Comrade Umar Omeiza Jimoh is President, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) branch of Senior Staff Association of Corporation, Transport and Communication (SSACTAC). Shipping Position Daily correspondent Dapo Olawuni had a chat with him in Lagos last week and he opened up on some critical industry issues.
How can we re-awaken the consciousness of stakeholders to the non-passage of critical maritime sector Bills like the Port and Harbors Bill?
Through our parent body, we have bared our minds and I believe it is a process, I believe they are working on it, but I also believe the lawmakers are not going to be in haste and this is good, it takes years to plan to ensure that what you are going to execute is solid, you need to ensure that the local content is added, ensure that it is for the benefit of Nigeria and Nigerians. I think the way they are moving is okay.
Don’t you think the Bill has stayed too long at the National Assembly?
What usually gives us problem in this country is that we are always in haste, this law is going to be meant for human beings, it can bring some people down and it can raise some people up. So the nitty-gritty of the law has to be looked at, it is a Bill that is going to be meant for people and by the time it comes out it should be a good law that will change the lives of people positively, the life of the country must change. We are attempting and hoping in the next few years to be a maritime hub in the West African region, this will not happen in two or three days. What I know about the lawmakers is that they will like to know; how is Hong Kong a hub in the region, see how Singapore is in the region, check the precedence of all the Asian countries, how are they surviving; they must check out all these fact because they cannot pass the Ports and Harbor Bill in isolation of the entire world, the world is a global village so they shouldn’t rush it, they should not be in haste, they are moving at the right pace, even if they cannot finish it now, the next dispensation will take it and pass it.
In passing this Bill, would you advocate for the creation of a separate body to regulate the port or that an existing one should transmute?
This is the reason why the bill is being delayed, you cannot continue to duplicate duties and creating departments that will be doing the same jobs, the Oransanye Committee is all about this, so don’t expect the National Assembly after seeing something like that to come back and create something that will lead to multiplying cost of governance. For three to four organizations to be doing the same thing, they have to look at it in a holistic manner and then strike a balance and add local content.
Do you advise they pick an existing agency instead of creating another one then?
You and I know that the Nigerian Ports Authority is in charge, and there is an Act setting up the NPA, it is under the same Act that government concessioned the terminals, it is still the same Act that is operating as of today, and NPA has achieved successes so far, NPA is not moribund. So, why would you create another body, why do you duplicate? Why don’t you strengthen it and dot the ‘i’ and cross the‘t’ wherever it is necessary and continue. NPA has been the platform to migrate from holistic running of the port to Public Private Partnership, they have a platform for Customs to operate effectively, it has a platform even for the Navy, it has a platform for Immigration to operate, where are you going to create all these things again. If it is the name that you want to change, then Nigeria is still Nigeria, Port is still Ports, if it is Authority that you want to change, then what do you want to change it to? It is you and I that matters; how do you want our country to look like, what do we want our ports to look like, we should agree and work together. Look at the speed used to migrate the port to concessioning status, very easy and simple, had NPA not been there to create the platform, it would not have been easy and it would have affected our economy, NPA has everything on ground, if you want to pick from all the agencies in the port.
Can NPA be landlord of the port and still regulate concessionaires effectively?
Let us go back to the dictionary and check out the meaning of landlord and the meaning of the term ‘regulate’; a landlord is the owner, NPA is Nigerian Ports authority, and this is you and I and the government headed by Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, it is for entire Nigerians. So should the government now give the regulation of the port to the private sector? Where is this done in the whole world? Name one country where government gives regulatory powers of any aspect of the economy to a private sector, then I will agree with you.
How would you say the port concession exercise has fared so far?
To me, it has worked for the good of the country, in the cause of carrying out this we may have one problem or the other, that does not mean that there has been no success, if there is one problem or the other then we have to look at it critically, we have no rail, this can create problem of congestion, you cannot blame the concessionaires or NPA for this, then we also have the roads, these things do affect the ports, do you now blame all these on the NPA? We have separation of powers and duties, NPA is not to construct roads for the effective transportation of these boxes, they are not to build rail, even if they can facilitate it, it is the Nigerian Railway Corporation that is saddled with that responsibility. Let us know that it cannot be good until all of us join hands together to make it good, if you have one of your hands in pain, then the entire body is in trouble. With the way Mr President is going now, before December or this time next year the problem of epileptic power supply will be over, the Nigerian Railway Corporation will know that if they put rail in place they don’t need to buy diesel, they will run it by electricity and it will be easier for them, if the infrastructures are in place you will not see any problems, it is infrastructure development that the government should focus on. I am aware that they are now focusing on electricity, if it worked as port concession has worked in Nigeria, then there will always be electricity and it will lead to efficiency of the ports. Do you know how much it cost to light the ports? How many hours of power do we get from the PHCN, do you know the capacity of the generators we run in all the ports, we buy diesel and run it every night and day to make the port a success, this alone is a huge business, when we get electricity, things will change at the ports and the lives of everybody will change for good in the country.
How will you describe security at the anchorage?
Let me tell you that there is a very good security at the harbors, we have the private security of the concessionaires working day and night, we have the marine police working day and night, we have the Nigerian navy, NIMASA provides them speed boat and NPA also provides them speed boats and they are working, except the pirates are acting outside our waterways, but it is not within the harbors. I have not heard any report from my members at the quay apron where some of them are working. Also the NPA has beefed up its security by employing 200 security operatives, so I don’t think there is any insecurity at the ports. If a vessel comes into our waters and sinks, that means it has been problematic before coming to this place, is it the water that just decided to swallow it or the vessel is not in order, did they get in touch with the right agency? NIMASA is there and the NPA is there, we should take a look at the Act of both agencies and see which agency is supposed to come to the rescue of vessels in distress. Wreck removal is not even part of the job of the NPA, but we do it.
What do you think of the recent protest by aggrieved retirees of the NPA?
We are all Nigerians, we can be aggrieved, you can go on strike, go on protest, provided it is within the ambits of the law and the law enforcement agencies are aware. There is nothing wrong about it, otherwise, what you are asking for cannot be justified when you go and do another thing, I was not there, I just heard it, so I cannot access it, but I know that the necessary thing is for them to make sure the security agencies are aware before coming to the port to do anything. If what they are asking for is to be placed on pension, let them settle it with the authorities, at least they have been communicating, something that is in progress cannot be commented on.
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