AN EVALUATION OF THE INLAND TRANSPORTATION AND ITS EFFECT ON LOGISTICS IN NIGERIA

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

Transportation is the movement of people, goods and services from one place to another. It is essential to modern economic development, particularly in a developing country like Nigeria, because industry and commerce depend on an efficient transport system. Transport also gives people access to jobs, markets, schools and health care, and it supports family and social life. Goods that are collected, extracted or manufactured must be moved before they are consumed, and people must travel to reach services that are available only in a few places. Transport is therefore among the most pervasive influences on any economy.

Transport also drives urban growth. It connects people to the services that make towns and cities grow, and cities with well-integrated transport tend to develop into centres of trade, industry, education and services. As cities grow, the demand to move people, goods, services and information grows with them, so an efficient transport system is needed to sustain that growth. Transport can also change land use, since commercial, retail and residential developments tend to locate along transport corridors and near interchanges. These effects are mainly local rather than national.

The main inland transport modes are road, rail, water and pipelines, and each has its own strengths. Rail suits long-distance bulk freight, while water transport carries large cargo over long distances at low cost. Road transport serves the other modes and provides door-to-door service. It is the most flexible, widely available and complex network, and it suits short, medium and long distances. Roads open up areas for investment in agriculture and commerce, gather goods for distribution and marketing, and link remote locations to urban centres. Road networks are described by their accessibility, connectivity, traffic density, level of service and density. Commercial users locate along major roads to benefit from access.

In Nigeria, road transport dominates freight. Rail and inland waterways contribute under 4% and 1% of freight movement respectively (ThisDay, 2018). A study of the Lagos–Kano corridor describes the country's land transport structure as lopsided and found that road outperformed rail on nearly all freight performance indicators, including throughput, speed and revenue per ton moved. Shippers value speed, which shortens vehicle turnaround time (Daramola, 2022). This reliance on roads means that road conditions strongly affect logistics, meaning the planning, movement and storage of goods. Research on road freight in Lagos has investigated the barriers to sustainable road freight logistics and physical distribution operations there (Buhari, 2025).

Road development also affects how cities grow. In Ile-Ife, the urban area expanded from 5.71 km² in 1968 to 103.99 km² in 2019, while the road network grew from 34.26 km to 944.51 km, and the two were strongly and positively correlated (Oladapo et al., 2021). In Lagos, rapid urban growth has created a serious mobility crisis and changed how land is used for transport infrastructure (Otuoze et al., 2021).

Umuahia is an example of rapid urban growth. Since it became the capital of Abia State on 27 August 1991, road networks have been improved, and pedestrian and vehicle movement has increased. Banking, retail, wholesale and professional services have clustered there to take advantage of their nearness to the seat of government. These concentrations attracted consumers and supporting services, which contributed to urban growth and to commercial activity along the old and new roads. The state government has spent heavily on constructing, expanding and modernising roads, particularly in Umuahia, and several projects are still ongoing, with the aim of improving connectivity and accessibility. Tables 1.1 and 1.2 show the road works carried out.

Table 1.1: Road Network Developed in Abia State

Source: Abia State Ministry for Works and Transport, 2017

Table 1.2: Road Network Developed in Abia Metropolis

Source: Abia State Ministry for Works and Transport, 2017

1.2 Statement of the Research Problem

Cities everywhere draw people together, which creates demand for transport and housing. Abia is a good example in Nigeria. It has grown rapidly since it became a state capital in 1991. Road construction opened up residential areas, and demand for commercial space increased. Many private firms, shops and banks have settled in the metropolis to benefit from nearness to government. This led to heavy vehicle and pedestrian traffic, especially along the access roads.

Many Nigerian studies have examined roads and development. They cover the performance of road versus rail in freight transport (Daramola, 2022), barriers to road freight operations in Lagos (Buhari, 2025), the link between road development and urban expansion in Ile-Ife (Oladapo et al., 2021), and the growth of transport infrastructure space in Lagos (Otuoze et al., 2021). Little attention, however, has been paid to how road development affects logistics, urban growth and commercial activity together. To the researcher's knowledge, none of these studies was carried out in Abia metropolis, and few have combined GIS and remote sensing imagery to estimate urban growth patterns there.

The study is also motivated by the large public investment in roads in Abia State. Roads are widely seen as a catalyst for development, but it is not clear how much this investment has influenced logistics, urban growth and commercial activity in the metropolis. This gap is the focus of the study.

1.3 Research Questions

1. What is the extent of the increase in the road transport network in Abia metropolis?
2. What is the pattern of urban growth in the area?
3. How has road network development affected logistics and urban growth?
4. What are the effects of road transport development on the growth of commercial activities?

1.4 Aim and Objectives

The study aims to evaluate inland transportation and its effect on logistics in Nigeria, using Abia metropolis as the study area. It also examines the effects of road transport development on urban growth and commercial activities. The specific objectives are to:

1. Determine the changes in road network development in 1991, 2005 and 2017.
2. Examine the pattern of urban growth between 1991 and 2017 in the study area.
3. Analyse the effects of road network development on urban growth over the study period.
4. Examine the effects of road network development on commercial activities.
5. Assess the effects of road network development on logistics, including the movement of goods and people.

1.5 Hypothesis

H₀: There is no significant relationship between road transport development and urban growth in Abia metropolis.

1.6 Scope of the Study

Spatially, the study covers road transport in Abia metropolis. In content, it is limited to road transport development in the study area, the pattern of urban growth and the effects of road development on commercial activities and logistics. In time, it starts from 1991, when Abia State was created and Umuahia became its capital, and covers three time points: 1991, 2005 and 2017. These span several military and civilian administrations.

1.7 Justification of the Study

A good transport system is a precondition for remote communities to share in national development. Road transport opens up areas for economic activity, raises agricultural production, revives trade and promotes urbanisation. Roads also serve the other modes of transport and give door-to-door service.

Roads are central infrastructure, and their efficiency acts as a catalyst for development. Abia State has invested heavily in roads, especially in the capital, so analysing their effects will show how worthwhile that investment has been. Moving people and goods more efficiently can increase trade and agricultural activity, along with commercial activity and urban growth in the metropolis.

The main purpose of the study is to provide baseline data for better management and planning of the road network. The study will also serve as a reference for policy and help in proposing effective road maintenance to reduce accidents and traffic congestion in the study area.

REFERENCES

Buhari, S. O. (2025). Determinant barriers to sustainable road freight operations in Lagos metropolis and freight operators' loyalty to road freight corridors. International Journal of Research and Innovation in Applied Science, 10(4), 143–155.

Daramola, A. (2022). A comparative analysis of road and rail performance in freight transport: An example from Nigeria. Urban, Planning and Transport Research, 10(1), 58–81. https://doi.org/10.1080/21650020.2022.2033134

Oladapo, F. T., Olawole, M. O., & Ojo, A. G. (2021). Analysis of urban expansion and road network development in Ile-Ife, Nigeria: 1968–2019. Zaria Geographer, 28(1), 60–73.

Otuoze, S. H., Hunt, D. V. L., & Jefferson, I. (2021). Monitoring spatial-temporal transition dynamics of transport infrastructure space in urban growth phenomena: A case study of Lagos—Nigeria. Frontiers in Future Transportation, 2, Article 673110. https://doi.org/10.3389/ffutr.2021.673110

ThisDay. (2018, November 2). CILT bemoans poor performance of railway, inland waterways. https://thisdaylive.com/index.php/2018/11/02/cilt-bemoans-poor-performance-of-railway-inland-waterways.