Two Nigerians have complained bitterly about how workers of the Nigerian Railway Corporation frustrated Nigerians from benefiting from the free train ride offered to them by President Bola Tinubu for the Christmas and New Year celebrations.
The Eagle Online recalls that Tinubu had declared free train ride and 50 percent reduction in bus travels for the period.
The offer, which was coordinated by the Minister of Solid Minerals, Dr. Dele Alake, has since been extended to January 7, 2023 by the President.
However, two Nigerians have complained bitterly on how workers of the NRC shortchanged Nigerians by blocking the seats to make it unavailable online and then collect money from them at the train station for the journey.
The two complaints were laid on the Lagos-Ibadan route, which has become notorious for misdeeds by some staff of the NRC.
The Eagle Online recalls that some of them were caught in ticket racketeering at some point last year.
The person who laid the complaint on social media asked: “Are we human at all?”
His narration is presented below unedited:
May God save Nigeria from Nigerians
The picture attached was taken inside the Buhari train after Papa Lantoro in Abeokuta axis by a passenger traveling from Ibadan to Lagos on the 1st of January 2024. Can you see how the coach is virtually empty at a time it was absolutely free of charge to travel by train?
You would ask where were the passengers? They were not allowed to book, so many of them were stranded while some opted to travel by commercial transport buses and pay high rates because of the ongoing festivities after they failed to book train tickets…
The Federal Government in her bid to help mitigate the cost of transportation during Yuletide season made train trips free of charge. However, people were always not able to book seats because it was always totally booked. If it was always totally booked, where then were the passengers that the coaches were always empty?
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Read the experience of a passenger:
I was filled with happiness and gratitude to the Federal Government of Nigeria when it was announced that train trips would be free of charge during this festive period. I was already racking my brain about how I would take my family of six to my town in Oyo for Christmas and new year. My earlier arrangement was banked on the Federal Government’s promised wage awards of N35K but even normal salary was not paid let alone the wage awards. We were paid only once for the month of September and I don’t know when others would be paid or if it would be paid at all. You can imagine how happy I was to get my family to Ibadan without paying for it!
I tried to book tickets online but it was fully booked. We postponed the journey and the following day, it was fully booked again. Then we woke up very early in the morning the following day and got to train station before dawn. We hoped to book tickets at the station but they told me it was fully booked again. As I stood perplexed, the official told me he could help me get the tickets if I was willing to pay a token. I asked how would it be possible when the seats were totally booked? He replied that he knew someone who had already booked but is no more traveling. Then I understood!
Some unscrupulous staff of the NRC who were privy to the time the booking portal would be available would have booked all available spaces with the intention of selling the tickets to desperate travelers like myself. In that way, they would make some money and the acclaimed free trip wouldn’t be free but fares reduced. I left disappointed.
Another person’s experience:
I was traveling back from Ibadan to Lagos with my kids on the 1st of January 2024. I would resume back to work the following day so I tried booking the free train seats. It was fully booked! Then someone told me there were three seats left for Ibadan to Abeokuta so I booked the seats with the intention of alighting at Abeokuta and continue my journey by commercial buses. However I noticed that most of the seats were empty so I decided not to alight at Abeokuta but continue the journey. After Papa Lantoro, I noticed that the seats were still empty. Infact, the whole lots of us who were passengers in the train could not fill up only two coaches.the rest seats of six coaches were empty. Having realized what happened, I decided to take these pictures!”
Government ran the free trips with fuel and other logistic needs but some selfish and wicked staff decided to deny us of the opportunity and eventually turned the palliative investment to waste.
May God save Nigeria from Nigerians!
