Barr. Hassan Bello is the Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian shippers’ Council (NSC). At a colloquium to mark the 70th birthday anniversary of the former Managing Director Of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Chief Adebayo Babatunde Sarumi last week in Lagos, he spoke to some selected journalists on issues bothering on the achievements of Chief Sarumi, the Traffic gridlock in Apapa, the regulatory roles of the council and lots more. Our correspondent was there. Excerpt;
Seventy years of his existence on this planet earth, what do you have to say about Chief Adebayo Babtunde Sarumi?
I think it is an important stage in the life of Chief Sarumi even more than the legacy he has established in the industry that he loves dearly.
You could see the re-union of stakeholders, everybody coming to support him, it is not only the celebration of Chief Sarumi but a celebration of the institution that has been established in the Maritime industry through his efforts.
Talking about the reforms brought about in the industry by Chief Sarumi, how well have we built on these reforms?
Port reforms have yielded a lot of revolutions and changes. You could see that from the key performance Indices that the port is more efficient, the contributions of the industry to the economy if well harnessed will be more in terms of infrastructure, in terms of employment.
So, the port reform is an ongoing thing and the most important thing is everybody being conscious of the fact that if you have to reform, the outcome of the reform cannot be anything less than positive.
Some stakeholders are worried over the perennial traffic situation in Apapa…? Cuts in
Everybody is worried about the traffic situation in Apapa. The Nigerian Shippers’ Council especially is teaming up with NPA and many other stakeholders to see that this situation is arrested. We have to understand that access o the port is very important even though unlike other ports in the world, access to the Nigerian ports are not exclusively to the ports, they lead to so many other places, it does not only lead to the ports.
Besides, we have a city port, the city has encroached into the ports so much but at the same time, we are doing the best we can to see that this situation will be solved.
But the long term solution is to build modern ports and provide this modern ports with access to the ports not only roads but effective rail connections, positive connection with the inland waterways.
So, these are how ports are meant to be because we cannot afford to make the mistake that we have made now. But in the meantime, we are working with FERMA, we are working with NPA. Officials of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council just came back from the Port of Aqaba in Jordan where they have an effective and efficient truck manning system which we hope to apply to solve this problem once and for all.
How do you assess the port industry in the last six months?
The port industry is there, we have made a lot of progress. The port is the life wire of the Nigerian economy. It is also the mirror that reflects, the deliberateness and effectiveness of the administration. I think a lot of efforts have been made to see that we have the modern ports that we had before the reforms. The turn around time for vessels, the clearing procedures, we are working on them.
But all we need is coordination and also to be as transparent as we can. But I think that the port reform is on course and Nigerians have seen the positive in it.
What about infrastructural developments in the ports?
We have infrastructural deficit in the transport industry just like we have in the port sector of the economy. For the infrastructural deficit in the transport sector, one will have need a deliberate action by the private sec tor under the Public Private Partnership and we are working with that.
Many ports that we have, they are private sector driven, the railway is going to be concessioned to the private sector just as the ports were. The transport sector as you know is also private sector driven. So, with the private sector on the lead and the government giving the correct atmosphere, I think with time, we will start to cure these deficits.
Many stakeholders are saying that Shippers’ Council is doing more consultations than getting the real job of economic regulator done with. What do you have to say about it?
Because they are not patient, that is why. We are supposed to study this administration for more than three years before we do that. But that is not important.
Shippers’ Council luckily have gotten some experience in past dealing in this industry and we are not going to regulate in the air or in the pages of the newspapers. We are going to consult and have the buy ins of the stakeholders before we do everything.
Even now, we have started the regulation and regulation is consultation, regulation is transparency, regulation is unbiasness and that we have already started and the result will be seen within all the sectors.
We are going to concentrate on the procedures for the port, that is the clearing process, the dwell time of cargo, we want to reduce the unreasonable charges because our ports are in competition with our neighbouring ports. The cost of doing business in Nigeria must come to a reasonable cost that will attract more cargoes to our country. So, regulation is not A, B, C that you do for the people to get impressed, it has to be scientific.
What is your take on the auto Policy?
Actually, it is a policy of the government and government is receiving input from the stakeholders. I am sure that when the government is through with its consultations, we will have that. But the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, we will always warn against policy somersault. Policies should have some gestation period but there are other times government is pushed by circumstances to bring out a policy.
But the government should try to get buy in of stakeholders before executing every policy that it formulates.
Stakeholders are accusing the Shippers’ Council of tilting more to the side of the terminal operators and the shipping companies at the detriment of the other stakeholders. How do you react to that?
Shippers’ Council will have to be accused. Every time, we are being accused by stakeholders but that is our work. If we are not accused, then we are not doing our work. We have to be accused, we have to be abused everyday, we are expecting that.
What we want is harmony, what we want is representation in the port of various interest groups of the economy and these nobody is going to rush us, we are going to use scientific approach.
It is not a beauty contest or a popularity contest but by the time there is harmonization in the port, I am sure all of you will see the result.
