Aare Sanni Shittu (BOT Vice Chairman, ANLCA)
Aare Sanni Shittu (BOT Vice Chairman, ANLCA)
It is not yet Eldorado because the government of the day has not taken its reforms too far in the sector, the sector is a money-spinner, if properly harnessed and funded, but without adequate infrastructures in place, the sector cannot deliver. The sector needs infrastructures like road, good transportation to the ports and even electricity; today going to the ports is a tough task, a journey that should have taken you an hour will consume two hours of useful period, so the time you would have spent on useful venture is spent on the road. Secondly the port concessionaire are too much on their own, the regulatory bodies like NPA and the Shippers Council must be alive to their responsibility, by ensuring that Nigerians are not threatened with high charges. Government of Muhammadu Buhari today has not really beamed it's searchlight on this sector, it is a sector that can bail out the economy, the last administration focused too much on revenue generation, thereby making the whole port unfriendly for users, they need to correct all these.
Otunba Kunle Folarin (Chairman, Port Consultative Council
I look at Nigeria at 55 and the maritime sector, how is our government over time looking at our maritime potential and actual operations, how much has maritime sector contributed to Nigeria development?? The resources that made the Nigerian maritime sector since 1960 are still the same resources that are there today – 55years after. The question is – have we used these resources to our advantage? No we have not, but we could, by developing the infrastructures and superstructures that would not only be used by Nigeria but by all the neighbouring states because we provide sixty per cent of the economy of the entire region, in terms of population and even water resources, Nigeria is a leader, we have longest coastline and so on. We need to look at maritime as a resource that is not depleting like the oil and gas, it will be there for generations to come.
Sir Patrick John Egesi (Former DG, NIMASA)
The port cannot improve without government policies that should be in place, however there has been some improvements, particularly the privatization of the ports, with NPA just being the landlord now, it has increased the throughput, I think we have done well. We have also not done quite well because you can see that the Lagos port is basically choking?, government should as a matter of urgency open up the Port Harcourt port and the Calabar axis as well as other smaller ports across the country so that Lagos can breathe, the inhabitants of Lagos are suffering because the port cannot take anymore, even if they improve the cargo clearance by the customs and other agencies, coming out of the ports to the roads outside the port is another thing, it has not been properly thought-out, the port should be part of Nigeria’s' national planning.
Godson Chibundu Chuckwu (Tin Can Chapter PRO, NAGAFF)
It is a good thing to mark another independence celebration, this is the 55th celebration, looking at our country from the maritime sector, I will not say that we have fared well because over the years, Nigeria ought to have fared well in maritime and acquired many vessels and there is a scope we are expecting that Nigeria? should have covered by now in terms of maritime, but where we are now is nothing to write home about. Looking at the government of Muhammadu Buhari, he started well by addressing the issue of looters, if these moneys are ploughed back into the economy, I think we will make a headway, as he is doing that now everybody is afraid and it has affected the maritime sector, especially in terms of dollars and it's purchase, it is affecting importers and the volume of activities in the port is nothing to write home about, port activities are at skeletal level now and everybody seems to be complaining, but I know it is associated to re-building, it takes time and sacrifice.
Mr. Anselm Njemanze (ANLCA)
Sincerely speaking the Nigerian maritime sector has metamorphosed since independence considering the various challenges that have befallen it. There has been a transition from analogue way of doing business in all strata of the sector to digital system. Some 20 years ago the way of doing business in our ports was hectic, cumbersome and stressful due to the analogue, manual and local system in place but today, it’s no longer like that. We have electronic platforms all over, which has made the job less stressful. The revenue generation has increased; same goes to ships turnaround time. To some extent there has been infrastructural development in our ports and above all, there has been an incredible level of progresses recorded in the sector.
Sir Osita Chukwu Patrick (Coordinator SNFFIEC)
55 years of the Nigerian maritime sector is not worth celebrating considering the fact that there are series of decay in all the sub sectors of the industry. There have been more damages than repair in the maritime sector. There are too many policies with no concrete solution to maritime operations, but the point remains that we don't really know where we are going. Throughput in Nigerian ports have also be staggering, importation of goods supersede exportation since 1960 and above all we are lagging behind considering where we are coming from.
Dr. Zebulon Ikokide (President NIFFCB)
The fact still remains that the Nigerian maritime industry recorded some level of changes between 2006 to 2009 when Olusegun Obasanjo was president of the country and that was when the ports were concessioned. But it is a pity that government has neglected these investors in the kind of business they operate. The sector is poor in the area of development since 1960 to date; for example the roads linking the two ports have remained in deplorable state since independence and it’s a shame that a sector that contributes heavily to the economy has not been put into consideration in finding lasting solution to the traffic. Government needs to invest in our waterways and the rail. There are so many things the government has failed to do for the development of the industry since 1960.
Osuala Nwagbara (Maritime Lawyer)
Certainly there has been so much awareness of Nigeria endowment in the maritime sector and the awareness is also linked to the various programmes of international agencies connecting the Nigeria maritime industry like IMO. Nigeria was not like this, three decades ago and it was very remote to talk about maritime sector in the 1960s. Pre independence does not have any shipping policy which was first introduced to Nigeria in 1987, which emphasises the right of Nigeria to lift at least 40% of its cargo through import. In 1960, we didn't have NIMASA and Shippers Council in place because they all have technical duties to discharge in the industry. As at today we have a better organised maritime system which was not in existence in the 1960s; as at today we have more than six ports complex in Nigeria but in time past it wasn't as much as it is now. What we need to do as a nation is to develop all these and streamline them properly for the benefit of the sector.
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