2016: A year like no other?

Every year is unique in its own way; likewise, 2016 that is rolling away. If there is any year that the Nigerian maritime sector stakeholders won’t forget in a hurry, it is certainly this year.
While not much changed between 2014 and 2015, a lot happened in 2016.
In 2016, did the traffic situation into and out of the port city of Apapa change, the answer is No. Did indigenous stop worrying about the failure of Cabotage, the answer is still No. Did licensed customs agents stop their complaints against the Nigeria Customs Service and terminal operators, it is No. The industry issues remained the same.
But, it will be absolutely incorrect to say that, because the answer to all the above posers is a No, then the industry didn’t experience any change in 2016.
As a maritime media organisation, we knew ab initio that certain things wouldn’t change and we weren’t disappointed. For instance, the plight of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) did not change. It entered into 2015 without a governing council, and there is nothing to indicate that this status would change before December 31, 2016. Notwithstanding the various attempts to revive it by reintroducing the controversial Practitioners Operations Fees, there is nothing that changed in the life of the cash-strapped institution.
We have the advantage of seeing the Nigerian maritime sector from all fronts; from ‘the good, the bad and the ugly sides’, sufficiently enough to say that 2016 is not in any way better than the ones before it. Many surprises; many upset!
Whether 2016 is better than the previous years or not is not a matter of debate.  It does not matter where you stand, the indices are sufficient enough to convince all that it is indeed a tough year for shipping.
In 2016, the policies of the Federal Government killed shipping and port activities. Ship traffic and cargo throughput dropped by as much as 50 per cent.  The drop is traceable to the policies on importation of some items and the removal of about 41 items from the list of items for which importers can access forex from the official forex market. The situation is worsened by the forex policy of the government which shrank the purchasing power of Nigerian importer, be they manufacturers, or big or small-time importers.
But, generally, we had hoped that the mistakes of previous years would be corrected, we had many positive hopes.
Sadly, some of the issues that ushered us into 2015 are still with us and most likely going to herald us into 2016.
One of them is the long-awaited passage of the all-important Port and Harbour Bill. Just like we said last year, we blame industry stakeholders for their loss of attention on the Port and Harbour Bill, even as we condemn both the National Assembly and the Federal Ministry of Transport for the delay. If industry players had risen up to the challenge of forming a formidable lobby group, may be the Bill would have been passed even before now.
Going by records of previous years, we had hoped that piracy and sea robbery would reduce in 2016, but they didn’t.  Nigeria still rank tops in the Gulf of Guinea and enjoys an unenviable position on the global piracy rating scale.
As we look into year 2017, it our hope that, the Federal Government will right the wrongs of 2016. 
For us as maritime media outfit, we have had a very exciting year, even in the face of all the challenges.
Finally, we thank our advertisers and all those who diligently read and also patronize us all through the years. 
We pray that you all have a merry Christmas celebrations and a 2017 that will be better than the years before it. Amen