Mr.Ademola Irinyemi [Registrar NIFF]
Mr.Ademola Irinyemi [Registrar NIFF]
From all indications and from my assessment, the emergence of democracy no doubt came with some blessings for the development of the maritime sector. To some extent democracy has brought in the interplay between the government and the private sector which to a large extent has driven the industry positively. Take for instance, the terminal operators and if you compare what goes on now and what was on ground previously, you will find out that there is a clear- cut difference. Aside that, democracy also created the platform where some bills were passed into law to also enhance activities of the industry. It is democracy that led to the birth of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria [CRFFN]. It also made NMA to NIMASA which is doing very well for the maritime industry. We also have a situation where people now have the opportunity to voice their grievances as regard what should be, where it should be, how it should be done…… It gave people the opportunity to criticize constructively. But the only problem we have in the sector is that of corruption, but we believe that in years to come there will be visible development.
Mr. Increase Uche [Sec – Gen.NAGAFF]
Since 1999, democracy has made the maritime industry to be lively and I think the industry has fared well. If you look at the concessioning arrangement that was made in 2006, the concessionaires have tried their best to bring in efficiency and improvement of service which we will say has made the port user friendly to everybody. PTML is one terminal that has brought a one stop shop in terms of clearing of consignment and also the other terminals have also improve on their performances as well and all these is as a result of democracy. But, I still fault the terminal operators in the area of charges because the local shipping charges have been on the high side compared to what we use to have during NPA‘s era and everyday Nigerians are being impoverished with the arbitrary charges by the shipping companies which I want to believe shippers council has woken up to address the issue.
Eze Young [Stakeholder]
To a large extent, I am satisfied with the performance of the maritime industry since the return of democracy because it is obvious that the volume of cargoes coming into Nigeria has increased, before now we were not having such volumes and I think that is a clear indication that international trade has actually improved. In other words, there must be a dynamic approach to the development of the industry because, with the concessionaires on ground to facilitate trade, it is a clear that there has been a drastic change in the port system and port operations since democracy. I will also mention here that since the return of democracy, the usually rampaging dockworkers have also stopped. I will say that it has created a platform for conducive operation even though corruption is high as it is also in every sector of the economy.
Kolawole Alowole [ANLCA Member]
I am not satisfied with the industry since the return of democracy because of insecurity of cargoes and our coastal waters. When we say democracy, we believe that whatever we do or say, there should be answers to address such issues, but it is not so in this part of the world. Customs on their part are still the same from way back to date; they are still corrupt which is not good for the system.
Comrade Peter Ojelatan (Water transporter, MWUN)
There are lots of challenges that are still in the sector, we all know what the issue of security is in the country, for example the militancy issue. By and large there have been remarkable changes, but a lot still has to be done. Another issue is the Cabotage law which has not been effective as we expect, foreigners are still dominating part of our shipping and this supposed not to be so, but I think as we continue to sound it to the government that something has to be done, then they will do something. In Nigeria today we have qualified seafarers, but they are not being employed, we don’t know why we like cheap labour, they go outside and bring in foreigners. So, in my own personal view, even though there have been changes, yet there are still a lot to be done.
Ossai Uwaka (Business man)
When you talk about policy formulation, Nigeria is very good, but when it comes to implementation we’re equal to zero. Most of the problems we are having in the maritime sector is because of non- implementation of our policies and other inconsistencies. There have been improvements though, there has been private participation in ports activity which is very laudable, a good example is the port concession thing, it has been successful, but then, it still has to be improved upon. If you go to Tin Can of Apapa port you will see that the roads there are very bad, yet we call this the gate way to the nation’s economy, the trucks coming into this port are supposed to have a park, but they are just littered here and there, but despite all these, we cannot really say the industry has done bad completely, there is little improvements, but a lot still has to be done.
Emeka Abara (Secretary, Council of Managing Directors)
The maritime trade is getting better, there are some things that are hitherto done in military style, but now they are beginning to have human face, and since they are having human face it, it then means that we can interface, and if there is interface there will be dialogue, and if there is dialogue, it then means that we are heading somewhere. Maritime in those days is something that cannot be done in the absence of the order, you cannot cut my hair in my absence, likewise I cannot cut yours in your absence, trade is something that is very dynamic, this is so in the sense that I have to see the cargo and from there we proceed, these are the fundamentals of maritime trade, taking goods from one point to the other, making both parties, the buyers and the sellers to meet and move forward. There are challenges though, even though we know that the customs is trying, but we wish to see them work better so that at the end of the day, the industry will work well, the minimal cost of production which the bedrock of every economy will be down.
Charles Onyebuchi (Clearing Agent)
The maritime industry, no doubt, has come a long way from the time of democracy and through this period, there have been remarkable changes, there have been good developments, one noticeable improvement that is to be commended is the port concession, it has really given Nigerian ports a new face, gone are those days when cargoes are flying out of the ports and when vehicles in the ports are being vandalized, we have really come a long way. However, there are challenges that we still need to overcome, one is the traffic situation, the proponents of the port reform failed to take into cognizance the need to have a good logistics and movement of cargoes from the port, once this one fault can be corrected, I think all port users will be satisfied.
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