Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has commended President Muhammadu Buhari over the Lagos-Ibadan Standard Gauge rail project.
Prof. Soyinka commended the federal government in Abeokuta as the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, led a team of government officials to test-run the train from Iju station in Lagos to Abeokuta in Ogun.
Soyinka, who had earlier on Friday endorsed the presidential candidate of the Young Progressives Party (YPP) Kingsley Moghalu, said that the project would create business opportunities for Ogun residents.
“This is a creative work and I believe one of these days, on this particular platform, a rocket will go to the next planet,” he said.
Mr Amaechi said that the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) would begin a test run free of charge for passengers from Abeokuta to Lagos for three months.
He said that on completion of the project the journey from Abeokuta to Lagos would take 29 minutes.
The Chairman, Senate Committee on Land and Transportation, Senator Gbenga Ashafa, also praised Buhari for the project, saying that it had created jobs for many young people.
Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun, said the project was a “life-changing experience” and that rail infrastructure across the nation had the potential of pushing the country forward among developed nations.
