The impact of attacks and passengers’ abductions on Nigeria’s railway system is taking a toll on revenue as new data shows revenue from Nigerian Railway Corporation has dropped by 66percent.
In the second quarter (Q2) of 2022, the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) generated only N734.47 million, the latest rail transportation data published by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) shows.
Compared to the previous quarter, revenue dropped by 66.73 percent. Of the 3 sub-units — passengers, goods/cargos and other income receipts, passengers recorded the highest revenue drop, which could be attributed to the Abuja–Kaduna train attack that occurred on March 28 this year.
Quarterly, the NBS releases rail transportation data in Nigeria showing rail transport activities, particularly the revenue generated in the quarter.
According to the Q2 data published by the statistical agency, a total of N734.473 million was generated. In Q1, the total revenue generated was N2.208 billion, indicating a 66.73 percent drop in revenue in Q2.
A breakdown of the 3 sub-units that make up the rail transport revenue shows that passengers accounted for 81.5 percent of the total revenue generated in the quarter under review. Goods/cargo and other income receipts contributed 11.7 percent and 6.8 percent, respectively.
Compared to the previous quarter, passenger revenue and other receipts dipped by 71.18 percent and 14.15 percent, respectively. However, revenue from goods/cargo increased by 19.84 percent.
While the overall drop in revenue in Q2 calls for concerns, the Abuja-Kaduna train attack that happened earlier this year has been highlighted by a security expert as a primary reason for the sharp decline in the total revenue generated from passengers in the quarter under review.
In Q1 2021, revenue generated from train passengers was 0.892 billion. The revenue saw an increase every other quarter to Q1 2022. However, in Q2 2022, it dropped to 0.599 billion, even lower than the revenue generated in Q1 2021.
Timothy Avele, a security expert in counterterrorism, intelligence and cybersecurity, cited the Abuja-Kaduna train incident as a major contributing factor to the drop in revenue that was recorded.
The NRC also shared the same view as it disclosed in September that the commission lost N531 million due to inactivity on the Abuja-Kaduna route.
Recall, that on March 28, 2022, the train en route to Kaduna from Abuja was attacked by bandits, with many passengers kidnapped and others killed. The sad incident led to the shutdown of operations which has remained so since then.
According to Avele, the aftermath of the incident, which resulted in the closedown of operations on one of the busiest train routes, is responsible for the major decrease in the revenue recorded in the second quarter.
He implores the government to draw lessons from the Abuja-Kaduna train attack incident and adopt proactive and continuous intelligence measures to prevent future occurrences, stating that insecurity not only poses serious threats to the lives and property of Nigerians but also has a severe impact on the economy.