Vanguard Maritime Report ran into a long time maritime  industry operator and Managing Director of International Trading and Contracting Group Emmanuel Nweke and took him up on some challenges the industry is grappling with. He noted that the industry’s fortune is dwindling. Below are excerpts:

You been in the industry for at least years, how much would say the industry has faired ?

  I have been in the industry for close to thirty years, there has been a lot of transformation in the industry   would I say retrogressive, maybe, because what is happening to day did not happen even when the country imported more than what is being imported now.

I want to believe that it is because of the port reforms or concession that has taken place.

The concession programme was not very well planned because all the spaces for empty containers to stay pending when they be shipped back have taken up by the terminal operators.

There was no proper planning to warehouse the containers that were brought back to the ports. I believe that is the cause of whatever problem we have found ourselves today.

Managing Director of International Trading and Contracting Group Emmanuel Nweke

Do you not think that the road infrastructure is also a major challenge the industry is facing today?

  Of course the road is also a major problem but it is not the only problem the industry has, there is a major fundamental problem and the fundamental problem is the way the ports were concessioned, it was wrongly done.

Before now, we have warehouses, these warehouses took care of some containers and besides, there were immediate use of the empties by exporters to package their export materials that were brought into the warehouses.

Today, there are no more warehouses,so it all importation and little of export.

Besides, a lot of development are taking place right inside the port and particularly in the areas that are suppose to accommodate empty containers.

From this your analysis, would say that the concession programme has failed ?

Yes, I think so, it has failed because it has addressed the objectives for which the ports were concessioned

It has not addressed the high cost of clearing goods in our ports, it has not addressed the issue of labour or jobs opportunities that the government promised the reform will bring.

Neither has it addressed the issue of local entrepreneurs in terms of bonded terminal owners outside the port premises.

So, if you sum it all up, it is a hugh failure.

There was a time an audit of bonded warehouses was carried with a view to stemming vessels to some of these bonded warehouses, how far did the project go?

That never happened, the said audit exercise never took but remember, let me tell you 99 percent of all the bonded warehouse operators owned by companies or individuals, are all Nigerians.

What ever monies that are made through businesses given to these bonded warehouses are meant to return to the economy of this country.

But 90 percent of the monies made by the so called international investors all find their way out of this country because, I thought the essence of the port reform programme was to develop our ports.

Do you think the entire port concession programme can be reverse in favour of Nigerian businesses?

Well it is my hope that the situation could be reverse because some of us spoke about it.

Unfortunately, there were so many interests from the government because they believe the only way they can get what they want was to get the foreigners to take over their assets.

If you are given the opportunity to be Minister of Transport, what will do to correct the imbalance currently being experienced by operators?

That is a very big question, because I have been an operator, first of all I will want to empower the locals.

I want to see them grow because their money will stay in the country.

I will also demand that every foreigner must make his contribution to the development of the nation’s economy because we gave them the life wire.

I will then look into the proper development of our ports and other benefits that are accruable from our ports.

If that is done by first looking at the water transport, connecting trade through the waterways with many of the villages in the hinterland.

These things can be done but we need a leader with foresight to drive things like these.

We must also get our people to get into the shipping business by supporting them in every way possible but you must ensure that only the honest ones are supported.

Container deposit is not charged in the home offices of the foreign shipping firms operating Nigeria, how would react to this?

99 percent of what is obtainable in Nigeria is not obtainable in their country.

Let me tell you, you need to know that outside this country, you cannot be a clearing agent.

You cannot even have access to their port but they are the clearing agents in Nigeria.

Clearing of cargoes has a lot to do with the security of the country but it is very unfortunate that these things happen here.

A lot of things are not obtainable in other countries but are obtainable in Nigeria because of the kind of leadership we have but I believe and I hope that what ever information that comes to the knowledge of the current Minister of Transport, he will turn around for good.