Post by Trade facilitator on Apr 14, 2020 7:38:10 GMT 1
MAKING the country as a hub of maritime activities in West and Central Africa is an objective that is paramount to the Federal Government. One way to achieve this to protect the sector from criminals on its territorial waters.
The Federal Government, stakeholders said, could achieve the latter, by strengthening the maritime agencies, which include the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), the Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC).
Stakeholders who spoke with The Nation at separate interviews at the weekend, said the Federal Executive Council (FEC) needs to ensure that Federal Government procures new security architecture that will stem the criminalities.
This involves the acquisition of new platforms and other logistics and working with the Nigerian Navy on the territorial waters and the Gulf of Guinea.
Need for security welfare
A maritime lawyer and University don, Dr DipoAlaka, said, the government needs to address the insecurity in the industry to restore investors’ confidence in it.
Alaka commended the Federal Ministry of Transportation and the Director-General of NIMASA, Dr Bashir Jamoh for showing the zeal, determination and commitment to return the country to its place of pride by making Nigeria a hub of maritime in the sub-region.
“Water covers more than two-thirds of the earth’s surface. These waters are a single, great ocean, an immense maritime domain that affects life everywhere. Although its four principal geographical divisions are Atlantic, Arctic, Indian, and Pacific. They have different names, this continuous body of water is the earth’s greatest defining geographic feature.
“The oceans, much of which are global commons under no state’s jurisdiction, offer nations, even landlocked states, a network of sea-lanes or highways that is of enormous importance to their security and prosperity. They are also a source of food, mineral resources, and recreation, and they support commerce among nations.
They also act as a barrier to and a conduit for threats to the security of people everywhere. Like other countries, Nigeria needs the oceans for its security and the welfare of its people and economy.
“In the economy, the oceans have increased importance, allowing all countries to participate in the global marketplace. More than 80 per cent of the world’s trade travels by water and forges a global maritime link. About half the world’s trade by value, and 90 per cent of the general cargo, are transported in containers.
Shipping is the heart of the global economy, but it is vulnerable to attacks and that is why we saying that the Federal Government needs to protect our waters and seas.
“The infrastructure and systems that span the maritime domain, owned largely by the private sector, have increasingly become both targets of and potential conveyances for dangerous and illicit activities. Moreover, much of what occurs in the maritime domain with respect to vessel movements, activities, cargoes, intentions, or ownership is often difficult to discern.
The oceans are increasingly threatened by illegal exploitation of living marine resources and increased competition over non-living marine resources. Although the global economy continues to increase the value of the oceans’ role as highways for commerce and providers of resources, technology and the forces of globalisation have lessened their role as barriers.
Thus, this continuous domain serves as a vast, ready, and largely unsecured medium for an array of threats by nations, terrorists, and criminals,”Alaka said.
The General Manager, Corporate and Strategic planning of NPA, Adams Jatto, said the Federal Government is determined to maximise the potential in the foreign exchange earnings and employment opportunities in the sector.
Better service delivery
Government, he said, is doing everything possible to ensure better service delivery, safety and security of ships and seafarers as well as the prevention of marine pollution by ships.
Jatto said the government’s policy to concession port facilities and services to private interests has had a profound effect on job creation and opportunities in the industry from warehousing, cargo handling/delivery and documentation, among others
An importer, Mr Felix Abraham, said the non-oil export sector is losing more than $15 billion yearly due to Apapa gridlock as exporters repatriation of proceeds to Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) witnessed a sharp drop with over 10,000 jobs lost in the sector.
“Today, Nigeria is missing in the global maritime space. The absence of a shipping company in the container shipping business is attributable to the absence of the government support and a harsh operating environment.
“It is difficult to consider a country as a maritime nation when none of its shipping companies plays in the global arena or in container shipping that is responsible for more than 60 per cent of the seaborne trade
“Nigerian shipping companies are so feeble that they cannot even compete in their own coastal waters. Currently, about 90 per cent of the shipping companies have liquidated and those that are still in business are struggling to survive because they lack the capacity to compete.
“The major obstacle in the ports is the roads. Bad state of the roads is not restricted to Lagos ports alone. Go to ports like Port Harcourt, Onne port and everywhere, the roads are bad. The roads leading into and out of the port are bad. The government must develop alternative mode of evacuating cargoes from the ports, the railways, the waterways are there. We have to make use of them.’’
Over reliance on the road is killing our ports, which is one of the major challenges we must overcome.
“The other challenge is government policies, which is driving away cargoes from our ports and government policies are feeding the ports of the neighbouring countries.
“After more than seven decades of global maritime community under the IMO regime, can our country be said to have maximized her maritime potentials? Has the country and its citizens reaped the gains of its maritime resources with positive indices on economic development?
Are efforts being made to harness the blue economy prospects in achieving economic diversification for Nigeria? Has the IMO Instruments been adequately utilized in bringing about safety and security of the waterways within Nigeria’s territorial waters? For me, these are the issues that we must confront with facts and figures if Nigeria hopes to retain its relevance and dominance as a regional maritime hub,” he said.
The Vice President Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) DrKayodeFarinto said in spite of the numerous recorded achievements, the maritime industry in the country and globally has come under siege by criminal elements who orchestrate acts of piracy, sea robbery, arms proliferation, crude oil theft, terrorism, migration, illegal and unregulated fishing and oil theft in the Gulf of Guinea and within Nigeria’s territorial waters.
The gains recorded via dredging, amnesty and port concession exercises in Nigeria nosedived due to this unfortunate scenario thus compelling some foreign shipping companies to request for Government’s approval to enter Nigeria’s territorial waters with armed security personnel onboard.
“That is why the Government must not taking the issue of safety and security in the Maritime sector lightly. Like the proverbial goose that lays the golden egg, the maritime industry must be protected to attract foreign investors and also preserve Nigeria’s territorial integrity.
The ANLCA chief said, the country enjoys a large share in the movement of cargoes across the globe, due to its location along the Gulf of Guinea but regretted that the route has witnessed a lot of maritime crimes, which has affected shipping activities around the region.
A safe, secure and efficient shipping industry, Farinto said, would assist in revitalising and diversifying the nation’s economy “away from crude oil exploration to a maritime hub.
“Apart from the Coronavirus pandemic that is ravaging the world, statistics show a total freight cost estimate of between $5 billion and $6 billion annually, while the maritime component of Nigeria’s oil and gas industry is worth an estimated $8 billion alongside seabome transportation, oceanic extractive resource exploitation and export processing zones.
“It is worthy to note that for effective contribution of shipping activities to the development of the nation’s economy, there is urgent need to curb and combat all illegal maritime activities in our waters as these crimes will continue to constitute impediments to economic development.
As long as these crimes continue to pose danger to the Gulf of Guinea and our maritime domain, the country will not be able to benefit maximally from the global maritime trade.
The National President of National Council of Managing Directors of Customs Licensed Agents (NCMDCLA), Lucky Amiwero urged the government to pay attention to the maritime business
He urged the Director-General of NIMASA, Dr Bashir Jamoh to collaborate with all relevant government agencies within and outside the country to ensure safe and secure maritime domain of the country and the Gulf of Guinea.
Source: thenationonlineng.net/protecting-maritime-against-criminalities/
The Federal Government, stakeholders said, could achieve the latter, by strengthening the maritime agencies, which include the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), the Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC).
Stakeholders who spoke with The Nation at separate interviews at the weekend, said the Federal Executive Council (FEC) needs to ensure that Federal Government procures new security architecture that will stem the criminalities.
This involves the acquisition of new platforms and other logistics and working with the Nigerian Navy on the territorial waters and the Gulf of Guinea.
Need for security welfare
A maritime lawyer and University don, Dr DipoAlaka, said, the government needs to address the insecurity in the industry to restore investors’ confidence in it.
Alaka commended the Federal Ministry of Transportation and the Director-General of NIMASA, Dr Bashir Jamoh for showing the zeal, determination and commitment to return the country to its place of pride by making Nigeria a hub of maritime in the sub-region.
“Water covers more than two-thirds of the earth’s surface. These waters are a single, great ocean, an immense maritime domain that affects life everywhere. Although its four principal geographical divisions are Atlantic, Arctic, Indian, and Pacific. They have different names, this continuous body of water is the earth’s greatest defining geographic feature.
“The oceans, much of which are global commons under no state’s jurisdiction, offer nations, even landlocked states, a network of sea-lanes or highways that is of enormous importance to their security and prosperity. They are also a source of food, mineral resources, and recreation, and they support commerce among nations.
They also act as a barrier to and a conduit for threats to the security of people everywhere. Like other countries, Nigeria needs the oceans for its security and the welfare of its people and economy.
“In the economy, the oceans have increased importance, allowing all countries to participate in the global marketplace. More than 80 per cent of the world’s trade travels by water and forges a global maritime link. About half the world’s trade by value, and 90 per cent of the general cargo, are transported in containers.
Shipping is the heart of the global economy, but it is vulnerable to attacks and that is why we saying that the Federal Government needs to protect our waters and seas.
“The infrastructure and systems that span the maritime domain, owned largely by the private sector, have increasingly become both targets of and potential conveyances for dangerous and illicit activities. Moreover, much of what occurs in the maritime domain with respect to vessel movements, activities, cargoes, intentions, or ownership is often difficult to discern.
The oceans are increasingly threatened by illegal exploitation of living marine resources and increased competition over non-living marine resources. Although the global economy continues to increase the value of the oceans’ role as highways for commerce and providers of resources, technology and the forces of globalisation have lessened their role as barriers.
Thus, this continuous domain serves as a vast, ready, and largely unsecured medium for an array of threats by nations, terrorists, and criminals,”Alaka said.
The General Manager, Corporate and Strategic planning of NPA, Adams Jatto, said the Federal Government is determined to maximise the potential in the foreign exchange earnings and employment opportunities in the sector.
Better service delivery
Government, he said, is doing everything possible to ensure better service delivery, safety and security of ships and seafarers as well as the prevention of marine pollution by ships.
Jatto said the government’s policy to concession port facilities and services to private interests has had a profound effect on job creation and opportunities in the industry from warehousing, cargo handling/delivery and documentation, among others
An importer, Mr Felix Abraham, said the non-oil export sector is losing more than $15 billion yearly due to Apapa gridlock as exporters repatriation of proceeds to Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) witnessed a sharp drop with over 10,000 jobs lost in the sector.
“Today, Nigeria is missing in the global maritime space. The absence of a shipping company in the container shipping business is attributable to the absence of the government support and a harsh operating environment.
“It is difficult to consider a country as a maritime nation when none of its shipping companies plays in the global arena or in container shipping that is responsible for more than 60 per cent of the seaborne trade
“Nigerian shipping companies are so feeble that they cannot even compete in their own coastal waters. Currently, about 90 per cent of the shipping companies have liquidated and those that are still in business are struggling to survive because they lack the capacity to compete.
“The major obstacle in the ports is the roads. Bad state of the roads is not restricted to Lagos ports alone. Go to ports like Port Harcourt, Onne port and everywhere, the roads are bad. The roads leading into and out of the port are bad. The government must develop alternative mode of evacuating cargoes from the ports, the railways, the waterways are there. We have to make use of them.’’
Over reliance on the road is killing our ports, which is one of the major challenges we must overcome.
“The other challenge is government policies, which is driving away cargoes from our ports and government policies are feeding the ports of the neighbouring countries.
“After more than seven decades of global maritime community under the IMO regime, can our country be said to have maximized her maritime potentials? Has the country and its citizens reaped the gains of its maritime resources with positive indices on economic development?
Are efforts being made to harness the blue economy prospects in achieving economic diversification for Nigeria? Has the IMO Instruments been adequately utilized in bringing about safety and security of the waterways within Nigeria’s territorial waters? For me, these are the issues that we must confront with facts and figures if Nigeria hopes to retain its relevance and dominance as a regional maritime hub,” he said.
The Vice President Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) DrKayodeFarinto said in spite of the numerous recorded achievements, the maritime industry in the country and globally has come under siege by criminal elements who orchestrate acts of piracy, sea robbery, arms proliferation, crude oil theft, terrorism, migration, illegal and unregulated fishing and oil theft in the Gulf of Guinea and within Nigeria’s territorial waters.
The gains recorded via dredging, amnesty and port concession exercises in Nigeria nosedived due to this unfortunate scenario thus compelling some foreign shipping companies to request for Government’s approval to enter Nigeria’s territorial waters with armed security personnel onboard.
“That is why the Government must not taking the issue of safety and security in the Maritime sector lightly. Like the proverbial goose that lays the golden egg, the maritime industry must be protected to attract foreign investors and also preserve Nigeria’s territorial integrity.
The ANLCA chief said, the country enjoys a large share in the movement of cargoes across the globe, due to its location along the Gulf of Guinea but regretted that the route has witnessed a lot of maritime crimes, which has affected shipping activities around the region.
A safe, secure and efficient shipping industry, Farinto said, would assist in revitalising and diversifying the nation’s economy “away from crude oil exploration to a maritime hub.
“Apart from the Coronavirus pandemic that is ravaging the world, statistics show a total freight cost estimate of between $5 billion and $6 billion annually, while the maritime component of Nigeria’s oil and gas industry is worth an estimated $8 billion alongside seabome transportation, oceanic extractive resource exploitation and export processing zones.
“It is worthy to note that for effective contribution of shipping activities to the development of the nation’s economy, there is urgent need to curb and combat all illegal maritime activities in our waters as these crimes will continue to constitute impediments to economic development.
As long as these crimes continue to pose danger to the Gulf of Guinea and our maritime domain, the country will not be able to benefit maximally from the global maritime trade.
The National President of National Council of Managing Directors of Customs Licensed Agents (NCMDCLA), Lucky Amiwero urged the government to pay attention to the maritime business
He urged the Director-General of NIMASA, Dr Bashir Jamoh to collaborate with all relevant government agencies within and outside the country to ensure safe and secure maritime domain of the country and the Gulf of Guinea.
Source: thenationonlineng.net/protecting-maritime-against-criminalities/
