Igbos marginalized – HURIWA tells Buhari over non-functional railways in Southeast

The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, has alleged marginalization of the southeast in the construction of railways.

HURIWA accused the Federal Government of failing to revive the moribund railway lines in the region.

The rights group said the resuscitation of the Nigerian railways will surely go down in history as one of the surest legacies of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration, only if the federal government would fix the missing gap which is the “non-availability of any sort of railway resuscitation in the South East, Rivers, Cross Rivers axis of the country.”

In a statement by its National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, and the National Media Affairs Director, HURIWA appealed to Buhari, through the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi to redress the injustice against the South East, Rivers and Cross Rivers axis of the country.

He urged Buhari to “immediately commencing work to revive the Railways in Enugu Okigwe, Umuahia, Port Harcourt Aba, Uyo, Calabar which if done will significantly boost the transportation sector, and informal trades and would create thousands of jobs.”

According to HURIWA: “We commend President Muhammadu Buhari for ensuring that there is continuity of the revolutionary railway resuscitation programme of the immediate past administration of the hitherto moribund Nigeria Railways in some parts of the Country, particularly in the North, South West, and South South geopolitical zones.

“However this commendation is incomplete because there is a stark injustice being meted out to the over 60 million Igbo speaking nationality and their neighbours in Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Cross Rivers who don’t have the privilege of seeing their moribund railway tracks revived so services can be restored with speed and equanimity as are being done in Northern Nigeria and South West of Nigeria and some parts of Delta State”.

HURIWA also urged Southeast governors and their counterparts from Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Cross River to work in synergy with Amaechi to address the clear lapses in railway resuscitation in their states.