The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has come under intense criticism over his latest comment on bandits’ attacks on a Kaduna-bound train from Abuja.
Amaechi, who spoke poke while inspecting the site of the incident between the Katari and Rijana train station along the Kaduna-Abuja route, said he had warned the government.
He said he had advised the Federal Government that helicopters, drones, and other technologies were needed to protect the rail tracks in the country.
According to the minister, “The equipment is just N3 billion.”
Continuing, he said, “For me, I am devastated and honestly I don’t know what to tell Nigerians anymore.
“The cameras in the train cannot pick what is happening outside. What you need is a camera that shows 100 metres away from the train, if there are unknown things carrying guns. Then, we can take precautions but we have done all we need to do in the ministry of transport, we have forwarded them for approval but we have not gotten approval.
“The patrol vehicles are available but they cannot reach everywhere. For the areas the vehicles can patrol, they forestall any incident.
“What we need is technology that let you know that there are human activities or foreign activities on the track, that way, you can secure the locomotive and secure lives and I had warned earlier that it is important they get us this approval because human lives would be involved. Since that warning till today, we have had two incidents.”
Reacting to Amaechi’s comment, Reno Omokri, a former aide to former President Goodluck Jonathan, said the minister’s statement was insensitive.
Omokri, who wrote on his Twitter handle on Wednesday, said the minister needed not to warn but act in his capacity to prevent possible attacks on transport facilities.
According to him, “This is the most insensitive statement I have read about the Abuja-Kaduna train bombing. How can Amaechi say he warned? Who is responsible for rail? Is it not Amaechi? I can’t warn.
“The man on the street can warn. Amaechi should not warn. He should have prevented!”
