The Managing Director/CEO, Analyst Data Service Ltd, Dr Afolabi Olowo-okere, has stated that Nigeria, in terms of Logistics Performance Index, ranks behind Ghana, Togo, South Africa, Egypt, Republic of Benin and Cameroon with a score of 1.97 percent.
He stated this at the Nigerian Maritime Law Association (NMLA) industry breakfast briefing in Lagos.
Olowo-okere blamed the lack of critical infrastructure for the ranking, saying that there are so many regulations, a lack of a single window and the nation’s ports being designed for imports.
He pointed out that Nigeria’s medium-term plan for the maritime sector recognises the country’s seaports as heavily congested due to the absence of dry ports and multi-modal transport infrastructure, stressing that the inland waterways are grossly under-utilised with only 3000 miles of about 10,000 miles currently navigable.
He said for Nigeria’s port to become the preferred destination in West Africa and Central Africa, and that there is a need to improve security and safety in the sector, leverage technology to improve efficiency and ease of business, and make inland waterways serve as an alternative cheap mode of transportation to decongest the seaports and deliver cargo closer to the hinterland.
Olowookere recommended that Nigeria needs to automate its port processes, remove bureaucracy and build human capacities to achieve a competitive maritime industry.
Political economist and management expert, Prof Patrick Utomi, in his goodwill message, said it is mission impossible accessing the nation’s sea ports across the country, adding that the waterways are not safe to navigate.
He noted that most of the challenges hindering the nation’s maritime sector are self-inflicted.
Utomi called on the Federal Government to provide the enabling environment for businesses to thrive while also calling lawyers to take advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).
“The opportunities waiting for Nigerian lawyers will be huge in the AfCFTA considering the fact that the Nigerian law system is way ahead of its counterparts.”
“The Nigerian ports have what it takes to be the hub on the continent if given the support they truly deserve,” he said.
On his part, the former executive secretary and chief executive officer, Nigerian Shippers’ Council, Mr Hassan Bello, said there is a huge gap between the Nigerian maritime law and practice, stating that there is a need for a review of the Nigerian maritime act to change the nation’s maritime narrative.
He advised that infrastructure is key in Nigeria’s quest to revolutionise its port processes while also calling for a legislative agenda for the sector.
“We should have an African carriage regime to boost intra-African trade which is currently low.
“We must invest in data and regulatory agencies have to provide more clarity to attract investments into the industry and we must intensify our legislative agenda for things to be done in the right way,” Bello said.
Earlier, the president of NMLA, Mrs Funke Agbor, said the sector is yet to be fully utilised by the present administration, saying that the association is concerned about the current state of the country’s maritime industry.
“We are concerned about the maritime industry because this is an economic sector that has not been fully utilised or fully exploited by the federal government,” she said.
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