The Federal Government has pushed for accelerated transformation of Nigeria’s transportation and logistics system through greater integration of road, rail, waterways, ports and other modes of transport, with technology and professional regulation deployed to reduce the cost of moving people and goods.
Technical Adviser to the Vice President on Transportation, Logistics and Innovation, Prince Segun Ochuko Obayendo, made the call on Thursday at the 2026 Transport Industry Summit organised by the Transportation Correspondents Association of Nigeria (TCAN) in Lagos.
Obayendo said Nigeria could not unlock its economic potential without addressing the structural weaknesses in its transport and logistics system, arguing that delays, fragmented modes of transportation, multiple checkpoints, insecurity, poor coordination and informality in the road transport sector were adding significantly to the cost of doing business.
He said Nigeria should learn from countries such as Singapore, Germany and China, where transportation infrastructure has been deliberately integrated into broader economic development strategies.
According to him, Singapore provides an example of how intelligent transport systems, automation and integrated ticketing can make movement across different modes of transport more seamless.
“Most of their automation-wise, intelligent transport systems, if you ask me, I would say they are leading in terms of automation and ITS,” he said.
Obayendo added that Nigeria needed to move towards a similar level of integration, stressing that the objective should not merely be to construct individual transport projects but to create a system in which the different modes complement one another.
“When you have one ticket, you should be able to book your journey across the different modes. That is what multimodality is talking about,” he said.
He also cited the Hamburg port ecosystem in Germany as an example of how technology and coordinated logistics can improve the movement of goods.
He said Nigeria needed to develop systems that could track cargo and monitor the movement of goods from one point to another, thereby reducing delays and improving transparency.
Obayendo referred to the Hamburg Port Authority’s smartPORT programme, as an example of the type of integrated system he wants Nigeria to build. The port combines road, rail and sea transport data, while its digital systems monitor traffic flows, infrastructure and cargo movements.
Its Port Monitor system brings together information including vessel positions, berths, water levels and other operational data, while other projects use sensors, connected vehicles and automation to improve traffic flow.
Obayendo said such systems demonstrated that efficient transportation was not simply about building roads, bridges or terminals, but about connecting infrastructure, data, operators and users.
He also drew attention to China, describing the country as an economic powerhouse whose development had been closely linked to massive investment in transport infrastructure.
He said Nigeria should similarly examine its strategic position in Africa and ask why the country’s potential as a major regional trading hub had not translated into the volume and efficiency of trade flows that should be expected.
“If we get things right, we will be able to move goods freely, earn more, create more jobs and be prosperous,” he said.
Obayendo said the economic consequences of an inefficient transport system were ultimately borne by consumers and businesses.
He explained that when an importer experiences delays in moving goods from a port or terminal, the additional costs are eventually incorporated into the price of the goods.
“If I were an importer and my goods are delayed for a week or two when they are supposed to move freely, whatever is the cause of that delay would be added to the final price,” he said.
He also raised concerns about the proliferation of checkpoints and other charges along freight corridors, saying such costs accumulate and ultimately increase freight rates.
The challenge is particularly significant because Nigerian businesses depend heavily on road transportation for the movement of cargo between ports, industrial centres, markets and inland destinations.
Obayendo said the issue was not simply about the number of checkpoints but the cumulative effect of informal payments, delays and other costs imposed on transport operators.
Another major issue raised by the presidential adviser was the absence of adequate integration among Nigeria’s different transport modes.
He argued that a cargo movement that could be completed much faster through a combination of road, rail and water transport could take considerably longer when the entire journey was forced onto the road.