New Telegraph

Maritime: Nigeria loses N3.5trn to inefficient logistics

WASTE

More than 15million tonnes of perishable foods wasted annually

 

Nigeria is losing N3.5 trillion annually to inefficient logistics system in the port, road and rail transport.

 

A Professor of Logistics and Transport Management, Department of Transport Management, Faculty of Management Sciences Ladoke Akintola University of Science and Technology (LAUTECH), Adebanbo Somuyiwa, said that the major challenge facing the shippers, terminal operators, warehouse providers and freight forwarders in the country was lack of efficient logistics sector.

 

Somuyiwa added that the amount being lost in the sector could have boosted the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), if the government pays regular attention to the industry.

He told New Telegraph that over 15million tonnes of perishable foods were being wasted annually because of poor logistics. The university don explained that all parts of the transportation process were not effectively connected and coordinated in the country.

 

Somuyiwa noted that there was no effective or clear cut road map to guide the operations due to lack of intermodal system and chaotic situation in the port area, leading to economic challenge that subsumes international freight tariff, unstable currency exchange rate, custom duty, export regulations and license, trade protection mechanism, clearance and transit time of cargoes.

He stressed that port activities were not well coordinated, to the extent that other issues emanated including insecurity regarding personnel and cargoes, inadequate seamless cooperation and integration among the stakeholders, ineffective information and communication technology, lack of transparency and high degree of corruption, especially illegal charges, lack of standardisation regarding dwell time of cargoes which is 21 days, as against other ports in the continent that is seven days, physical examination of cargoes that will take time instead of sophisticated modern scanners and inadequate infrastructure, poor connectivity of ports to the proposed Inland Container Depots (ICD).

 

Somuyiwa said that the fundamental belief of logistics revolved around timely positioning of resources in a cost effective way in a bid to satisfy customers’ service and enhance comparative advantage. He stressed that the logistics industry had not been tapped and explored due to bad planning, politics, lack of qualified personnel and other related factors in the country .

 

Somuyiwa said that there was no political will to strengthen the agencies saddled with the responsibility in enforcement, management and control of feeble plans available in the logistics sector, noting that people were employed in most of the agencies based on qualifications and not certification.

 

He explained that this had constrained them to do what was right and how it should be done.

Somuyiwa said: “However, if logistics is to be fully tapped, the benefits, aside revenue generation and employment opportunities will include promotion of trade and increase in trade volume because  countries within and outside the continent will engage with Nigeria in trading activities.

 

“Similarly, it will encourage involvement of expertise and professionalism, especially in the various components of logistics activities.

 

For instance, there would be people manning areas that are contained in information, infrastructure and institutions layers, relatively to their level of competence.”

The university don stressed that if the Federal Government could do the needful by making provision for enabling environment in the area of infrastructure such as dredging of waterways, that could aid navigation and accelerate transportation through barges, coupled with improvement of rail network in the urban and industrial areas, the problem of freighting containers on highways with trucks would be reduced.

However, he explained that only holistic approach through effective planning and inbuilt monitoring mechanism of operational, technical and environmental challenges will assist in making ports in Nigeria significant in the region.

 

He said: “If all these are adequately controlled in terms of informed plans, fearless policy, ethical politics and pragmatism in public service, the potentials of logistics industry would be harnessed and the country would be socially vibrant and economically viable.”

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