Speaking ahead of the elections that brought him into power late last year as the second President of Nigeria Shipowners Association, Capt Niyi Labinjo had said “I am glad that we have an association that has provided the platform to champion our course".
And after he was elected, he boldly told members of the association that: “The next priority thing to do is to get our jobs back which we shall do immediately. We will get our jobs back so that all those usurpers can then leave our shores and we take over our jobs.”
Speaking ahead of the elections that brought him into power late last year as the second President of Nigeria Shipowners Association, Capt Niyi Labinjo had said “I am glad that we have an association that has provided the platform to champion our course".
And after he was elected, he boldly told members of the association that: “The next priority thing to do is to get our jobs back which we shall do immediately. We will get our jobs back so that all those usurpers can then leave our shores and we take over our jobs.”
Capt Labinjo was apparently aware of the age-long plight of indigenous ship owners who have consistently claimed to be on the receiving end in the lifting of Nigeria’s dry and wet cargoes. He therefore chose no other opportunity than his first day as the new NISA helmsman to declare what his interests would be.
Little did he know that his tenure will herald a new negative vista in the life of the once-united and well-respected association, which his predecessor; Chief Isaac Jolapamo presided over for more than 10 years.
Appraising the misfortunes of the association prior to his emergence, Labinjo had told our correspondent that: “I did an objective evaluation of our Association and that of the maritime industry generally vis-à-vis the Nigerian economy. It is so sad that Nigeria being the 26th economy in the world and the largest economy in Africa, its Maritime, with all its potentials, is estimated to have contributed a mere 1.6% to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the nation according to the recent release by Bureau of National Statistics.
“You will agree with me that the potentials of our industry remain highly untapped. As I have always asserted, if there is ever going to be a rapid growth in the Nigerian economy, maritime must be taken more seriously and at the heart of the maritime potential must be ship ownership.
"It is to this end that I offer myself to serve our Association, as I have always served in the time past, although this time at a higher capacity”
While it’s true that NISA at inception had great potentials, and while it’s also true that not much was achieved in the associations first 10 years, it may however be true that, Capt Labinjo has his ideas about how things could get better.
Events since he became the association’s leader have however shown that he had no premonition that he won’t enjoy his tenure and that, he would have challenges and that under his watch, NISA would become fractionized.
Without necessarily going to into issues that led to the presence quagmire that Capt Labinjo and NISA have found themselves, it is apt to acknowledge that the association and its members do have challenges.
The challenge of NISA centres mainly on joblessness on the part of a greater number of ship owners. The association ha once raised alarm that about 50 percent of ship owners in Nigeria have been out of business in the past few years. Those still operating are battling to stay afloat owing to huge debts incurred by most firms.
It’s immediate past President; Jolapamo, had attributed this to lack of access to loans, huge debts and poor business environment that have combined to derail growth in the shipping sector.
The challenge is common to many members of NISA, many of whom have not only gone out of business, but who are also being chased by creditors.
With the enormity of this age long challenge, one would have thought that NISA would rise above sentiments and not allow personal/business issues between two ‘friends’ to cripple it.
As it is now, NISA by its action is not showing any signs of an association desirous of changing its misfortunes.
It is sad that, in its quest to get at their President, some NISA executive members have decided to truncate the move by their President to get Greece and Turkey shipowners to partner with their Nigeria counterparts. These executives were quoted to have said recently that NISS is not in any talk with these foreign ship owners.
Without initiatives such as the one midwived by Capt Labinjo, and without access to loans from banks, how do Nigerian ship owners hope to get out of their current quagmire of joblessness.
For almost 12 years, NISA blamed its woes on marginalization by foreign shipping interests. Then came Cabotage and Local Content Acts, and they blamed their woes on improper implementation of the two protectionist laws, yet they were passed by the National Assembly to adequately protect indigenous players in the Nigerian oil and gas as well as shipping sector.
From the unfolding drama at the House of NISA, it is seems like it’s not ready to get out of the woods and it’s just simplistically blaming Cabotage and Local Content Acts for its woes.
It is true that Cabotage has not impacted as much on the operations of local ship owners; it is also true that the main ingredient that would have been used to re-fleet indigenous capacity, that is, the Cabotage Vessel Finance Fund (CVFF) has not been available.
Some highly placed stakeholders have however labeled those who cry marginalization as only playing to the gallery and expecting to be spoon-fed by the government be ‘decreeing’ favours for them. This group said that, there are many indigenous players who are doing very well, but they are not the loud Lagos-based players.
This newspaper had once advised that the new executives of NISA should change tactics and engage the government and its apparatuses more. We had expressed hope of seeing a NISA that can engage NIMASA, and the Local Content board.
Even though a lot of stakeholders had thought that Capt Labinjo is an old wine in a new skin, largely because he was for 10 years the Secretary of NISA, and worked very closely and collaboratively with the then-President.
We advise again that, in a body like NISA where members are business men, the least that the new executives led by Capt Labinjo can do is to close ranks. Most important however the President would have to prove that he has what it takes to take NISA to the next level. We think he can do this by seeking peace and making moves to reunite the association.
If the gladiators don’t can sheath their sword, then NISA may jolly well have begun the journey to extinction and irrelevance. We are afraid that NISA, as it is can not champion the cause if its members.
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