On his part, a former President of the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria, Dr Sam Nzekwe, wondered who would pay for the part that leads to Niger.
He said, “There is so much infrastructural deficit in Nigeria, and part of the reasons we are not having many investors in the country is lack of critical infrastructure.
“Government would have used more efforts to develop infrastructure in Nigeria.”
While wondering what the rationale behind the project could be, he said, “One would have said by now we should be talking of how to build solid roads and the rail system in Nigeria very well.
“But sometimes, I don’t know if we are getting our priorities right because I think we have to finish with Nigeria before you think of going to Niger. Is there any special thing we are getting from Niger?”
Akinterinwa asks govt to explain funding
A former Director-General of the Nigerian Institute for International Affairs, Prof Bola Akinterinwa, said Nigerians should be more interested in the source of the fund for the project.
Akinterinwa, in a telephone conversation with one of our correspondents, said in the light of the global economic crisis, the country could not single-handedly finance such a project.
He said, “There is absolutely nothing wrong if there is a railway line from the northern part of the country to our northern neighbor, Niger, if the funding is going to be at the level of the two countries. Second, if it is within the framework of ECOWAS regional development. Third, if there is an international funding for it under international assistance. So, one cannot just make a conclusion without first addressing under which framework it will be done.
.“So, there is no way that kind of project will not be within that (joint) framework. But the issue is to find out the funding. Like a Yoruba proverb says, ‘whoever is going to help an outsider, must have succeeded in helping himself first.”
