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Decongesting Nigeria's Ports To Attract More International Trade By Anthony Okosun U.S.A.
It is no news to say that organisation and management of Nigeria's ports and the transportation system in Nigeria generally is a disaster. The ports are lumpishly and corpulently inadequate. Paper work that are cardinal and vanilla to export and import are fearsomely voluminous and could take months for what would take a day or two in properly harmonised and regulated societies. Talk about the road network and rail network that support the sea ports, you would realise that Nigeria is still what it is, a bewilderingly and discomfortingly third world country.
Nigeria is a country of about 140 million people which effectively makes it the largest market in Africa for consumer goods. Majority of goods consumed by Nigerians are finished products that comes in from other countries in far off continents. The implication of the above asserted situation is that Nigeria needs a vast number of sea ports to handle the large number of containers that comes into the country daily. Unfortunately the number of sea ports in Nigeria are not even enough to handle the sea traffic that flows into neighbouring Ghana. A great number of Nigerian youths reside outside the shores of Nigeria and are industrious and desire to engage in export and import businesses between their host countries and their home country Nigeria. Unfortunately, Nigeria is not sufficiently prepared to handle the volume of incoming traffic this segment of Nigerians alone are already generating. Nigerians at home are becoming seriously interested in international business and are struggling extremely hard to generate capital to finance their import and export ventures, however country Nigeria seems to be the major obstacle to the adventurous and enterprising spirit and resolve of Nigerians.
To clear a cargo of merchandise in Nigeria through customs and other bureaucratic agencies would require at least 13 different sets of documents and could take not less than 30 days. Nigeria is about the most expensive country in the world to engage in export and import enterprise. The length of time and unjustified high cost and attendant bureaucratic anti-business agencies are baffling. While on earth should Nigeria erect barriers on the path of smooth and legal businesses at the sea ports. Countries all over the world are doing what ever they can, to make it easier for their enterprising citizens and foreigners with funds to expend on investment in their countries, to find it much easy to do business; ironically Nigeria seems to be comfortable with simply announcing to the international community that it desire investments and trading partners with no corresponding efforts to put in place the proper infrastructure and business friendly policies. In this particular scenario, the idea of making Nigeria the most difficult country on planet earth to engage in export and import venture beats every reasonable imagination.
With China joining the World Trade Organisation a lot of Chinese goods and goods from other far eastern countries now flood Nigeria, all these contribute to choke and clog traffic in Nigeria's sea ports. With no solution in sight, ports in neighbouring countries like Benin republic, Togo and Ghana are attracting cargo coming in Nigeria and are reaping the attendant financial boost.
Nigeria is the largest exporter of petroleum on the African continent and currently the third largest supplier to the United States, this means that on this plank alone Nigeria should have at least twice the number of total sea-port handling capacity available at the moment, to handle the oil and oil-allied export.
A practise that is tolerated in Nigeria whereby companies are allowed to use the port storage facilities for long term storage must be discouraged. Storage facilities at the ports should be for short term storage for containers that have just arrived and are being cleared. One wonders if demurrage which is the detention in port of a vessel by the ship owner, as in loading or unloading beyond the time allowed or agreed upon is penalised properly whether the practised would be continued.
A country with a huge population like Nigeria, which said population translates into one of the world's biggest markets should have in place a policy that allows private companies to build and manage ports. Agreed there could be serious security implication in allowing private concerns to build and manage sea ports. However a man with sight impairment will not reject corrective eye glasses meant to improve his sight because glass could be potentially dangerous. What the government need to do is to get involve in the project of building private ports from the inception, by vetting and approving the plans. supervising the construction at all stages. The government should also carry out a serious background check on the true ownership of the companies allowed to venture into the project. The government should also be in charge of security at the ports after they are constructed. All other aspects of management that can not be left in the hands of foreigners or private concerns should be handled by the government. The bottom line is that there should be enough sea ports to handle Nigeria's vastly growing sea based trade.
Another aspect of sea port development that has not been properly harnessed by the Nigerian government is the area of inland port construction. Nigeria is blessed by several major rivers. The most prominent are the rivers Niger and Benue. These two rivers have not been properly harnessed for commercial and industrial transportation. Along their routes at several strategic locations inland ports could be constructed, and these inland ports would greatly assist to open up the great Nigerian hinterland for more prosperous commerce and industrialisation.
Nigeria also need more export processing zones (EPZ). These export processing zones should be constructed close to the sea or major inland rivers, as this would allow the construction of ports for the use of the zone. This would effectively make such zones the focal point of new and great industrial cities exploding from such focal points.
Custom and other agencies who handle commerce and bureaucratic work at the ports should be properly trained and remunerated to enable faster and corruption free flow of business at the ports. Generally all those appointed by the government to handle affairs at the ports must be persons of proven character, who are actually professionals in the duty call at the ports.
ANTHONY OKOSUN (TONYOSUN@YAHOO.CO.UK)WRITES FROM THE USA
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