As we enter December and the rush by Ndigbo to travel to the southeast is set to begin, I am surprised that the South East Governors Forum has not come up with a Yuletide transport programme

Ayo Akinfe

[1] It is Xmas again and as from this weekend, our Igbo brethren will be converging on the southeast, coming from all over Nigeria

[2] Transport fares to cities like Enugu, Umuahia, Aba, Awka, Owerri, Onitsha, etc will double. Owning a national bus company that plies southeast Nigeria is a licence to print money at Xmas in Nigeria

[3] It is not only bus fares but air fares too will also skyrocket. In some cases, by the time people are returning to their bases, they will have to pay twice as much as they did to leave

[4] Can someone please explain to me why the five governors of the geo-political zone have not created a South East Transport Company that offers subsidised travel at Xmas

[5] I would also like to know why they have not floated an Oriental Airlines, kind of similar to Ibom Air. If it charges say 20% less than other domestic airlines, within five years, it will have a virtual monopoly of air travel in Nigeria

[6] There is also no law in Nigeria which prevents these five governors from building high speed Lagos to Enugu and Abuja to Enugu railway lines

[7] One thing I find totally unforgivable is that southeast Nigeria is not the luxurious bus manufacturing capital of the world. No one on planet Earth uses luxurious buses like Ndigbo. As a people, we have got to learn to produce what we consume

[8] A few private transport companies are going to make millions during this festive season. At a time when life is hard for most Nigerians it is inexplicable that the state governors have not stepped in to alleviate the pain of the masses

[9] In all these instances I have outlined, the main problem is the governors are waiting for the federal government to act. Well, I can tell them that this will not happen. Why should we be so intellectually lazy that we are relying on Abuja to do everything for us?

[10] I am waiting for one of our Igbo associations to present the governors with a comprehensive transport blueprint. This will involve the manufacture of luxurious buses and railway carriages, the construction of railway lines, the floating of an airline and the launch of an Onitsha to Lagos boat service. All these services should be provided by one umbrella South East Transport Company. I would like to see the governors have say a 30% stake in the venture and the company floated on the Lagos, London and New York exchanges. It should also enter into joint ventures with companies like Volvo who manufacture all the London Transport buses

Ayoakinfe@gmail.com