Comrade Owolabi Omotayo (Chairman, Water transporters, Liverpool unit)
I prefer a private secror driven national carrier, this would be the best because a solely managed government shipping line is not sustainable going by our past experience, the lack of maintenance culture, the bureaucracies are still there, for now, my take is for the government to encourage a privately driven national carrier for Nigeria, this will be well managed because of the stakes that would be involved.
Joe Sanni (SSA to ANLCA President on Media)
The national carrier is a symbol of the country anywhere you go, so if government can take the lead sponsorship as the majority, while also partnering, that way we can achieve the mileage of carrying the Nigerian flag all over the world, also, we would be able to freight our cargoes out and in the process freight in other people’s goods thereby generating revenue. I support government and private partnership in bringing back the national carrier, but it should not be a 50-50 thing, government should have a larger percentage because they are leading the way, the vessels will carry Nigerian flags.
Obiora Madu (Chief Executive, Multimix Academy)
When we come to this national carrier thing, if it has to be done, then it has to be a PPP project with 80% private and 20% government involvement. If government has the control they we would have an issue, but if there is a government support which can come not necessarily in form of equity, government can support it in one way or the other, but a hundred per cent national carrier, funded by the government will not work. The fact remains that we need a national carrier because we import so much and we do not export so much, in the whole process including movement of our crude, we are losing out because we are not earning from freight, if you check our freight pay out annually you will be shocked, if we are able to get even 5% of that by any line that is owned nationally it is something. So the national carrier coming back is a good idea, but it should be structured properly in such a way that government will have little to do with it, that way you can guarantee that it will work.
Dr. Babatunde Samuel (Registrar, POTEMAN)
It has to be public-private partnership because we have seen in the past that government always soil their hands if they have 100% control of the national carrier, but we have seen success stories of the private sector. So if the government can bring in the private operators for the technical aspect, it will go a long way to marry the two together and give the result that the industry requires. The government can have 60% stake while the private sector comes in with 40%, this is the only way out, government have tried managing the national carrier in the past and they have failed, but you can see the government and private sector initiative in the port concessioning and it is working perfectly, even at the state level, they do not carryout every operation on their own, look at the BRT bus initiative of the Lagos State Government, it is in partnership with an organisation and it is working out fine, recorded success will only repeat itself when we have PPP initiative.
Captain Franklin Akinpelumi (Lagos Coordinator NISA)
The world is actually moving away from government to remain in business and shipping is no exception. The essence of saying we need a national carrier is to ensure that our domestic trade thrives and if we able to empower our indigenous operators as way of privatising the business, it will yield a better result. For example the issue with cadet training will be better managed by the private sector than the government, therefore it is advisable that such move by the government to resuscitate a national carrier should better handled by the private sector.
Prince Ologbese (Stakeholders)
As a matter of fact, Nigerian National Shipping Line served the economy and indeed the nation in so many ways, even the former President; Olusegun Obasanjo lamented the rate at which all the vessels disappeared under a short period. I would have loved a situation whereby government should have a share in revamping a national and not to run it alone because government is not a good business man. The investors themselves are not reliable when it comes to such huge project of floating a carrier. The best way to go about a carrier status for the nation should be based on public and private participation because there is need for government to have a stake and even regulate the process.
Zebulon Ikokide (President NIFFCB)
The government should put in place a well-articulated policy that can move the industry forward and not just a national carrier. With a well-articulated policy for the shipping industry, stakeholders who are ship owners will perform better. The transport policy that will be strategic for a carrier is of paramount and I believe that it goes beyond private or government ownership considering the fact that it will be economy-driven for industry growth. As far as I am concerned, a national carrier status has no impact on the shipping sector, neither does it add any commercial value to the economy.
Chris Sadoh (Stars Maritime Academy)
Government funding of a national carrier will most likely make the difference because from my own point of view, it will help the Nigerian cadets get the right training on board such vessels. But for the private sector , it will be difficult for cadets to get adequate training on board the carrier, because there will be some level of segregation on the part of the investor in a way to favour relatives, friends, family etc, as regards cadet training. However government participation will add more value than private sector-driven participation.
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