Awo said:
Chief Awolowo on RAILING up Nigeria 72 years ago.
“What the Nigerian economy lacks woefully is mobility.”
“Any country that moves sluggishly and slowly will never make it economically. You will carry goods from Kano; it takes two or three days, with the driver languishing on the way.”
“So the goods don’t arrive in time at places where they will be consumed or badly needed.”
“And when they arrive, they are too expensive and so on. “
“We considered a project when l was in the Western Region, and l thought all of us – the three regions at the time, should cooperate to make the scheme work.”
“Well, the basis of the scheme, of course, is that the Federal Government will improve the speed of the railway from Kano to Lagos.”
“We suggested that instead of bringing cattle on the roof from the North, where they were reared, let them bring the carcass. The refrigerated flesh would arrive in Lagos, Abeokuta, Ibadan, Port Harcourt and so on.”
“So, there was a lot of correspondence on it. But not enough interest was shown, and in the end, the thing was abandoned.”
“That is a dream we dreamt of in the Western Region around 1953/54”