Last Thursday, Nigeria turned 55 as an independent nation.
This year’s celebration is the first under the new administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, who has been accused of foot-dragging on unfolding his economic blueprint for Nigeria.
Just like the general economy, maritime industry stakeholders are also apprehensive of what the new regime has in its kitty for the industry.
Apart from that, and as it has been for many years, Nigeria also joined the rest of the world to mark the 2015 Word Maritime Day, just a few days to her independence.
For us as a maritime media outfit, the two annual events offer a good opportunity to appraise the state of the nation’s maritime sector, especially now that the nation is 55 years old.
It is natural to think that Nigeria, being a 55 year-old sovereign nation, must also have a maritime sector that has at least come of age.
But, apart from the Nigeria Customs Service and the Nigerian Ports Authourity (NPA) which existence predate 1960, virtually all the present-day maritime and allied sector agencies were created – post- independence.
At independence, the then-leaders of Nigeria probably dreamt of a vibrant maritime sector, no wonder concerted efforts were made to put the ‘first generation’ agencies on a sound footing. These agencies gave a good account of themselves, they were indeed the pivot on which the nation’s economy stood, they were also provided opportunities for national economic growth.
The efficiency with which these agencies functioned was a confirmation of the fact that their creation was not by accident and that their emergence was drawn from a genuine desire to engender sustainable state-owned enterprises.
But, that is how far the sweet story could go. What has become of these institutions? While some were either plundered or out rightly ‘killed’ by subsequent governments, others have been caught in the web of unstable policies.
It is an irony that the two maritime-related agencies, namely: the Nigerian Ports Authourity (NPA) and the Nigeria Customs Service are the only pre-independence legacies of a once-vibrant maritime sector that are still standing. Others that were created in the immediate post-independence era or later are all dead or have ceased being government-owned, or have been offered as political patronages to associates of political leaders.
Agencies like the Nigerian National Shipping Line, National Clearing and Forwarding Agency, Nigerdock and the Nigerian Unity Line; all belong to these genre.
A few others that were created post independence, like – the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, the then- National Maritime Authourity (now the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency) and the National Inland Waterways Authourity) are lucky to still remain afloat.
Given the potentials of Nigeria and its vast and natural aquatic endowments, and backed with a good national shipping policy and adequate implementation of relevant legislations and domestication of all relevant international conventions, Nigeria should be a giant among maritime nations, rubbing shoulders with contemporaries with whom she started the journey to becoming a strong maritime nation.
No doubt, Nigeria has grown as a maritime nation from what she was on October 1, 1960 to what she is today, so also have the challenges grown.
In 1960, our ‘maritime worries’ did not include the mass of unemployed but trained manpower which now dot the nation’s maritime landscape. In 1960, Nigeria did not have to worry about how the nation’s imports were being freighted into the country, neither were our leaders disturbed about other imbalances. Our share of international trade was being freighted by the NNSL. Nigeria was simply too happy to be counted among independent nations with her own Customs Service and Port Authourity.
With developments, came the challenges of running these institutions to meet the growing needs of a sovereign nation and the peculiar needs of her people.
Some people have argued that the 1995 decision to liquidate the NNSL was the best; given the failure of its managers and the abuse that the national carrier was subjected to by government officials, and of course, the bureaucracy.
A lot of maritime industry stakeholders are reluctant to agree that the failure of NNSL should be blamed for the mass of unemployment that is plaguing the nation’s maritime sector today. But we ask: where are the national lines of sister nations like: Ghana, Gambia, Cote d’ Ivoire, Cameroun and a host of African nations which, at independence in the 1960s also floated national lines. They all did it for national pride, and the national lines could not be turned into commercially successes for long, hence they are all gone!
If government had not liquidated the NNSL in 1995, it would have been privatized in the same way that Nigerdock which was doing extremely well was sold under questionable circumstances.
Sadly, had it not been liquidated, it is most unlikely that our NNSL will be able to stand shoulder- to- shoulder with its counterpart in Malaysia; which today, is a pride to that country and the whole of Asia.
As much as we join others to lament the decay and failure of the maritime sector and its failure to meet the yearnings of Nigerians (especially since the late 1980s), we are also convinced that the greatest opportunity for a better maritime sector is provided in the policy of private sector participation; a policy which has so far seen the nation’s seaports transformed and become more efficiently operated.
After appraising the concept of government- private sector collaboration, we want to submit that the solution to Nigeria attaining her rightful position in the comity of maritime nations, rests in government intensifying its current efforts at ‘load-shedding’ in its involvement in the running of the maritime sector.
All said, we are optimistic that Nigeria’s maritime sector is not a failure; its stunted growth is only a reflection of the slow pace or the near comatose nature of the nation’s economy and unfortunately a reflection of the nation’s standing at 55.
The maritime sector can not grow out to be more successful than the collective called – Nigeria and its economy.
The sector’s hand is still prominently visible in all facets of the nation’s economy; be it, manufacturing, oil and gas, finance, energy and so on.
As we match as a nation into our 56th year, a lot more attention should be placed on maritime security, manpower development and enhancement of the nation’s indigenous fleet.
We also seize the opportunity of Nigeria’s independence to reiterate our support for the creation of a maritime security agency, called by any name, but distinct from the Navy and what NI MASA is currently engaged in.
Maybe it’s time to listen to those who have canvassed for the resuscitation of the national carrier. However, our own model of a national carrier is such that government will not be its direct proprietor
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