By Ghazali Ibrahim
Every day, Nigeria’s trains transport thousands of passengers which includes civil servants heading to work, traders moving goods, and families traveling between cities.
But behind the steel wheels and humming engines is an untold story; the struggles of the men and women who keep the railway running but are themselves trapped in poverty.
One of the workers who spoke on the condition of anonymity with BlackBox Nigeria is Ibrahim (pseudonym), a signal officer who has spent over 15 years ensuring safe train movement.
His work demands absolute precision, a single wrong signal could cause a deadly collision. Yet, while passengers’ lives depend on him, his own life is plagued by hardship.
Ibrahim earns so little that his salary barely covers two weeks of expenses. His children’s school fees remain unpaid, medical bills for his wife stack up, and the rising cost of food makes each month a survival battle.
“When I climb the control tower, I’m thinking of the signals but also of how my family will eat,” he said.
“A divided mind is dangerous in my job.”
Railway workers across the country share Ibrahim’s fate.
Compared to other civil servants, their salaries are “very, very, very poor”, with little or no allowances, no housing benefits, and no significant welfare support.
Union officials and safety experts warn that this neglect puts not only workers at risk but also passengers.
Fatigue, financial stress, and low morale could lead to fatal mistakes which might make a train driver missing a signal, an engineer overlooking track faults, or safety checks being skipped.
“The railway cannot run on dedication alone,” said a senior rail staff member who asked not to be named.
“If we want safe and reliable trains, we must start by taking care of the people who make them run.”
Stakeholders are urging the federal government and the Nigerian Railway Corporation to overhaul the welfare system, arguing that safety and productivity are directly tied to worker motivation.
“The safety of our national journey begins with the dignity of those who keep the tracks alive,” one railway union leader said.
“If we don’t act now, the price later could be much higher.”
