The Federal Ministry of Transportation recently held valedictory services for its outgone ministers, Muazu Jaji Sambo and Ademola Adewole Adegoroye, signaling an end to a romance that started in July 2022. In this report, TOLA ADENUBI looks at challenges that lie in wait for whoever resumes at the Bukar Dipcharima House.
WITH Engineer Muazu Jaji Sambo and Prince Ademola Adewole Adegoroye departing their roles as Minister of Transportation and Minister of State for Transportation respectively, the duo has left behind many unsolved issues that remained unresolved during their-11 month stay in office.
With the newly inaugurated president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, expected to make appointments into his cabinet in coming weeks, the challenges that lie ahead of whoever becomes new Minister of Transportation look daunting.
Single window
The Nigerian ports system has been bedeviled by a lack of a single window initiative for decades. The scenario where different agencies of government work at cross-purposes has been the norm, leading to cargo owners paying through the nose to get their cargoes cleared from the ports.
With many agencies operating at the ports answering to different ministries of government, cargo owners were faced with completing multiple tasks via multiple online portals just to get their cargoes cleared from the ports.
The confusing state of clearing cargoes most times usually leads to extortion of cargo owners by different government agency officials, thereby shooting up the cost of doing business at the nation’s ports.
Speaking exclusively with the Nigerian Tribune, the chief executive officer of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), DrMuda Yusuf, revealed that, “For most part of President Buhari’s eight years, many exporters who didn’t have access to export terminals struggled.
“Many export cargoes got rejected on arrival at foreign destinations because most, which were perishable items, failed to get adequate attention before being exported out of the country due to agencies of government working at cross purposes.
“For most part of the eight years of President Muhammadu Buhari, we were not been able to use technology for purpose of cargo clearance at our ports.
“The Single Window and scanners have were used for most part of the eight years of the immediate past administration. It is only recently that some ports had scanners installed in them.
“For many years under President Buhari, cargo evacuation at the nations ports relied on manual examination of cargoes. The documentation processes are still tedious, jacking up cost of cargo clearance at our ports.
“For the Single Window, we have not been able to implement it at our ports. Some vested interest has been frustrating the Single Window initiative at our ports, and that’s why we still have a whole lot of human interface during cargo examination and clearance at our ports.”
Lack of confidence in rail transport
On 28 March 2022, an Abuja–Kaduna train was attacked in Katari, Kaduna State. Approximately 970 passengers were on board as at the time of the attack, and many were abducted into the bush by the marauding bandits who arrived on motorbikes holding firearms and other deadly weapons.
Also, in January of 2023, the Warri-Itakpe train came under attack by unknown gunmen who stormed the train station at Igueben, Edo State, taking away several passengers who were waiting to board the Warri-Itakpe train.
With the standard gauge trains coming under different attacks, the confidence in rail transportation has dropped considerably, Nigerian Tribune can authoritatively confirm.
Checks by the Nigerian Tribune revealed that the Lagos-Ibadan train which used to be very full when it was launched in 2019 is now a shadow of itself as the train sometimes leaves the Mobolaji Johnson train station in Ebute-Metta near empty.
Speaking with the Nigerian Tribune recently, a passenger who works in Lagos but has family in Ibadan, Mr. Joseph Rahmon, explained that the attacks had affected the confidence in the trains.
“The recent attacks on the Abuja-Kaduna and Warri-Itakpe trains have affected people’s confidence in the trains. Even the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has not been helpful because the trains sometimes break down at usually very odd places, thereby instilling fear in the minds of the travelling public.
“I know a number of people that we used to board the trains together when it was first launched, but are no longer coming onboard anymore. For me, I always go to Ibadan every weekend because my wife and children are based there. So, I have made so many friends on the train.
“However, many of those friends no longer come to the train station to board the trains. When I called to know why, most of them said the series of attacks on the train made them change their minds.
“If you look at the pattern of attack, only Lagos-Ibadan has not been attacked. So there is this fear that it is the next target for terrorists. So many people have stayed away and preferred to go to Ibadan by road.”
Rail connection at seaport
The connection of most ports in Nigeria by rail has been an issue that has been on the front burner for years. While the standard gauge rail has reached the Apapa port, it has not yet been connected to the port quay, thus not allowing cargoes to be discharged directly from ships to train.
Again, the Lekki Port, which is a new port, does not currently have rail connection, meaning that many of the cargoes will leave, either by road or by barges.
With a new leadership expected at the Federal Ministry of Transportation, the need for cargoes to start leaving Nigerian ports of Apapa, Tin-Can and Lekki Ports by rail will be the main focus. The days where cargoes leave by trucks have had devastating effects on the state of the nation’s highway, and have also led to bottlenecks experienced in the cargo clearance logistics chain.
Maritime security
Nigeria has enjoyed relative peace on her waters in the last one year due to the launch of the Deep Blue project and the efforts of international Navies in the Gulf of Guinea (GoG).
The new Minister of Transportation will definitely have very big shoes to fill as he will have to ensure that the standards already set in the last one year is sustained.
and then