ANÁLISIS SENSORIAL DEL QUESO

Considering the unsatisfactory state of transportation systems in Africa in general and in particular in Nigeria, and encouraged by the significant contributions that Operational Research has m a d e to efficiency and effect­ iveness in transportation systems in the developed countries we were per ­ suaded that it may be as productive and educative in attempting to und er­ stand the problems of the introduction of OR into developing countries if we could grapple with the problems of getting OR started in a transporta­ tion corporation in Nigeria as Luck (1979) experimented in the Indonesian Health Service and as suggested by Bandyopadhyay and Verde (1980).

For example, in recognition of the enormous transportation problems facing the African continent, the U.N. General Assembly declared the ten year period 1978-1988, a Decade of Transport in Africa in order to draw world­ wide attention and to call for help in solving the problem. As Hofmeier (1980) noted,

"Africa as a whole certainly still lags far behind all other continents with regard to the penetration of transport arteries."

In a country, and in particular in a developing country, efficient and civilized transportation is essential for agricultural, industrial and business prosperity, for opening up socio-economic centres, geo-politically sensitive areas and environmentally hostile areas, and for the general well-being of the people as argued by Rowntree (1910), Leung (1982), Budhu and Hobeika (1980), Due (1980) and Priest (1980).

One is persuaded that although most railways particularly in the develop­ ing countries do not presently make monetary profit, their contribution to socio-economic development can still be significant if well planned and efficiently managed.

Urban transportation and inter-city transportation in Nigeria is largely unsatisfactory (Adiniji 1983, Hays 1969, Uijesinghe 1976). High levels of congestion on roads both within urban areas and in between urban areas are common even though government has committed much resources to road and airport building in the past decade. High accident rates involving losses of lives and properties are recorded annually on urban and inter­ city roads. Air pollution and urban noise levels are high. A primary reason for this is the concentration of urban and inter-city transport on automobiles due to the overt run down of the railways as pointed out by Due (1979, 1980).

Although the history of the railways in Nigeria dates as far back as 1898, its operation has been progressively unsatisfactory since the 1960s. In 1978 the Federal Government had to call in a foreign firm to take over the management of the Railways Corporation due to increasing public d i s ­ satisfaction with the railway services (Madeley 1981).

Under the Fourth National Development Plan, 1981-85, a massive amount of money was allocated for the rehabilitation and construction of the railways. Some of the large industrial projects contained in the plan depend to some reasonable extent on the railways for their success (Fletra Consulting 1981). In the light of the foregoing situation we were persuaded that the rail­ ways would be an interesting industry into which to consider the introduc­ tion of Operational Research.

Market for Transportation Systems in Nigeria:

That there is a market for transportation which can be stimulated by p r o ­ viding an efficient transport system offering a high quality of service at competitive prices is evident from the growth in private car ownership.

long distance taxi cabs, motor coaches, and heavy-duty haulage trucks since the mid 1960s in spite of the high death toll on Nigerian roads. The phenomenal growth taking place in domestic air travel despite the high cost and the long check-in time associated with air travel gives further credence to the growing market for transportation in Nigeria.

In fact it is not uncommon for air passengers to be turned back at Nigerian airports.

Under these circumstances, one believes that the train as a people mover and goods carrier, noted for safety, short check-in-time, efficient land use, energy savings and many other advantages over its rivals has a market potential both in passenger traffic and in freight operations which should be more carefully investigated.

In pre-independent Nigeria, when the economy was primitive and not as buoyant as it has been since independence, the railways made profit. Since oil exploration started in the 1960s, massive economic development has been taking place. Heavy and bulky equipments and materials are being moved around the country. Massive movement is taking place among the popula­ tion. Imports have grown astronomically. One reckons that in these cir­ cumstances, if there is a satisfactory rail transportation system operating under an efficient and effective management it shall provide an essential national service and it should make monetary profit.

In order to examine these and other problems in rail transportation in Nigeria, a number of areas have been suggested as a possible project list for OR scientists and these were intended to form a basis for d i s ­ cussion with the management on the essential value and hence the introduc­ tion of Operational Research into the industry. However, before discuss­ ing this list of projects, a brief discussion of the future of railway