History of the Nigerian Railway

This massive work took seventeen years to complete, and must stand as a seminal work of meticuluous history. More than a history, it is an analysis of the railways and their role in the history of Nigeria as a country. It was the railways that carried agricultural products to the ports; that moved people at relatively little cost over long distance for trade and occupational pursuits; that gave support and strength to military operations and the movement of heavy duty equipment and materials needed for industrial works and development. The railways were the life-line of national economic development, and the pioneers in the opening up of the country to development and contact with the outside world. The three volumes explore the systems from their beginnings in the 1890s to the closing decades of the twentieth century. Over 300 illustrations illuminate the volumes. There is introductory material on exploration, geography and demography, the basics of the railway system, and a description of the assets, fuel examination and water supply exploration. The economic and political history of each of the nine railway and tramway systems is given. Operational facilities and commercial practice are each described within historical perspective. The whole is summed up under organisations, accounts and statistics, staff and industrial relations, and short biographies of departmental heads. The author spent forty-seven years in Nigeria, including twenty-seven serving to Nigeria's history.