middle of nowhere serves no one.

In the months ahead, public judgment will rest not on rhetoric but on experience. Are trains cleaner? Are they more punctual? Are fares affordable? Has cargo movement between Lagos and Kano improved? These questions will tell Nigerians more about progress than any ribbon-cutting.

The truth is, the NRC doesn’t need miracles. It needs order, discipline, and continuity. Too often, its leadership has been caught between vision and bureaucracy: grand dreams swallowed by red tape. The real transformation lies not in mega projects but in the ordinary details: working lights, clean toilets, honest ticketing, and trains that simply leave and arrive on time.

If Opeifa can keep attention on those practical, almost boring things, he might quietly restore confidence in a system that once defined national unity. Each commuter who sits in a clean coach, each trader who moves goods safely, each town that hears the train whistle again that’s the measure of renewal.

Nigeria has seen this story before: a burst of reform energy followed by decline. Whether this chapter becomes another cycle or the start of something lasting will depend on management’s consistency after the noise dies down. Opeifa may not be seeking headlines, but his actions are being watched. And perhaps that’s for the best a railway system improving quietly, tested daily by a public that has learned to doubt promises but never quite stopped hoping for proof.