AKTC and Crosslines LMT : Contrast and Comparison By Eba Alobo Ishmael

Eba Alobo Ishmael

Imagine two biological brothers. The elderly one bluntly refused to develop himself educationally and otherwise while the younger one carefully equipped himself with all skills necessary to become an independent man. Who then will gain more  recognition in society? Your guess is as good as mine. This is the scenario playing out between the Akwa Ibom State Transport Company (AKTC) and our very own CrossLines Limited.

It is saddening that for whatsoever reason, AKTC which is the official transport company of Nsit Motors Ltd and offer services such as intra/interstate transportation, group bookings etc today can boast of offices in the six geopolitical zones of the country while our very own Cross lines Ltd which is a mass transit scheme for the same services offered by the aforementioned can be best described as 'a shadow of itself' interns of availability of road worthy vehicles, having offices across the country, proper funding, provision job to indigenes of CRS, lack of maintenance culture, lack of collaboration with private individuals among other pertinent issues.

Now the question is why has government since 1999 failed to beam it search light on this very important sector of the economy and ensure a total overhaul of the entire scheme?

You will agree with me that road transportation which requires much less capital investment as compared to other modes of transport such as railway and air transport is one sector of the economy that once properly handled can contribute immensely to boasting our Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) a a state. Imagine how much the state will recoup if first class vehicles are been bought, maintained and sent into the roads under the Cross line ltd.

There is virtually no sector of the economy that does not benefit from road transport. Be it the agricultural sector-of course our goods and services produced from the farm need vehicles to transport them . What about the tourism sector, our tourist need to move about, so this sector readily play a major role in that regards. The Commerce sub-sector cannot be over emphasised. So also is the Works, housing, Solid Mineral sectors as well as the Job creation sector.

With a properly funded and well managed robust transport system, jobs will be created for many of our people. Have you considered how many Akwa-Ibomites earn a living from AKTC ranging from ticket officers, loaders, to the drivers? Take a closer look at their headquarters in Uyo, how organised it is and even digitalised. Who engineered this maintenance culture if not the government?

It is my believe that any government who wants to make meaningful progress ought to explore every sector of the economy available to her and the road transport sub-sector is one key area that has remained untapped, under -funded and ill-managed in CRS over the years. It's high time our government pay closer attention to this key sub-sector.

Rather than focus on building 'monorail' whose values to me  has not been felt, why not the government as a matter of urgency charge the commissioner of transport to revamp the Cross lines Ltd, pump in more money, purchase more road worthy vehicles, constitute a team to ensure proper monitoring and evaluation of the firm, recruit more young and vibrant drivers to man these vehicles and ensure accountability in the running of the firm.

Trust me the outcome will be tremendous improvement in our IGR, creation of more jobs for young people, reduction in crime rates as well as a robust economy.

Finally our brethren who are well to do and instead of investing in our dear state chose to scatter their investments outside, should start thinking towards the direction of partnering with Crosslines in the areas of vehicle purchasing, register with the company and watch your investment grow. All hands should be on deck to ensure that this vital sub sector is revamped, restructured, reorganised and effectively managed.

Eba Alobo Ishmael
Public Affairs Commentator