Paper short abstract:

Poor leadership has hindered the viability of public transportation in Nigeria. This challenge has led to extreme forms of mobility difficulties, thereby widening inequality gaps. Execution of proper collaborative leadership framework accelerates urban development and promotes sustainable cities.

Paper long abstract:

Poverty amongst other factors has compounded the problems of mobility in Africa thereby subjecting about 70 percent of the African population to a desperate dependence on public transportation. However, the state of public transport in most urban and semi-urban African cities is discordant with present development. The implications of this downward trend include loss of productivity, loss of lives, environmental depletion, inefficient management of time and inefficient management of money. This study explores into the nature of the modes of leadership or governance of the Nigerian public transport system and measures its effects towards the promotion of an effective public transport system and an integrated land use system. The study addresses demographic issues bordering on the effect of the collaborative relationship between the state, state transport agencies and the informal transport sector and the effect of such relationships on overall transport performance.

The study relied on qualitative data which were drawn through in-depth interviews with 5 NURTW principal officers across five motor parks in Ife Central Local Government, officials of 3 relevant government transport agencies in Ife Central Local Government and 8-man focus group discussions with 3 categories of residents of the local government area. Findings reflect that inconsistency and disharmony between the activities of stakeholders, and divergence of interests within the established administrative framework construct the base challenges militating against the formulation and prosecution of sound policies for sustainable transport in Nigeria. We elaborate on the implications of these for urban development and national productivity.