4th TAAMC: Stakeholders must adopt other business models to lift up Maritime Sector- Otunba Folarin

A guru of the Nigerian Maritime industry and Chairman, Ports Consultative Council, Otunba kunle Folarin has strongly advised industry stakeholders to adopt new, pragmatic models capable of putting back the industry productively in their hands, and guaranteeing employments for the teaming youths.

Otunba gave the advise at the 4th Taiwo Afolabi Annual Maritime Conference (TAAMC), which held at the University of Lagos, Akoka Lagos, stressing that now that the model of ‘Government-tackling’ has seemingly failed, it behooves the stakeholders, in the nation’s interest, to adopt better models, and save the youths.

He agreed that while the Government truly retains the indubitable mandate or objective of providing the enabling environment, platforms and empowerment, the Nigerian investors had seemingly become over-dependent on the authorities, creating a syndrome which has observably failed to deliver or serve the common interest of the citizens.

He nonetheless pleaded with the Federal Government to grant to stakeholders in the Maritime sector the same protection it has given to those in the banking sector, because the capacity for Returns on Investment (RoI) of the sector, does not only outweigh that of the Banking sector, but could also buoy the current returns of the banking sector!

Also read:  4th TAAMC: LASU beats UNILAG to clinch 2019 Maritime BluePrint Competition

“We have to start with objectives!

“What is the objectives of Government in promoting the maritime sector? What are the enabling platforms that have to be put in place to make this happen?  Don’t forget that Nigerian Government has responsibility for employment, empowerment and wealth creation; ; and we have just said among other contributions that the maritime sector is a primary example of the platform that give and have the endowment for the objective to be met.

“My point actually here is a little bit different; there is so much of dependency syndrome in this country!

“If we say Government should create an enabling environment, yes! That’s correct. If we say Government should encourage indigenous participation in getting the benefits of our endowment, yes. But if this do not happen, what do we do?

“Mrs. Bucknor Taiwo just said that the Cabotage Act was enacted 2003 and the implementation were to start 2004; we are in it about 15 to 16 years now, nothing has happened!

“We are now talking about shipping development, financing models for shipping development, but failed to ask: ‘how many ships have been developed?’ Nothing substantially has happened!

“So, my view is that we must look for other models that we can introduced to achieve these objectives. So many models have been advanced even this morning. I think Hassan Bello has talked about PPP which is the Private, Public Partnership, probably there are still other models all over the world; and what we should do is probably, that if this Government is pushed, probably to the wall, and they still don’t yield, then, what do we do?

“I can not envisage that we have so much endowment, natural endowments and be doing nothing with it.

“Nigeria’s International Trade generates over 100 million metric tons of cargo a year; over 2 million TEUs of containers a year, and less than 7 percent are being carried by Nigerians!

“Over 5,300 vessels calls at Nigerian harbours every year; at least attracting nothing less than 50,000 seafarers, less than 10% of these seafarers are Nigerians!

“They should map out development plans, in employment, in empowerment to be able to invest in a visible sector and think of how to create wealth

“Somebody talk of the International Oil Companies (IOCs); for all my life, we have been conversing about IOCs; that they should allow Nigeria to have an entry into the profitable ventures of oil and gas; into the freighting of cargo, but even of the crude oil that has an origin from this country, we are still not there!

“We are talking about the future of young people like these (University undergraduates) in this hall, ought to have been guaranteed automatic employment;  by those that have been given empowerment to invest, to take part!

“So, what we need to do is to sit back and reason again.

“My view is that if the Government is not going to invest in the sector, to I am going to agree with, because, sometimes, Government don’t have any business in Business. But, we must have a caveat that says that ‘Nigerians MUST be allowed to even monopolize the sector!’

“Within the sectors we have: we have the banking sector, I believe you don’t have to be told that in all the banks today, Nigeria promoters have to be there. In fact, the banking sector is almost like a ‘nationalized sector’ for Nigerians. If this is done for the banking sector in Nigeria, why is the Maritime sector made so open to everybody?!” he concluded.

4TH TAAMC Concluded

– Editor