Today, it is hard to imagine Nigeria without its highways. Millions of people travel by road every day, while goods move across the country in an endless stream of trucks. Air travel has also become the quickest way to get between major cities. But there was a time when none of these existed.

If you wanted to understand how Nigeria moved, traded and grew in the early years of the twentieth century, you only had to look at the railway. The trains did much more than carry passengers and freight. They opened up new communities, attracted businesses, created jobs and turned sleepy settlements into some of the country’s busiest commercial centres.

The railway itself was never built to develop Nigeria. When construction began from Iddo in Lagos in 1898, the British colonial government wanted a faster way to move agricultural produce and minerals from the interior to the ports for export. What followed, however, was something nobody could have predicted. As the tracks stretched across the country, towns sprang up around them, markets grew, people relocated in search of opportunities, and entirely new local economies began to take shape.

More than a century later, many of those towns still carry the imprint of the railway. Some have grown into major cities, while others continue to wear their railway history with quiet pride.

Lagos: Where it all started

Every railway story in Nigeria begins in Lagos. Construction of the Lagos Government Railway started in 1898, running from Iddo through Otta before eventually reaching Ibadan and extending into northern Nigeria.

For Lagos, the impact was immediate. Produce from across the country could now reach Apapa Port much faster, while imported goods made the journey inland using the same route. Trade became easier, businesses expanded, and the city attracted merchants, civil servants and workers from different parts of Nigeria.

Lagos was already an important coastal city, but the railway strengthened its position as the country’s commercial gateway. More than 100 years later, it remains Nigeria’s economic centre.

How Ibadan became a trading powerhouse

Long before shopping malls and expressways, Ibadan was already one of Nigeria’s busiest commercial cities.

The arrival of the railway transformed it into the country’s first major inland trading hub. Cocoa, cotton and other agricultural produce from surrounding communities passed through the city before heading to the ports for export.

That constant movement of goods attracted traders, transporters and businesses. Warehouses appeared close to the railway, markets expanded, and government offices followed. Before long, Ibadan had become one of the most important commercial and administrative centres in colonial Nigeria. Its strategic position on the railway helped shape the city that exists today.

Offa: When trains kept the town alive

There was a period when Offa was one of the busiest railway towns in the country. Its location along the railway line made it an important operational base, complete with workshops, maintenance facilities and railway quarters. Workers moved there from different parts of Nigeria, bringing their families and creating a lively community around the railway.

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The trains also sustained the local economy. Farmers transported their produce through Offa, traders moved goods across the country, and businesses sprang up to serve the growing population.

Although the railway no longer dominates the town the way it once did, its influence is still visible in Offa’s history and identity.

Minna’s rise as northern Nigeria’s gateway

Before Abuja became the nation’s capital, Minna had already established itself as one of the most important transport centres in northern Nigeria.

Its location on the railway linked it directly to both Lagos and Kano, making it a major stop for passengers and commercial goods travelling across the country.

The increased movement of people encouraged markets to grow, businesses to open and residential communities to expand. Government institutions also found their way to the town, reinforcing Minna’s importance as an administrative centre.

The railway played a significant role in shaping the city’s development long before it became the capital of Niger State.

Kafanchan: The town the railway built

Few places tell the railway story quite like Kafanchan. Unlike many Nigerian towns that existed long before the arrival of trains, Kafanchan grew because of the railway itself. What started as temporary camps for railway workers gradually developed into a permanent settlement as more people arrived looking for work and business opportunities.

The town later became one of Nigeria’s busiest railway junctions, connecting different parts of the country. That steady flow of people also made Kafanchan one of Nigeria’s most diverse communities, with people from different ethnic groups living and working side by side.

Its story is a reminder that sometimes a railway does not just connect towns. It creates them.

Enugu and the coal that moved Nigeria

Enugu’s early growth was closely tied to two things: coal and the railway.

After coal was discovered in 1909, the railway became the link between the mines in Enugu and the port in Port Harcourt, making large-scale export possible. Coal also powered many of the locomotives that ran across Nigeria during the colonial period.

As mining expanded, so did the city. Engineers, miners, traders and government officials settled there, while schools, hospitals, businesses and new neighbourhoods grew around the industry.

The railway did more than move coal. It helped turn Enugu into one of Nigeria’s earliest industrial cities.

Kano’s link to the world

Kano had been a thriving commercial centre for centuries before the railway arrived. What the railway did was give the city access to larger markets.

Groundnuts, cotton, hides, leather and other products from northern Nigeria could now be transported more efficiently to Lagos for export. Trade increased significantly, strengthening Kano’s reputation as one of West Africa’s leading commercial centres.

The famous groundnut pyramids that later became one of Nigeria’s best-known symbols of agricultural prosperity depended heavily on the railway that connected farms, markets and the ports.

Cynthia Nwanonyiri