remembering that RUMOUR that CANADA once offered to give NIGERIA and the NIGERIA RAILWAYS TRAINS, ENGINES and PASSENGER COACHES, etc FREE

it is good that today 2021? Nigeria is building STANDARD GUAGE RAIL TRACKS.

better late than never.

also, better .. even if extremely very late .. than never at all.

after-all, for more than 40 years .. since at least 1975? .. let’s see now 2021 – 1975 = 46 years .. since 46 years ago and thereabouts

Nigerian Railway Engineers have been advocating, clamouring and virtually almost shouting themselves hoarse in the ears of virtually anyone that would give them a hearing that Nigeria should convert all existing rail lines in Nigeria from the existing OBSOLETE NARROW GAUGE TRACK to the STANDARD GAUGE TRACK.

many of these Engineers are dead now having died mostly in their 70s and 80s.
however, that’s probably better left right now as a story?, post? or a write-up? for another day.

the note-worthy thing is that although the powers-that-be then in the early-1970s and mid-1970s did not? heed their professional advice as internationally recognized high-calibre engineering practioners in a specialized field →→→

( Railway Engineering is a specialized field in much the same way as Air-plane / Aeroplane / Aeronautic Engineering is a specialized field and Ship / Shipping / Ship-Building / Ocean? Engineering is a specialized field )  

( by the way,
who might the powers-that-be then in this instance have been ?
no idea.
a guess might be the Ministry of Transport.
another guess might be the Federal? Minister of Transport.
and then there might be other guesses too.
whatever.
in any case, the bottom-line here i.e the base-line here is that your guess is, in this instance, as good as mine .. and probably even better than me )

→ →→ some one .. or some folks .. somewhere over time did and so right now .. as at date January 2021 .. there is a smattering of STANDARD GAUGE TRACKS here and there and there is the hope? that eventually .. at some point .. all the existing OBSOLETE NARROW GAUGE TRACKS across Nigeria will be converted to STANDARD GAUGE TRACKS.

in some of this stuff on STANDARD GAUGE TRACKS now being built/laid in Nigeria, there is a mention of an outfit called CCECC or so which probably stands for CHINA CIVIL ENGINEERING CONSTRUCTION CORPORATION or so.

CCECC seems to have taken an approach of involving Nigerians in it’s projects .. as staff? .. as consultants .. and as technical labour / technicians.

that’s a pretty good approach.

still, when did CCECC come into Nigeria or come to be known in Nigeria as a major Engineering outfit ?
no idea.
at a guess probably sometime in the 2000 A.D period.
maybe sometime from/between 2000 – 2010 – 2015 ?

let’s see now,
2000 – 1975? = 25 years
and
2000 – 1978 = 22 years
and
2000 – 1979 = 21 years  

( some reference links : [1] https://www.railway-technology.com/projects/abuja-kaduna-rail-line/
Abuja-Kaduna Rail Line
[2] https://www.reuters.com/article/china-nigeria-idUSL5N1SN00N
Nigeria awards $7 bln rail project to Chinese state rail firm -Xinhua
[3]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_Civil_Engineering_Construction_Corporation
China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation )

so, if CCECC which is building STANDARD GAUGE RAIL TRACKS came into Nigeria in 2000 A.D
that’s 25 years after
Nigeria Railway Engineers trained in the 1950s in England, United Kingdom and who had one way or the other being exposed to the dynamics of British Railways had been advocating that Nigeria should upgrade all existing rail lines in Nigeria from the existing OBSOLETE NARROW GAUGE TRACK to the STANDARD GAUGE TRACK

and also advocating?  that

since it was essentially Britain that built the Nigeria Railways in the first instance there should be closer co-operation between Nigeria Railways and Britain / British Railways as this would invariably have a beneficial impact on Nigeria Railways in terms of training, equipment and over-sight function / management consultancy by Britain / British Railways.

makes one remember that rumour that went about in 1979 ( or was it 1978? ) rumouring that CANADA had of their own free-will and on their own volition given Nigeria an offer
that
● CANADA would supply lots of trains, engines and passenger coaches to Nigeria FREE

● CANADA would build NEW RAIL LINES to cities in Nigeria not yet linked to the Railway Grid FREE

● CANADA would convert all existing rail lines in Nigeria from the existing OBSOLETE NARROW GAUGE TRACK to the STANDARD GAUGE TRACK

and Nigeria had
… in Nigeria’s sometimes very difficult to understand wisdom …  
not accepted the offer
and opted INSTEAD
to

pay .. yes, pay { ← yes, spend/use Nigeria money to pay  instead of getting good stuff free }

RITES of INDIA ( you read that right – chose? INDIA over CANADA )

for a 2? year period from 1979? to 1981? to oversee and manage the Nigeria Railways under some sort of management contract / management consultancy contract / management arrangement.

i really have nothing against INDIA.
India teachers working here in Nigeria are usually very brilliant and hardworking.
India children are very out-spoken, very fort-right in their commentary and usually very friendly.
and India females are often very pretty and very beautiful.
so, i really have nothing against India.

all the same, think about it.

today in the 2000 – 2021 A.D period Nigeria is spending money building STANDARD RAIL TRACKS that CANADA had offered to EXPAND and BUILD FOR NIGERIA free ?  
in 1978? or 1979? i.e 41 years ago? 42 years ago?
IF THAT RUMOUR THEN IS/WAS TRUE

and by the way,
it is not every offer that just about anyone gives you that you should accept.
all the same,
what type of intelligence is that one ?

that intelligence? that CANADA – a leading nation in the world – says that they will give you TRAINS
.. TRAINS that are by their nature very expensive ..
FREE and you say no.

what type of intelligence is that one ?
dis Nigeria sehf .. ee dae make person tire .. ah beg-ee.  
{ TRANSLATION OF THE ABOVE NIGERIA PIDGIN / PEEJEEN ENGLISH :
⓿ dis = this
⓿ sehf = i don’t know how to translate this one
⓿ ee = it
⓿ dae = does
⓿ ah = i
⓿ ah-beg-ee = an expression of exasperation in this usage }