Expert Calls For Decentralisation Of Nation’s Ports

Harboursandport.com: Lagos - A call has been made for the decentralisation of ports in the country to make the nation’s ports efficient, effective and competitive in the sub-region.

Making the call in a WhatsApp chat group Harboursandport in Lagos, a Director of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), Demi Ajisafe, said each port should be dedicated to specific cargo.

According to Ajisafe, “First, we ‘MUST’ decentralise operations of the Lagos ports, as to brand our ports for defined (specialised) cargo types. For instance, Port Harcourt and Warri ports for wet cargo (petroleum products only); other wet, non-oil cargo can be handled in kirikiri terminal.

“The dry cargoes will be handled at the Apapa and Tin Can Island ports, and other identified Inland river ports with specialisation (Agricultural or Vehicular or containers). We have to strictly adhere to this, the moment it becomes acceptable.”

“Secondly, following from above, our importers must be encouraged to abide by this by using this specialised cargo receiving system to indicate their ‘Port of Destination’. For instance, it is an established fact that the majority of the container cargoes entering Nigeria are Onitsha (Eastern Nigeria) bound.  Why Lagos as a port of destination? We can do better without being emotive and sentimental.

“Port administration is all about regulations, procedures, and provision of required men and machinery to oil the process. When this is done consultatively with stakeholders' buy-in, compliance becomes easy, and the order of the day.

“We cannot afford to remain rigidly fixated on the old order of doing things, even when it is injurious to our economy, health, and safety status. The in-thing is creativity (self, internal), adoption, and adaptation of best practices from elsewhere to suit our intent and purposes. 

“To be static is to be dogmatic. To be creative, innovative, and daring to adopt and adapt is to be progressive, which leads to growth; which when sustained, preludes the much-desired development of the maritime industry.”

He expressed worry that most people think the maritime industry begins and ends with ocean-going and associated ancillaries, noting that there are countries in the world that are not accessibly by sea but there have a thriving and robust maritime industry. 

“The Nigerian Maritime sector will continue to be stagnant so long we have chosen to remain in the thought of the maritime sector is only about ocean-going and associated ancillaries. Therefore it must begin and end in Lagos.

“Again, I make bold to say lots of countries in Europe, the Americas, and Asia are not accessible by sea, yet they have thriving and strongly robust maritime industry. Nigeria has over 3,000 kilometers of Inland waterways that enter the sea, yet we're experiencing Port congestion and the unresolved Apapa gridlock. 

“To resolve this seeming stagnation is not too difficult; it only requires synergy, distinctive collaboration, and commitment to acting professionally without prejudice.