Paper short abstract:

This paper documents the ways in which the Nigerian public imagine the past and future of rail infrastructure at the point of major new investments in railways. As well as aspirational futures, public discourses are also embracing a re-imagining of colonial infrastructure as public heritage.

Paper long abstract:

This paper documents the ways in which the past and future of rail infrastructure in Nigeria is imagined by the public at the point of major new investments. As well as connecting some new sites and centres, renovation and extension takes the form of re-inscribing colonial routes, but for very different political and economic logics. Nigerian public discourses situate these developments between two very different narratives: One is deeply invested in the spectacle and sensation of futurity, in transport as empowering and invigorating development, clearing away the debris of postcolonial state failure. But the other comes from a younger generation who are also embracing a re-imagining of colonial infrastructure as public heritage, researching, disseminating and consuming it via social media. This paper explores new rail investments in Nigeria as a link between past and future, not only in its material manifestations, but in its deployment in public imagination. The research draws on a collaborative project between the author and a number of visual artists and social media commentators interpreting ongoing processes of rail redevelopment and the parallel auto-curation of heritage.