Nigeria: Longing for a More Vibrant Maritime Industry

Despite the unanimity of many stakeholders that the maritime sector of the economy fared relatively well in 2014, not a few key players have opined that a lot needs to be done to tackle the challenges that are still bedevilling the sector.

While the maritime industry has so much potential that could turn around the fortunes of the nation’s economy, it is believed that enough effort was not put in last year to realise the full potential.

Those, who spoke to THISDAY agreed although the sector recorded some positive developments, it also got some knocks due to sea piracy, sea robbery, mid stream discharge, pollution, among other ills. It also recorded paltry achievements on activities of the various government agencies in the sector. In fact, it was the year in which the National Assembly failed to deliver on the passage of key maritime bills, especially the Port and Harbour Bill, Transport Commission, and the amendment of the Cabotage Act.

There was a consensus among stakeholders that the huge fortunes in the maritime sector of the economy, which have been adjudged the greatest revenue contributor to the central, after the oil and gas industry, will continue to dwindle if the
authorities did not take immediate concrete steps to address the ills that have bedeviled the sector over the years.

National Shipping Carrier, Training Ship
Stakeholders expressed dismay that the defunct national shipping carrier, Nigerian National Shipping Line Limited (NNSL) was not resuscitated in 2014 in spite of repeated promise to do so. Nigeria did not also procure a training ship last year. NNSL was liquidated in 1995 due to bad management. The losses as a result of the absence of a national shipping carrier are enormous.

Opportunities for the cadets of the Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN), Oron, Akwa Ibom State to get sea time experience as part of the requirements for the issuance of the certificate of competence (CoC) have been limited. Nigeria is not getting the benefits. Sea time experience is so vital to the training of cadets. Since the liquidation of NNSL, Nigeria has been grappling with the challenge of getting sea time experience for cadets who graduate from MAN, Oron.

The present management of MAN, Oron which has Mr. Joshua Okpo as Rector seemed to have an understanding of the need for the cadets of the school to have sea time experience. In the absence of NNSL, it has gone ahead to make a special arrangement for the cadets of the academy to have sea time experience on board ocean going vessels outside the country. It signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a Turkish university at Istanbul. By the provisions of the MoU, Nigeria is expected to pay for the services of the Turkish ship owners which are part of the MoU. However, some stakeholders have raised eyebrows over the provisions of the MoU. There is no doubt that the resuscitation of the national shipping carrier in 2015 would have helped in no small way for the acquisition of a training ship for Nigerian cadets.

They also argued that if the quest to resuscitate NNSL fails, the federal government should consider the setting of another one altogether in collaboration with investors in order to avoid some of the mistakes in the past.

Cabotage

Cabotage came into being with the enactment of the Coastal and Inland Shipping Act 2003. The provisions of the Act made it clear that only indigenous ship owners have the mandate to carry out coastal trade and inland shipping. In fact, the Act is based on its core thematic provisions, which set out the limitations on foreign operations of cabotage shipping, and the tight conditions under which exceptions can be allowed. These provisions are set out in sections 3 to 6 of the Act, which prohibit coastal carriage of cargoes and passengers except by wholly Nigerian owned, manned, built, and registered vessels.

It also restricts towage by tugs or vessels to those wholly owned by Nigerian citizens just as it limits carriage of petroleum products and related oil and gas shipping services to vessels of Nigerian ownership. Furthermore, the Acts prohibits domestic trading in the inland waters of Nigeria except vessels wholly owned by Nigerians.

In order to drive the implementation of the Act, the Federal Government initiated the Cabotage Vessel Finance Fund (CVFF). The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) is saddled with the responsibility of managing the fund. It is in line with its mandate that the agency selected four commercial banks as primary lending institutions (PLIs). These include Skye Bank Plc, Sterling Bank Plc, Diamond Bank Plc, and Fidelity Bank Plc.

To ensure the effective disbursement of the fund, the federal government, in 2010, Abuja, signed an agreement with the four PLIs. Since then nothing tangible and concrete has taken place on the disbursement of the fund.

Many stakeholders have wondered why the federal government is yet to commence the actual disbursement of the funds nearly ten years it promised to do so.

The long and undue delay in the disbursement of the over $400 million that have already accrued into the CVFF has led credence to insinuations in some quarters that some persons in the corridors of power have perfected plans to divert the money to their private pockets.

Tongues have also not ceased to wag on the high interests that have accrued from the huge CVFF in the commercial banks. This is because, most often, top government officials, are eager to go public on how much CVFF has accrued so far without a word on the interest it has accumulated from the date the money was lodged in the bank till date. Already, many banks are in struggling among themselves to have the CVFF in their vaults because of the mouth-watering interests involved.

It is the expectation of stakeholders that the CVFF should be disbursed without further delay this year as the absence of adequate funding is hampering the successful implementation of the provisions of the Cabotage Act.

Their position is not unconnected with the fact that the successful implementation of the scheme will adequately address the challenges of funding in the Nigerian shipping sector, particularly the issue of modern fleet acquisition. Will the federal government disburse CVFF in 2015 or will it have another reason to shift the disbursement date forward as it has done several times in the past?

Security and Transparency

Also, stakeholders were unanimous in their verdict that that the security at the nation’s seaports and international borders are very porous. They also opined that there is no due process and transparency in the way and manner businesses are carried out in the nation’s gateways.

They cited the lethal weapons imported into Nigeria through Apapa Container Terminal (ACT), Lagos, the largest container terminal in Africa about five years ago as an example of the porosity of the nation’s seaports. They queried the effectiveness of the numerous check points into Nigeria’s seaports and international borders if such a huge arms and ammunition cache would get into the country , remain there for months until they were discovered by operatives of the States Security Services (SSS). The situation in Nigeria’s international borders, especially Lella near Sokoto, Idiroko, Ogun State and Seme, near Lagos does not significantly differ from the scenario in the nation’s seaports. Lagos base veteran licensed customs agent and Managing Director of Ogbese International Limited, Olusegun Ologbese condemned what happened to the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) with the discovery of arms and ammunition in ACT, as well as heroin and cocaine in

Nigeria’s second busiest seaport, Tin Can Island Port (TCIP), Apapa, Lagos in 2010. He averred that the federal government needs to do more to ensure that security of lives and properties are not compromised in 2015. In view of the increasing activities of the insurgents, Boko Haram, Ologbese urged the government to put measures in place to ensure its security operatives in the seaports and international borders are extra vigilant.

“The government should be on the lookout for any suspicious transaction or movement within and outside the ports. That is the only way, we can enhance security and safety of life and property in the terminals,” he said.

Independent Regulator

Many agreed that the concession of the nation’s seaports which started in 2006 with the kick-off of the economic reforms programme initiated by the Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration was necessary and a decisive step taken by the government. This was because the monumental rot that characterised port operations in the pre-concession era had been minimised and in some cases totally eliminated. For instance, ‘container flying’, a euphemism for taking cargoes out of the nation’s gateway without paying a dime as duty after settling some insiders has reduced drastically. Indeed, since the concessionaires took over the day-to-day running of Nigerian ports there is a tremendous improvement in cargo throughput.

There is also an increase in vessels traffic as statistics made available by NPA has shown. However, not a few have questioned the way and manner the exercise which was supervised by the Bureau for Public Enterprises (BPE) was carried out.

Taking an overview of how the concessionaires have fared since they took over the ports, erstwhile President, Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) Branch, Mr. Leke Sani said the maritime sector had not done badly. Nevertheless, he opined that the problem is that the huge revenue that ought to accrue into the coffers of the federal government for the benefit of the citizenry is going into individual pockets as many of them have not fulfilled the promises they gave at the time they took over the terminals. The unionist expressed dismay that while the terminal operators are making almost 500 per cent gains on all their charges, significant development and facilities upgrading in the ports are yet to be seen.

“They promised heaven upon earth before the concession, but we have not seen anything tangible. They are making much money. The job creation they promised at the time they were coming in is not there”, Sani said.

The union leader, however, expressed delight that one of the good things that the maritime industry have recorded is the quick turn-around time of vessels calling at the nation’s seaports. According to Sani, the development will encourage other port users to start looking at Nigerian ports as a friendly port.

Stakeholders in the maritime industry noted that that the absence of an independent regulator to serve as a check on the excesses of the terminal operators has remained the bane of the port concession since 2006. Though, a bill is in the works in the National Assembly, the pace at which the lawmakers are going about it shows that it may not see the light of the day before the end of the present legislative session. This explained why many stakeholders have clamoured for a quick passage of the four maritime bills, especially the Ports and Harbour Bills presently before the National Assembly this year. Their expectation is that the legislators should concentrate efforts on the ones that address the absence of an independent regulator in the nation’s seaports instead of dissipating energy on all of them and end up not passing any of them before the end of the present legislative session.

Policies and programmes implementation

To say that many programmes and policies in the maritime industry have suffered serious setbacks as result of outright none implementation or poor implementation over the years is to say the obvious. The situation has not only retarded Nigeria’s quest to become a serious maritime nation but has also made the huge potentials in the maritime industry to remain mere potentials. Veteran master mariner and maritime expert, Captain Solomon Abiodun Omotesho posited there has been no consistency and stability in the implementation of maritime policies and programmes in the country.

Omotesho who was one of those who made waves in the defunct national carrier, Nigerian National Shipping Line Limited (NNSL), lamented that when we set up a pattern to follow, someone else comes and terminates it. The master mariner contended that if there is no consistency and stability in the policy formulation and implementation in the maritime industry, there would be no progress. He added his voice to the on-going campaign that if the maritime sector of the economy is to move forward, there must be strict implementation of government policies and programmes. Many have wondered why the authorities will bother to enact policies when they do not have the nerve to strictly implement them. Why put up a programme when you know you are not ready to execute it to the letter? It is a mere waste of time and scarce resources to continue enact policies when it lacks the political will to drive them to a logical conclusion by ensuring that they are strictly implemented no matter whose ox is gored.

Multiplicity of committees

One issue stakeholders agreed must be adequately addressed in 2015 is the penchant for the Federal Ministry of Transport to set up committees upon committees without commensurate results. At the last count, the Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Umar has set up not less than 10 committees since he assumed office. These committees also have various sub-committees. No one was willing to make public the exact amount of money these committees have taken from the central till to execute their assignments. Nevertheless, THISDAY checks revealed that millions of naira were released to meet the travelling, hotels, feeding, stationeries, and other sundry needs of the various committees. In many cases, members of these committees travelled extensively within and outside the country, incurring huge expenses in the processes. Those, who spoke with our correspondent, said they would have not bothered about the cost incurred by these committees as long as there are tangible results from the assignments given to them.

Regrettably, in many cases, there are no tangible results. Reports are poorly written because some of the committee members lacked the requisite experience, exposure, and knowledge of the issues they are saddled with. Some committee members may not give total attention to the work of the committee because of their other engagements. Yet they will not decline the offer when they were appointed. In many cases, when reports are submitted, they are not implemented, making many to wonder why the committees were set up in the first place. Thousands of reports and recommendations submitted by several committees are gathering dusts in shelves of top officials of the Federal Ministry of Transport without anybody bothering to take a look at them.

This explains why stakeholders have opined that one of the ways to get results in the maritime sector of the economy in 2015 is for Umar to roll up his sleeves and implement the recommendations of the various committees that have been submitted to his predecessors, especially during the tenure of Alhaji Yusuf Suleiman instead of setting up new ones. It was also gathered that cases abound where Umar set up committees without making funds available to carry out their functions. In this case, these committees are made redundant from day one. Umar need not to be reminded that this is not the way to go if he is really desirous of making an impact and leaving a legacy in his tenure as Minister of Transport.

According to Omotesho, all that we believe in is to set up committees and task forces on virtually everything in the sector without bothering to ask what he called “relevant critical questions” on what we really intend to achieve.

The master mariner expressed disgust that by the time members of the committees or taskforces submit their reports, events have overtaken it, and every committee wants to last long so that they can get the benefit of being a committee member.

Consolidation

It is indisputable that the maritime industry recorded some achievements over the years just as it experienced some setbacks. A typical example of where Nigeria made a giant stride in the maritime sector is in capacity building, especially seafarer development. The National Seafarers Development Programme (NSDP), which is under auspices of NIMASA has made several strides as thousands of youths are being trained overseas on various courses that will enable them take up career as seafarers. Stakeholders in the maritime sector however wondered why as a country, we cannot consolidate on our areas of gains so as to minimise our losses.

Stability and professionalism

The absence of stability in the maritime industry, aside the dearth of thoroughbred professionals, has been the bane of the industry over the years. The instability in the system has made it impossible to do thorough planning. It is not true that the industry is bereft of professionals. The missing link is that the few ones available were not given the opportunity to exhibit their knowledge and talents. Even where opportunities were provided, they were not allowed to perform as the cartel that have straddled the industry over the years in collaboration with those closed to the corridors of power have perfected ways to remove any helmsman who did not pander to their whims and caprices. This is the basic reason why helmsmen of key government parasatals in the Federal Ministry of Transport, particularly NPA and NIMASA always run from pillar to post to keep their jobs.

Analysts have averred that the maritime industry will not record any sustainable development if the helmsmen of the key parasatals in the industry are not given a free hand to carry out their statutory roles and responsibilities. In the words of the Registrar of Institute of Freight Forwarders of Nigeria (IFFN), Mr. Demola Irinyemi, “They should be given the chance to work and they should be supported so that the maritime industry can move forward. Otherwise, we shall continue to be the butts of jokes in the comity of maritime nations. Another thing is that I want to commend the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) for what it is doing. It should work towards actualizing their desire to develop capacity in the maritime industry.

Finally, industry operators are of the view that there is the need for the federal government to do the right thing by putting the right policies and programmes in place and ensure their strict implementation if the expectations of stakeholders in the maritime industry would not be dashed in 2015. They contended that that if the industry is to experience any meaningful sustainable development in the years ahead, a professional must be appointed as the Minister of Transport. They also maintained that the helmsmen of key parasatals in the ministry and the boards should be patriotic Nigerians, who mean well for the country and not those who want to use the position as an avenue to amass wealth for their future political ambitions. They contended that key parasatals in the ministry, particularly NPA, NIMASA, Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC), and National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) must not be allowed to be a dumping ground for failed politicians.

There was unanimity among stakeholders that the best way to move the sector forward is for the Federal Government to avoid appointing those who have vested interest into the boards of these parasatals. “In most cases, this is the root cause of the in-fighting and acrimony in the running of these government agencies over the years. At the end of the day, the maritime sector continues to suffer from bad leadership and inability to do the right thing because of pettiness and egocentric behaviour of those at the helm of affairs,” Omotesho said.

He argued that this is the bane of the maritime sector of the economy over the years. According to him, the greatest loser is the maritime industry and the citizenry who ought to benefit tremendously from it. You will agree with me that a rolling stone gathers no moss. It is therefore not surprising that we have not been able to attain our desires goals in the maritime industry. This is because we have not been able to get our priority right as a nation. As far as I am concern, we have not and the earlier we start the better for Nigeria and Nigerians.

Only time will tell whether the federal government, especially the bureaucrats in the Federal Ministry of Transport and the helmsmen in the parasatals have learned from the numerous mistakes in the past and resolved to make headway this year. Are they ready to do the right thing irrespective of their own personal interests? Are they ready to create a legacy for themselves? Are they ready to strictly implement programmes and policies without consideration for primordial sentiments? The answers to these and many more questions lie in the bowel of time.
Source: This Day Live