Amaechi’s tango with the Senate over SAA

Last week Monday, the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, pointedly declared that the controversial Secure Anchorage Area (SAA) is illegal and whoever that patronizes the facility has broken the law of the land.

His position was in sharp contrast with that of the Senate which gave the facility a clean bill of health and declared its operator, Ocean Marine Solution Limited (OMSL) innocent of any alleged infraction.

The opposing views of both the Executive as represented by Ameachi and the Legislature as represented by the Senate over the important issue of security in the maritime industry is a sad commentary on the sorry level to which the matter has degenerated.

We are saddened by the wary thought that these critical arms of government could not agree on how best to tackle insecurity in the sector.

The issue of SAA has become an embarrassing spectacle that has exposed the underbelly of government in providing security in the maritime sector.

It has revealed the chilling gaps in the security architecture of the sector and just as Amaechi rightly pointed out, a sad reminder of the government’s utter failure to provide security for investments in port operations.

We agree with Amaechi that it was an aberration for an individual such as the owner of OMSL to provide security in such a critical sector as the maritime but we dare say it was the gap created by government’s failure that such an individual tried to fill.

Now that the government has woken up to its responsibilities and wants to take back what rightfully belongs to it, the conflict of opinions and interests between the Senate and the Legislature on this issue presents a tricky scenario.

Who does OMSL listen to?

The Minister who asked the company to pack its bags and quit the facility or the Senate which asked it to carry on with its operations?

Who has the right to give quit notice to OMSL between the minister which supervises the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) that Superintendents over the anchorage area or the Nigeria Navy which had a contract with the OMSL to operate the SAA?

The situation is as complex as it is intriguing.

To us, the Minister will need more than ministerial fiat to quit the Security company from the anchorage since it had, as it told the Senate, a subsisting valid contract with the Navy which has statutory duties to secure our waters.

What happens if OMSL defies the Minister’s order to quit but dig its feet deep while relying on the Senate confirmation of its operations as well as its contract with the Navy?

What options are opened to the NPA and the Minister to get rid of the OMSL owners who claimed they had heavily invested in the operations of the Anchorage?

We believe this matter needs to be handled with utmost caution and diplomacy so as not to send wrong signals to the global shipping community.

Shipping is a global business and if the controversial SAA is carelessly handled, it may have adverse effects on Nigeria’s maritime industry in the global shipping community.

In as much as government has good intentions in its desire to dismantle the SAA resulting to show of force, will do incalculable damage to the image of our maritime sector.

We would have thought that the Minister should have engaged the Naval authorities as well as the leadership of the Senate and OMSL in high level discussions to resolve what we fear could result to confrontation.

We detest the autocratic approach adopted by the Minister when he publicly” issued order” to the OMSL to quit the facility and subtle threat to whoever patronises the controversial facility without considering the circumstances, stands the interests of other parties.

If the owner of the house, through sheer carelessness and abdication of his duties, allows a stranger to take ownership of his property, such landlord needs tact, wisdom and ingenuity to ease out the intruders rather than resulting to naked show of power.

As the word of wisdom goes, when a goat enters the shop where enamelware is displayed, it takes patience to chase it away to avoid damage.