FG’s planned reintroduction of tolling

FEDERAL Government’s planned reintroduction of tolling on Nigerian roads is an action that is bound to stir the angst of Nigerian road users who have long been condemned to commuting daily on what could be arguably described as some of the worst roads in the world. For a country that relies very heavily on road transportation, the quality of roads in the country has deteriorated to a level where a former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Emeka Anyaoku, once described them as worse than any that could be found in war-torn countries.

Although the usual argument by proponents of tolling is that money realised would be ploughed back into road maintenance, the reality in Nigeria is that the country’s authorities see tolling as another source of revenue generation for the maintenance of big government and creation of cost centres. This was inadvertently confirmed by the Chairman of the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency, Ezekiel Adeniji, when he was quoted as saying, “Tolling is universal for revenue generation and job creation.”

The proposal is certainly eye-catching, but hardly the whole story.  Before the toll plazas were dismantled by the President Olusegun Obasanjo administration, the exercise was riddled with corruption. When it was obvious that the government establishment that was manning the toll plazas was not discharging its responsibilities satisfactorily, the job was contracted out to private firms, who also ended up short-changing the government.

In many cases, revenues collected were never fully remitted. Many of those hired to collect the tolls were also printing their own tickets and selling them alongside official tickets. Some would even grant free passage to motorists once they dropped already used tickets, which were later sold to other motorists and the money pocketed. It was not unusual to see tickets meant for use at Ore, in Ondo State being sold in Ibadan, Oyo State, for instance. The operation was a cesspit of corruption and there is nothing to show that it is going to be different if reintroduced.

The pervasive corruption in tolling then and the failure to adequately maintain the roads were part of the reasons for scrapping tolling, with a view to replacing it with fuel tax as a source of funding for road maintenance. The idea was eventually dropped after it was vehemently opposed by labour unions, who felt it was an unjust way of passing the burden of additional taxation on Nigerians, especially on non-road users, who would be forced to pay the tax for just buying fuel to keep their generators running.

The concern of the government about the state of the roads also informed the creation of FERMA to perform the function of road maintenance, which should ordinarily come within the remit of the Ministry of Works. Regrettably, given the state of roads in the country today, the interventionist agency has also failed woefully in its assigned duties and has no basis for its continued existence. It should be scrapped.

In announcing the Federal Government’s intention to reintroduce tolling, Adeniji said it was the usual practice in other parts of the world. The statement is misguided. It is sensible to ask Adeniji the locations of the roads that will be tolled. In those parts of the world he is referring to, the toll-roads are usually well-built, well-maintained, multiple-lane roads; not the type of decrepit, pot-hole-riddled roads that are in use here in Nigeria.

It is estimated that 27,000 kilometres out of 34,000 kilometres of federal road network in the country have collapsed, exposing commuters to preventable accidents. Rather than be talking about tolling on Federal Government roads, what the government should be preoccupied with for now should be how to bring the roads out of their present state of decrepitude.

Also, in those parts of the world in question, the usual practice is to get some private companies to build the roads on a Build-Operate-Transfer basis. Such companies operate under a franchise, which requires them to return the roads to the government at the expiration of their franchise. That is the method adopted by the Lagos State Government on the Lekki toll road, where driving is made more pleasurable.

Nigeria could also adopt the BOT system to court private sector participation in new road construction and maintenance. It is insensitive to think of introducing tolling on the existing potholed roads, built with taxpayers’ money. With BOT, the level of road infrastructure will improve and Nigerians will be willing to pay for the use of such roads, which should, however, boast alternatives or secondary roads, for those who may not wish to use toll-roads. Tolling should be a private sector affair.

Besides, it is also time for the government to develop the rail system to reduce over-reliance on roads as the chief means of transportation. Efficient rail transport will encourage travellers to take the train and leave their cars behind. This can be easily achieved by repealing the age-old law of 1955 that puts the rail system under the exclusive control of the Federal Government. Similarly, the inland waterways should be made more active for use by those in riverine areas.

Without any concrete step being taken to develop transport infrastructure in the country, any attempt to reintroduce tolling on Nigerian roads, more than eight years after it was abolished, smacks of insensitivity and should be stoutly resisted by the Nigerian citizenry.