……As Oyetola Wails Over Tradition of Corruption at Nigerian Ports
Container terminal at Apapa...
By Francis Ugwoke
For a very long time, not so much has been heard about the tradition of corruption in the nation’s seaports. And this may not be unconnected with what looks like resigning to fate about certain situations in the industry. Stakeholders have cried out to no avail about corruption in the ports industry in the past to no avail. It is one that involves different security agencies at the ports. One recalls the efforts of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) to check on the excesses of the security agencies and getting them to form one team during goods examination. But recent revelation by the President of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Chief Emenike Nwokeoji shows that the ports economic regulator which heads the Ports Task Team saddled with the task of sanitizing the system needs to do more. Nwokeoji had in the interview expressed concerns about the roles of the security agencies at the ports. He had told Shipping Day online in a chat, “the biggest issue clearing agents go through in the ports is: the world is going paperless, but in Nigeria, we are having more papers as far as clearing is concerned. If you import this phone (shows a phone)..the clearing agent you hand it over to clear, be it in the seaport or airport will have to contend with the police, Quarantine, sometimes two of them, animal and plant, SON, NDLEA, SSS, Immigration, Customs, Ports Authority, FAAN, Terminal Operators, all to just get this one phone out. So, it is really unbelievable when you open one container for examination, you see the number of people calling the agent, saying, come, tell me what this is for. None of them will look at it and say, this one does not fall within the area of my office and walk away. All of them will be asking very irritating questions. Apart from one agency of government that will say, this one is not within our area, and walk away, all others will claim that they have interest . So, that is the biggest challenge that clearing agents have. You will run from Shipping company to terminal operators to all these agencies just to bring out one shipment. So, it is really stressful”.
At an event in Lagos, the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Mr. Adegboyega Oyetola, expressed bitterness about the duplication of roles at Nigerian ports by different agencies. Oyetola described the situation as simply a hindrance to the federal government on the ease of doing business. He spoke on the occasion of his Ministry’s “Stakeholders Engagement on Enhanced Activities in the Blue Economy sector”.
He was reacting to the complaints of duplication of roles between the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC). Indigenous Fish Importers and Exporters Association had told the Minister that laboratory and sampling is done by both in what would simply be a duplication of statutory functions. The association had complained that taking of samples by both agencies in addition to levies and taxes paid to the two pose serious challenges to the members. Perhaps, what the association would not want to tell the Minister is the level of extortion involved.
Now beyond that is what it takes to clear other general goods and vehicles at Nigerian ports. Apart from the length of time, the importers and their agents are heavily extorted by different agencies put together. The scenario is that every personnel representing these agencies wants to be settled. This explains why there is continued high cost of goods in the market as the importer must recover every penny spent in the cause of importation and clearing. Right now, the traffic in the ports is very low. Few Nigerian importers take pains to bring in goods to the country because of the high and fluctuating foreign exchange rate and the tradition at the ports. Observers believe that what the Minister needs to do is to empower the NSC as the ports economic regulator to try to address some of the ills in the ports system. Though the argument is that what happens at the ports is a reflection of the general corruption attitude introduced by the political class and top civil servants in all sectors of the economy. To the ANLCA President, the concern of what happens at the ports is the embarrassment this could bring to the country before foreigners. He explains, “Our concern is that this will not continue so that it will not ridicule the country as a whole. I use the word ‘ridicule’ because when foreigners come here, it is not good for them to experience it. You know, you can have a foreigner come here to work for months and they come with two boxes of personal effect and you may be required to sometimes take them to identify some things. And by the time he sees what goes on, he will start wondering what is happening”.
For a very long time, not so much has been heard about the tradition of corruption in the nation’s seaports. And this may not be unconnected with what looks like resigning to fate about certain situations in the industry. Stakeholders have cried out to no avail about corruption in the ports industry in the past to no avail. It is one that involves different security agencies at the ports. One recalls the efforts of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) to check on the excesses of the security agencies and getting them to form one team during goods examination. But recent revelation by the President of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Chief Emenike Nwokeoji shows that the ports economic regulator which heads the Ports Task Team saddled with the task of sanitizing the system needs to do more. Nwokeoji had in the interview expressed concerns about the roles of the security agencies at the ports. He had told Shipping Day online in a chat, “the biggest issue clearing agents go through in the ports is: the world is going paperless, but in Nigeria, we are having more papers as far as clearing is concerned. If you import this phone (shows a phone)..the clearing agent you hand it over to clear, be it in the seaport or airport will have to contend with the police, Quarantine, sometimes two of them, animal and plant, SON, NDLEA, SSS, Immigration, Customs, Ports Authority, FAAN, Terminal Operators, all to just get this one phone out. So, it is really unbelievable when you open one container for examination, you see the number of people calling the agent, saying, come, tell me what this is for. None of them will look at it and say, this one does not fall within the area of my office and walk away. All of them will be asking very irritating questions. Apart from one agency of government that will say, this one is not within our area, and walk away, all others will claim that they have interest . So, that is the biggest challenge that clearing agents have. You will run from Shipping company to terminal operators to all these agencies just to bring out one shipment. So, it is really stressful”.
At an event in Lagos, the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Mr. Adegboyega Oyetola, expressed bitterness about the duplication of roles at Nigerian ports by different agencies. Oyetola described the situation as simply a hindrance to the federal government on the ease of doing business. He spoke on the occasion of his Ministry’s “Stakeholders Engagement on Enhanced Activities in the Blue Economy sector”.
He was reacting to the complaints of duplication of roles between the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC). Indigenous Fish Importers and Exporters Association had told the Minister that laboratory and sampling is done by both in what would simply be a duplication of statutory functions. The association had complained that taking of samples by both agencies in addition to levies and taxes paid to the two pose serious challenges to the members. Perhaps, what the association would not want to tell the Minister is the level of extortion involved.
Now beyond that is what it takes to clear other general goods and vehicles at Nigerian ports. Apart from the length of time, the importers and their agents are heavily extorted by different agencies put together. The scenario is that every personnel representing these agencies wants to be settled. This explains why there is continued high cost of goods in the market as the importer must recover every penny spent in the cause of importation and clearing. Right now, the traffic in the ports is very low. Few Nigerian importers take pains to bring in goods to the country because of the high and fluctuating foreign exchange rate and the tradition at the ports. Observers believe that what the Minister needs to do is to empower the NSC as the ports economic regulator to try to address some of the ills in the ports system. Though the argument is that what happens at the ports is a reflection of the general corruption attitude introduced by the political class and top civil servants in all sectors of the economy. To the ANLCA President, the concern of what happens at the ports is the embarrassment this could bring to the country before foreigners. He explains, “Our concern is that this will not continue so that it will not ridicule the country as a whole. I use the word ‘ridicule’ because when foreigners come here, it is not good for them to experience it. You know, you can have a foreigner come here to work for months and they come with two boxes of personal effect and you may be required to sometimes take them to identify some things. And by the time he sees what goes on, he will start wondering what is happening”.
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