By Godwin Etakibuebu
I introduced Otunba Kunle Folarin last week as the last unchallengeable man standing in the African Maritime Industry. I did not exaggerate. He is much more than that. For the past 20 years or so, he has been going round the world, doing what he knows how to do best – lecturing Maritime Economics & Operations. He has more than 400 papers on Maritime subjects delivered in many universities across the globe. You can never be tired of listening to him if the matter involves the World Shipping Industry. Come with us as we navigate the second phase of the interview we had with him a few weeks ago. Enjoy the exposition.
Recently a committee was put up before this government came to power to look at shipping activities in the country. Some facts revealed by the committee was that if the Nigerian shipping community is properly developed and administered, this shipping economy ca generate enough to cater for our national budget. In fact the Committee concluded that the Nigerian Shipping Community can generate “something around 20 Trillion Naira”. Isn’t this exaggerated and under what circumstances can this happen?
What are the facts we have on the table today? We have a nation that spends over 18 billion American Dollars a year for imports. That gives you the demand profile in terms of the finance to support the economy. We also have the statistics l have given you of the maritime size of the coastline, hinterland, economic zone and territorial waters. That is an endowment that cannot be disputed. That is basic. When we look at the demand of 180 million metric tonnes of cargo, both formal and informal, brought into Nigeria every year, including over 2 million containers and over a million vehicles coming into the nation, then you can say the economy is strong because that economy is able to support the demand in terms of financing the demand and also to consume the demand.
If you have a market of 200 million people and you have an import profile of that size, and you have a maritime endowment of that size, then you are right to say that this is an economic agenda.
From that you can develop in terms of multiplicity of how it will affect the economy. What is the production of that kind of income in terms of employment, empowerment for entrepreneurs and wealth creation for the country and also individuals, employment, empowerment and wealth creation?
If you have that size, it will be right to say that the Nigerian Maritime economy can generate such revenue that will be enough to support any development project that the Nigerian government has. If that size of activity is operated, then it will generate multiple employment opportunities for both skilled and unskilled workers.
If we put figures to that, then we must look at the forecast of production in the country. What is going to be the production of the country? The GDP of a country is the production of the country.
In terms of economics, we say that we need to look at this one as the factors of production and continue to address both policies and other issues on that basis. What policies are we looking at? We need to think of policies that creates the environment for productivity. If the port corridor is congested, you are putting down productivity. If the schools don’t have technical education, we are pushing down productivity. If the health of the worker is not careered for, you are reducing productivity. So the GDP will reduce.
I agree to a large extent that the maritime domain is sustainable and it is capable of providing the enabling instrument for Nigerians to get employed, to get empowered and to be wealthy.
Shipping is the industry while maritime is the firm – how many firms do we have in the shipping industry?
You have to look at it from the perspective of enablement. How do we enable those firms that the shipping opportunity has created? Let us look at the size of Nigeria’s shipping. In 2016, I believe over 5,417 vessels called at the Nigerian ports, averagely per year it is about 5,000. They bring all sorts of cargo, which is also manned by seafarers.
So shipping means bringing cargo by people and you must know that without cargo there is no shipping. Without shipping, there will be no ports. The downward employment opportunities in the ports industry will not exist without the ports, clearing and forwarding, haulage, and much more. You can see the flow and the need of every part of the chain to perform creditably. So how do we now start and take advantage of the growing economy of that sector?
After the demise of the Nigerian National Shipping Line [NNSL], which was a hundred percent government venture that provided opportunity for skill acquisition, there was a need for the vacuum to be filled either by Nigerian entrepreneurs or by foreign shipping lines because the demand for the service continued.
But then, the problem of providing the avenue for skill acquisition in the shipping industry disappeared. It is because the foreigners who were training others were no more willing to train Nigerians anymore. They perceived it as Nigerians have taken their jobs.
The shipping companies are not going to allow Nigerians to carry as much import cargo or export cargo because that would diminish their influence in that particular operation. The Nigerian government took action. In 1987, the National Maritime Authority was established to promote indigenous shipping and behind that policy of government was the United Nation’s UNCTAD Code 40-40-20. That is, cargo rights were established for the country of origin and the country of destination and the 20 for cross traders.
What this meant was if the cargo was coming from Belgium to Nigeria, Nigerian shipping line should take advantage of 40 percent, Belgium shipping lines benefited 40 percent while other liners from Japan to any other shipping countries of the entire globe grabbed for the remaining 20 percent.
The National shipping line was established and cargo rights were supposed to be given to Nigerians because when you have the cargo, then you will see the ship. So the indigenous people will now say yes this cargo is our own nobody can carry it. Then we will get the ships to carry it because of the rights they have. That is why the Nigeria Maritime Authority Act was deemed to be the Nigerian shipping Policy. How was this Policy administered for the benefit of our great maritime country?
You may want to know that Nigerian vessels vanished one after another from international sailing. Has the rest of that historical exercise not become history?
When the National Shipping Policy under the National Shipping Line could not deliver, then the idea of concessionary came in the year 2000 and was properly championed by then Minister of Transport – Kema Chikwe, because that was the trend all over the world. Of course there was pressure from multi-national companies that it should happen.
If there were to be a master plan the NPA would have foreseen that yes, issues were coming. A master plan would have pointed to the NPA that the first loser of the concessionary arrangement would be NPA itself. NPA would have known that it is the cargo right given to Nigeria [which it operated on behalf of the country] is what concession would give to the ports operators or Ports’ Concessionaires. The NPA, being a government agency, obeyed the master’s voice. We saw it coming anyway that some staffs will have to go in the NPA and that the policy of NPA on cargo will change from an Operator to a Regulator.
We don’t seem to dwell on the solutions, what can we do? We dwell on what has not been done. I am a voracious reader. I have written many books and presented over 400 papers all over the world. But l know that all over the world, most people focus on what can be done. What can we do to deal with what is coming in front of us?
I will be happy to know that from this discourse we are able to fashion a way that will deal with the modular needs, with the transport needs, with the shipping needs of Nigeria in the next 20 years. This is important for us to focus upon.
Godwin, can we set a template for the Maritime Industry from this discussion; a template that will bring futurist Master Plan for at least 50 years?
The curtain on this exclusive interview will be drawn next week Friday.
Godwin Etakibuebu; a veteran Journalist, wrote from Lagos.
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