I wonder if Nigeria’s political parties realise that they need to make rural transport a top priority if they want to boost the revenue generated from agriculture

Ayo Akinfe

[1] Are Nigerians aware of the fact that their country is the world’s sixth largest agricultural producer. Yes, Nigeria is a major net food exporter

[2] We are the world’s number one producer of about 10 agricultural crops, with the main ones being yam, cassava, cocoa yam, melon seed, bitter leaf and shea nuts

[3] However, about a third of our agricultural output gets destroyed in the rural areas. Poor roads mean potholes, which in turn destroys crops, especially fruit and vegetables

[4] Just imagine how much produce we would save and how much revenue could be generated if we had a decent rural road network with crops transported to markets in refrigerated trucks

[5] I think one of the first things whoever wins the 2027 elections needs to do is sit down with the 36 state governors and explain the importance of rural roads to them. Rural roads are 10 times more important than flyovers and fancy roundabouts

[6] Each state governor should also come up with a public works programme that involves getting our youth off the street and building these rural roads. Why for instance are we not building air conditioned bus stops?

[7] Annually, we may need to spend about $2bn on rural roads across all 774 local government areas. As we all know, the rainy season has shown that we have no rural transport network in Nigeria . Many villages and farms are totally inaccessible between say May and October

[8] A rural road network needs to be augmented with the construction of our national rail network linking all 774 local government areas to what is effectively a railway grid. We simply have to get more people off the roads and into trains

[9] In subsequent years, I would also dedicate about $2bn to a national bicycle programme. We need to get away from this ignorant notion that bicycles are for the “bush man” and villager. This will allow farmers to cycle to their farms every morning

[10] Ultimately, for this programme to succeed, our state governors need to run with it. Whoever becomes the next chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum will be key to its success

ayoakinfe@gmail.com

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