Captain Tajudeen Alao (National President, Master Mariners)
Corruption can be eradicated when there are adequate trainings, workshops and education on the right procedures of doing things. There should be a simplified tariff on charges, using the known constants. Also automation with high level technological innovations should be encouraged. With adequate knowledge, everyone will know the limitations of different units and departments in the ports. Enforcing less human interactions at the ports will go a long way. If every trailer or truck can be tracked by all from when it meets clearance to position, there will be less use of discretion from the powers above. There should be no touts collecting money openly for government officials. The touts between Ijora and National theatre defying police and LASTMA officials and ripping-off the mirrors of vehicles driven by ‘uncooperative’ drivers should be completely eradicated and they should be prosecuted.
Comrade Steve Ibeh
Corruption will be eradicated if our government is in support of the anti-corruption crusaders and organisations like ours. The fight against corruption requires much dedication. Corruption has eaten deep into Nigerian ports. Once the government apprehends one or two persons who are corrupt and they are adequately prosecuted under the rule of law, you will see that other corrupt individuals will sit up and desist from it. Why we still have corruption today in the country is because of the way the government handles corruption cases. Unfortunately the Federal Government is not ready to fight corruption. If the government says enough is enough and they are sincere about it, corruption will be eradicated because after God, comes the government. But when the government refuses to fully implement the law, we will continue to face the same ball game and it would even multiply. The rule of law should be adhered to and implemented, because corruption is really killing this country.
Otunba Sola Olatunji (NISA Member)
Can corruption really be stamped out of the ports? This expectation is very tall because our ports can’t be treated in isolation. You and I know that corruption has taken over all our institutions, so there is virtually anything you want to do with the government or even at times private sector that you will not part away with something. Corruption is an institutional problem in our society and until there is a deliberate effort to stamp it out from the country by the political authority, we might have to contend with the same problems over and over, it should be from top to bottom. Anyone with such infractions is made to pay dearly for it. It is then one can begin to say goodbye to corruption. We must also make deliberate efforts to restructure our bureaucracy because as it is today, it promotes corruption.
Pius Ujubonu (ANLCA Chieftain)
Eradication of corruption is rather too lofty a dream to achieve. There is no port devoid of corruption, so to say. The realistic ambition ought to be the strategy we should adopt to reduce corruption to the barest minimum. The best approach is ensuring that contemporary and relevant skills are acquired by the staff of the service providers. Secondly, requisite infrastructure should be provided and the working environment of the ports should be made conducive.
The staff emoluments and other social motivations should be emphasized. Human capital development and resources are brought to bear when employers seek new hands, i.e merit being the basis of employment as against nepotism which is now the case. There should be equipment provision and regular power supply to sustain the modernity being brought. Automation of the services will reduce human contact to the least.
Bala Muhammed (Secretary-General, AMATO)
It’s a fact that corruption is cat-walking in our logistics corridors by uniformed people and their camp boys who are hiding under the guise of providing security and controlling traffic to extort truckers. The level of confidence and impunity they display in collecting illegal money from truckers is a reflection of the support they are getting from some corrupt superior elements in the system. We need serious political will to overcome the problem of corruption along our ports’ access roads. The federal government needs to wield a big stick on uniformed people promoting corruption in the maritime industry. We also need the Port Standing Task Team PSTT led by Mr. Moses Fadipe to take over the inbound section of the port’s access roads to eradicate corruption. Since The PSTT has succeeded in sanitising the outbound section of the ports access roads, the Nigerian Ports Authority should support the PSTT to take-over of inbound section to demolish extortion checkpoints by uniformed and non-uniformed extortion bandits.
Engr. Matthew Alalade (Former President, Merchant Navy)
If the government is serious about it, corruption will be reduced at the ports. This is because everybody is compromising now. The economic situation of the country has drastically gone down, which will make the ports more vulnerable to compromise. The government can only address this issue by reinstating its commitment and zero tolerance for corruption. This will reduce corruption to the barest minimum in the ports. But for now.
Rev. Alex Nwokedi (National Financial Secretary, AREFFN)
Corruption is a Nigerian phenomenon. The moment the Nigeria leaders refuse to do the right thing, there is no way the citizens can desist from corruption. The Port Standing Task Team has been trying, especially in the areas of cargo examination where officials can no longer take samples from the items. To rid the ports from corruption, there must be a change in our behavior and in our system. The change must start from the leadership. As far as I am concerned the PSTT established by the Nigeria Shippers Council is a good intention, but at the end of the day we would begin to find faults here and there. Moreover, the customs agents are not helping matters. They are also privy to the whole issue of corruption in the port. Until adequate actions are taken, we would continue to face corruption at the ports. On the overall, corruption cannot be wiped out completely as long as there is human interface, it can only be reduced.
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