…Wants private sector to drive blue economy
Former Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, NSC, Barr. Hassan Bello has charged the federal government not to designate any of its agencies as the lead agency to drive the blue economy if it actually wants Nigeria to make progress in the sector.
Bello who made this call in his remarks at the 10th anniversary, lecture and awards of the Primetime Reporters in Lagos on Wednesday, advised the federal government to avoid the mistake made during the Cabotage era when it designated an agency as lead agency and the rest was now history.
He said that for the sector to succeed, it required everyone’s contribution even as he urged the Minister to allow the private sector to drive the blue economy.
According to him, “Two things which we must be very careful about is to make, like we did cabotage. If we remember carefully, Cabotage was coastal and Inland shipping but that inland shipping was not emphasized. It was just for supply of oil and gas to the mother vessel, we couldn’t trade as we were doing from Asaba to Baro in Niger State or carry cement or even petroleum products. So, we cannot restrict that to customs.
“Secondly, don’t give the Blue Economy to an agency to say it is the lead agency because everybody must have contributions to the Blue Economy. As we are wont to do, we have seen agencies struggling to have seminars on Blue Economy, it’s not even a government thing. Allow the private sector to take over this blue economy, don’t create fantastic departments and overload into the private sector. This is what is our problem.
“When we had the Cabotage, it was a NIMASA thing and when you talk about Cabotage, no! don’t go there, what is your own with Cabotage? So,Cabotage was colonized, the Blue Economy should not be colonized. We should have the ramification of that Blue Economy to make sure that everything trickles down.”
He however, pointed out that there had been a lot of progress by the various organs of government even before the designation of the Blue Economy Ministry saying, “Blue Economy has always been there just as we had the red economy which is characterized by China’s quest for export for state directed economy.”
“We even have the grey economy which is that which is Informal. We have the green economy and all shades of economy. So, it’s not new that we have the Blue Economy, what has been the call by stakeholders is for us to have a ministry that will cater for transportation and transportation is a cardinal or even the paramount part of the Blue Economy.
“I know we have sustainable use of ocean resources and many other things but when you talk about the Blue Economy, the central point is the use of ocean and the Inland waterways and other resources for diversification of our economy as the Convener has said”, he added.
Speaking on the theme of the event, “Leveraging Technology To Maximize The Potential Of Nigeria’s Blue Economy”, Bello who described it as “very important” maintained that it’s not the absence of technology but the inability to deploy them in the nation’s business life that was the problem even as he insisted that the blue economy cannot survive without technology.
“Technology as I said, is central, without technology, we have limitations. Don’t forget that we have about 180 kilometers coastline, we have 925,000 inland… we have rivers and oceans but what have we done with it? So, now that we have all these resources, what are we going to do with it? The Blue Economy will be there, it will come and go. In ten years time, we will still be talking about the blue economy but we have to harness it. We have to be conscious, concerted and even calculated to make sure that it works for us. It’s not just fancy thing that there’s a ministry for blue economy. There must be active participation of stakeholders and the involvement of the private sector to harness the resources and not anything fancy or pretentious. The government must involve the private sector.
“So, you have chosen a theme that is apt and even the person who wrote about the blue economy, a Belgium, couldn’t have been more succinct as we are doing today to see that we create an alternative to oil and gas. Sustainable energy, renewable energy, fisheries and so on which means that the blue economy will have to settle with other stakeholders”, he said.
Photo: (L-R): Dr. Billy Sotubo Gillis-Harry, National President, Petroleum Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria, PETROAN, Barr. Hassan Bello, former Executive Secretary, Nigerian Shippers’ Council and Chairman of the occasion and Mr. Victor Onyegbado Esq., lead paper presenter during the 10th anniversary, lecture and awards organized by Primetime Reporters in Lagos Wednesday.
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