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A university don and transport and logistics expert, Dr Femi Ola Aiyegbajeje, has called for a fundamental shift in Nigeria’s transport infrastructure planning, urging the Federal Government to adopt a rail-led multimodal integration strategy that connects seaports, railway corridors, roads, inland terminals, production centres and markets within a coordinated logistics system.
Aiyegbajeje, a lecturer at the Department of Geography and Planning, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Lagos, said Nigeria could unlock greater economic value from its transport investments by moving away from an infrastructure-first approach towards an integrated logistics service model driven by cargo demand, operational reliability and measurable performance outcomes.
In a presentation titled “Rail-Led Multimodal Integration: Unlocking Efficient Transport, Trade Facilitation and National Connectivity,” the Unilag don explained that railway infrastructure could deliver its full economic potential only when it functioned as part of an end-to-end freight transportation chain.
“Rail creates national value when it works as part of an end-to-end logistics chain—not as an isolated asset,” he stated.
He argued that integrating rail with ports, road networks, inland logistics hubs, agricultural production zones, industrial centres and digital information systems was critical to improving freight movement, facilitating trade and strengthening national connectivity.
According to him, Nigeria’s economic activities are distributed across coastal gateways, inland production areas and major consumption markets, making coordinated transportation systems essential for efficient cargo evacuation and distribution.
He noted that a seaport could experience operational bottlenecks when cargo evacuation became slow or unpredictable, while railway infrastructure could underperform when terminal facilities, train schedules and customer access were poorly coordinated.
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