BusinessDay 19 Dec 2017
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Tuesday <strong>19</strong> <strong>Dec</strong>ember <strong>2017</strong><br />
10 BUSINESS DAY<br />
C002D5556<br />
COMMENT<br />
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$1billion to fight degraded & technically defeated insurgents?<br />
MAZI SAM OHUABUNWA OFR<br />
Ohuabunwa is chairman, African<br />
Centre for Business Development,<br />
Strategy<br />
Innovation (ACBDSI).<br />
Nigeria is an interesting<br />
case, the more you<br />
look, the less you see;<br />
the more things seem<br />
to change, the more<br />
they remain the same. Otherwise<br />
how can Nigerians be told in bright<br />
day light that one billion dollars<br />
which is equivalent to at least 360 billion<br />
Naira has been withdrawn from<br />
the excess crude account to fight a”<br />
degraded and technically defeated<br />
Boko Haram”? This development<br />
raises a few questions.<br />
The first question is, do we<br />
need this size of money for this kind<br />
of exercise at this point? If we do,<br />
what happened to all the money<br />
that have been thrown into this war<br />
since it started, especially since this<br />
government took over the battle and<br />
succeeded in “degrading and technically<br />
defeating “the insurgents in<br />
the Northeast? The second question<br />
is, if the situation is so bad that this<br />
quantum of money is needed at<br />
this point, then does it mean that<br />
what we have been fed with all this<br />
while is propaganda? More so, we<br />
have been constantly told that the<br />
Boko Haram is not holding any<br />
territory, it has been flushed from<br />
Sambisa Forest with the capture<br />
of Shekarau’s Koran, that it is only<br />
the remnants that are just targeting<br />
soft targets.<br />
Thirdly, if this size of money is<br />
needed at this time has it been appropriated<br />
by the National Assembly<br />
or has the Nigerian governor’s<br />
forum become a legislative institution<br />
that can supplant the functions<br />
of the National Assembly? This<br />
question has become fundamental<br />
as the money in the excess crude<br />
account belongs to the three tiers of<br />
government, in effect belongs to the<br />
entire citizens of Nigeria and some<br />
governor cannot just look at the<br />
television camera and announce<br />
to us - ‘helpless citizens’ - that they<br />
the governors ‘have granted the<br />
federal government permission to<br />
draw one billion dollars from the<br />
excess crude account’ as if they<br />
...if this size of money is<br />
needed at this time has it<br />
been appropriated by the<br />
National Assembly or has<br />
the Nigerian governor’s<br />
forum become a legislative<br />
institution that can supplant<br />
the functions of the<br />
National Assembly<br />
were talking of their personal money.<br />
Impunity comes in different forms in<br />
this country!<br />
The fourth question that arises is;<br />
how can we guarantee that a few years<br />
from now, we shall not be regaled with<br />
another arms deal scam? Since the<br />
coming to power of this government,<br />
we have been fed daily with tales of<br />
how $2.5 billion meant for arms was<br />
shared by the former National Security<br />
Adviser (NSA) for 2015 elections.<br />
Though no one has been convicted on<br />
the alleged scam, how can Nigerians<br />
be assured that this $1 billion will<br />
not end in the same way? Nigerians<br />
have been beaten too many times<br />
that their suspicion and scepticism is<br />
understandable, more so as to many,<br />
the difference between APC and PDP<br />
is that between six and half a dozen.<br />
The fifth question is, assuming<br />
that we actually need N360 billion,<br />
what shall we spend this huge sum of<br />
money on? From what we read and<br />
hear regarding the current modus<br />
operandi of Boko Haram insurgents,<br />
one would think that what was needed<br />
more was intelligence gathering<br />
than fighting equipment. The way the<br />
Boko Haram and their young suicide<br />
bombers are carrying on, what we<br />
seem to need more in my opinion is<br />
the enthronement of innovative intelligence<br />
gathering machinery and<br />
the de-radicalization of the youth in<br />
the area. Currently, so much money<br />
in being spent in the North East - the<br />
Northeast Development Agency and<br />
the special budgetary provisions, the<br />
private sector led Northeast fund, the<br />
dedicated focus by the World Bank<br />
as requested by the President are<br />
all targeted to rebuilding the region<br />
and in my opinion makes this N360<br />
billion superfluous.<br />
This is in view of the fact that<br />
government is running round the<br />
globe seeking loans to fund the <strong>2017</strong><br />
budget. Is this N360 billion part of<br />
N422 billion proposed for Defence<br />
in 2018 budget proposals or is it additional?<br />
Indeed in the 2018 budget<br />
proposals, only the allocation to the<br />
Trium Ministry of Power, Works &<br />
Housing which is N555 billion and<br />
that of the ministry of Defence ( N422<br />
billion) that go above N360 billion<br />
now targeted for the prosecution<br />
of the war against the “decimated”<br />
Boko Haram. The allocation to education<br />
and health for the entire nation<br />
are all below N360 Billion each.<br />
Lest we be misunderstood, every<br />
Nigerian wants the insurgency in the<br />
Northeast to end today if possible.<br />
We are distressed by the daily news<br />
of the brutal destruction of lives of<br />
Nigerians by Boko Haram suicide<br />
bombers, but we are confused by<br />
the story the government is telling<br />
us. If we were to believe the story of<br />
degradation, decimation and technical<br />
defeat of Boko Haram told us by<br />
the government, then taking N360<br />
billions of national income to fight a<br />
defeated ‘army’ raises our concern.<br />
But if the government does feel that<br />
it truly needs this huge sum, then<br />
it must come clean and tell us the<br />
truth about the situation of things<br />
in the Northeast, because our mumu<br />
don do.<br />
Send reactions to:<br />
comment@businessdayonline.<br />
STRATEGY & POLICY<br />
MA JOHNSON<br />
Johnson is a marine project management<br />
consultant and Chartered Engineer. He is<br />
a Fellow of the Institute of Marine Engineering,<br />
Science and Technology, UK.<br />
Most maritime nations<br />
less those in<br />
Sub-Saharan Africa<br />
have leapfrogged<br />
from being less developed countries<br />
to developed nations because<br />
their governments have<br />
taken bold steps to provide certain<br />
margin of welfare for those<br />
operating in the marine industry<br />
through deliberate government<br />
policies. When the well-being of<br />
workers is given priority, it helps<br />
to increase productivity and<br />
also enhance overall capacity.<br />
The use of sophisticated cranes,<br />
scanners and other computerized<br />
devices to handle cargo<br />
coupled with an assembly of<br />
individuals with skills, competencies<br />
and knowledge will boost<br />
productivity at the seaports.<br />
This writer is one of those who<br />
have always acknowledged that<br />
Nigerians are hard-working and<br />
that the country is well endowed<br />
with human resources. But due<br />
to current logjam at Lagos seaports,<br />
it has been suddenly<br />
The paradox of Lagos seaports<br />
realized that hard work does<br />
not automatically translate to<br />
productivity. Most Nigerians<br />
working at Lagos seaports either<br />
to export goods or to clear<br />
imported goods are currently<br />
under physical and mental<br />
stress which makes the gifted<br />
human resource hypothesis<br />
invalid in terms of productivity<br />
in Nigeria’s maritime industry.<br />
The reason is that most Nigerians<br />
operating in the nation’s<br />
seaports in Lagos find it challenging<br />
to have access to their<br />
workplaces.<br />
You will recall that more<br />
than a decade ago, the FG<br />
reformed Nigerian ports in<br />
order to increase efficiency<br />
and productivity. A few years<br />
after the port reforms, marginal<br />
improvement in cargo<br />
throughput, number of vessels,<br />
berthing facilities, and<br />
ship turn-around time was<br />
experienced. In spite of modest<br />
achievements recorded at<br />
Lagos ports due to the reform,<br />
poor infrastructure on land is<br />
currently reversing the gains<br />
as imported goods cannot be<br />
cleared within a short period.<br />
The paradox of Lagos seaports<br />
is aptly captured by a<br />
keen spectator who observed<br />
at an international conference<br />
recently that the port reforms<br />
have not enhanced productivity<br />
within the nation’s manufacturing<br />
industry but it has stifled<br />
economic growth. In fact, the<br />
spectator appropriately observed<br />
that the nation’s maritime industry<br />
has not attracted considerably<br />
the required local and foreign<br />
investment inflows that are proportionate<br />
to its contribution to<br />
the Nigerian economy despite<br />
its great potential and enormous<br />
investment opportunities. This is<br />
not only due to policy flip-flops<br />
but poor infrastructure within the<br />
seaports, he declared.<br />
Available data shows that Lagos<br />
seaports cater roughly for 70<br />
percent of all cargo traffic in Nigeria.<br />
Nowadays, it is very clear that<br />
poor state of infrastructure inside<br />
and outside the Lagos seaports is<br />
one of the reasons why the ports<br />
are not as efficient as they ought<br />
to be in handling cargo traffic.<br />
In shipping, the port serves as a<br />
gateway between economic activities<br />
at sea and those on land.<br />
So, if the nation wanted to derive<br />
maximum economic benefits<br />
from the ports particularly those<br />
in the Lagos Area, the Federal<br />
Government (FG) must play its<br />
regulatory role effectively by<br />
evaluating their status. The poor<br />
state of the roads leading to the<br />
Tin Can Island Port and Apapa<br />
Quay have made evacuation and<br />
delivery of containers and other<br />
consignments a tortuous experience.<br />
The consequence is that<br />
shipping firms have to struggle<br />
with increased demurrages and<br />
excessive container charges.<br />
High productivity in shipping<br />
and the nation’s economy generally,<br />
can be achieved through<br />
better performance of the port<br />
in various stages including cargo<br />
handling and it could be as a result<br />
of provision of excess facilities.<br />
Whenever, traffic volumes<br />
are in excess of capacity, the<br />
port will be under very strong<br />
pressure from its main users to<br />
increase capacity immediately.<br />
This is not the case with Lagos<br />
seaports. If urgent steps were not<br />
taken by the FG to reverse the<br />
congestion in Lagos seaports, it<br />
is very unlikely that the nation<br />
will derive maximum economic<br />
benefits from activities ashore<br />
and afloat.<br />
Some of the nation’s ports are<br />
underutilised, and the question<br />
that comes to mind is: Why can’t<br />
the FG make necessary arrangements<br />
to open-up other river<br />
ports in Calabar, Port Harcourt,<br />
Onne, and Warriin order to decongest<br />
those in Lagos? A friend<br />
in the government told this<br />
writer recently that the dredging<br />
of channels to these river ports in<br />
the Eastern part of the country<br />
has been slowed down due to<br />
lack of funds.<br />
This writer believes that the<br />
FG must look for funds to dredge<br />
the channels leading to most<br />
river ports in the country. The<br />
reason is that the rate of siltation<br />
in our harbours and coastal<br />
waters is high. If the FG cannot<br />
provide funds to dredge the<br />
channels, the nation should start<br />
considering having an ocean<br />
port somewhere in Warri or Port<br />
Harcourt.<br />
As an import dependent nation,<br />
port congestion will impair<br />
production as manufacturers<br />
will not be able to meet their<br />
targets. There are reports that it<br />
takes about 8 weeks for members<br />
of the Organized Private<br />
Sector (OPS) to take delivery of<br />
their cargo and vital raw materials.<br />
For an economy that is just<br />
coming out of recession, business<br />
activities will be paralyzed,<br />
profitability of manufacturing<br />
firms would be hindered while<br />
there will be loss of revenues to<br />
the nation if the logjam at the<br />
Lagos ports was unresolved by<br />
the FG.<br />
As long as easy access to<br />
Lagos ports are denied and<br />
other river ports not dredged,<br />
importers will continue to import<br />
their cargoes into Nigeria<br />
through neighbouring West<br />
African countries where taxes<br />
are exempted. If the country<br />
expects sufficient revenues<br />
from the ports in addition to<br />
incomes from other sectors of<br />
the economy to implement the<br />
2018 Budget, there is need to<br />
streamline the cargo clearing<br />
process in Lagos seaports.<br />
Send reactions to:<br />
comment@businessdayonline.com