Buhari’s re-election: Our expectations, our trepidation in maritime industry

On March 23rd, 2019, Nigerians, in an overwhelming show of support, renewed the mandate of President Muhammadu Buhari for another four years.

Despite pockets of disenchantment and natural expression of pains of loss, well meaning Nigerians and world leaders have, in an effusive show of love, felicitated with Mr President.

The nigeriamaritime360.com wishes to join the millions of well wishers to congratulate the President-elect on his hard won victory at the poll.

However, beyond the euphoria of this electoral victory, we wish to remind Mr President that there is a huge task ahead in the country in general and the maritime sector in particular .

His election imposes greater responsibility to improve the quality of lives of the electorates.

Not a few Nigerians were disillusioned by some of their expectations that were not met during the first term of this administration.

They showed their disappointment through the ballot which affected and shrank the large dosage of goodwill the President enjoyed when he first came into office.

The same pockets of resentment were predominant in the maritime industry.

Most operators in the industry bemoaned the sharp decline in their fortunes which they attributed to government action and inaction.

The shipping owners, especially the indigenous operators, blamed the inefficiency of the Nigerian Maritime Administrations and Safety Agency(NIMASA) for their woes which have put their businesses on the throat of death .

The Freight Forwarders were complaining of hardship as a result of what they described as the draconian attitude of the Customs authority led by Col. Hameed Ali (Rtd) whose policies they said have sniffed life out of them.

They said that due to some of the policies of government which they accused Ali of implementing without human face, legitimate ‘jobs’ have dried up, a development they blamed for the high incidence of smuggling.

Operators and users of port facilities were also unanimous in their condemnation of government insensitivity to the horrendous state of port access roads.

The parlous state of these roads has had spiral effects on port efficiency, the cost of doing business, the social life of residents and life expectancy of users of the roads.

These grievances of port operators and users form the basis for their expectations of the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari in the maritime sector.

We wholeheartedly acknowledge and align with the pains and frustrations of the industry operators which we regard as fundamental failings of this government.

We are concerned with the slow pace of development in the sector reputed to be the second largest revenue earner for the country.

It is generally assumed by majority of stakeholders that government does not give enough attention to the industry which they blamed for its sluggish pace.

To win the confidence and goodwill of the distraught maritime operators, the President should, as a matter of urgency, embark on deliberate policies to revitalise the industry.

The best way to do this is to reinvigorate the slow pace of shipping development in the sector.

NIMASA should be made to shake-off its lethargy that has slowed down the pace of shipping development.

The Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund(CVFF) which is embroiled in controversy and steeped in secrecy, should be disbursed to take the majority of the sinking indigenous ship owners from the throat of death.

The perennial traffic gridlock at the port access road which was the resultant effect of the dilapidated roads has been a source of anger and bitterness against the government.

The pains, loss of lives and man-hours on the road have led to the state of despairs of port operators and users.

This has made them to accuse the government of insensitivity and lack of adequate attention to the goose which lays the golden eggs.

To win back the waning confidence of the industry stakeholders, government should fix the other dilapidated access roads to stop the anguish of the operators.

We commend the much the government has done in this regard and urge that the rest of the road should be fixed in a record time to soothe the jarring nerves of the angry operators.

We are happy that government has recognised and acknowledged the importance of developing inter-modal system of transportation of rail, road and water to engender efficiency at the port.

However, government should do more than paying lip service service to this critical component of port infrastructure.

We believe that if government could work the talk and link the ports through inter-modal transportation, it will significantly ease cargo delivery method and enhance port efficiency and productivity of port operators and users.

Another area of concern of stakeholders is the flagrant abuse of ease of doing business policy of government by some industry operators at the detriment of the users of their facilities.

We urge government to enforce strict compliance by all the service providers and government agencies to enhance seamless port operations.

We noticed that most of the operators expressed bias against the government in the run-up to the last presidential elections.

While some made their own covertly, others like the freight forwarders, displayed undisguised preference against the government.

But now that President Buhari has secured another term, posterity has given him another opportunity to warm his way back to the hearts of the angry operators.

We believe that if he pays close attention to the activities in the industry through relevant agencies and ministries, government would not only achieve its desire of generating more revenue into its coffers, but will ensure that the industry is stimulated for the desired growth.

It will also be a seamless and stress-free operations for the stakeholders.

But we have our fears.

Our fears are predicated on the possibility of government feeling complacent and self-conceited in victory, especially if it assumes all is well in the industry and allow the same old method which people considered as anti- trade to persist.

The government may also run the risk of having a false sense of satisfaction with the operations in the sector and possibly get carried away by the huge remittances of Nigeria Customs Service, NIMASA and NPA to the federal coffers.

If it allows this to happen without proper monitoring and periodic audit of operational procedures of all the players in the industry, especially the service providers and relevant government agencies, the government may inadvertently sow the seed of disillusionment and create an environment that breeds distrust and resentment among the operators.

Our hope and wish is that Mr President would be desirous of seizing this opportunity as presented by his second-term mandate to etch his names on the sub-consciousness of the industry operators and users by conceding to their yearnings and promote policies and programmes that would make the people at peace with the government.