The National President, Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Prince Olayiwola Shittu took a hard look at developments in the Maritime industry and pleaded that Government functionaries should not pursue measures capable of making the Federal Government lose the great goodwill of the people.
A newsman’s delight, Prince Shittu during the chat in Lagos highlighted how the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi took ANLCA on a wide goose chase to Abuja, amongst other issues and emphasized that the Minister is presently, isolating stakeholders, in his ongoing policy of unifying stakeholder operators!
Excerpt please :-
How do you assess the year 2016 in the light of development in the Nigerian Maritime industry?
A year ago, nobody foresaw what today would be. It was a period characterised by those campaigning for either ‘continuity’ or ‘Change! Change’! At the end of the day, change won, against the believers in ‘Continuity’. Only to discover that what we were all fighting for, either in ‘change’ or ‘continuity’ were merely tinkering with same empty shells.
Today, we are talking of looting; empty treasury; and how do we get our acts back together again.
Shittu
So, as to your question, we actually entered the 2016, like in a state of flux – where nobody knew any absolutely clear direction. Yes, there was a government in place; which took its time, to shop for the best of men, as Ministers. Incidentally, some of the appointment made took Nigerians by surprise. Some wondered why professionals were not put in charge; especially in certain ministries. But then, there had been precedence, because Ministers were usually regarded as “administrators”, that they don’t have to be professionals. More so, since they have the active supports and advice of professionals in the Civil Service.
This is in the wisdom of the government; but stakeholders wondered if the so-called “professionals” in the ministries were not responsible for bringing us to this horrible path! Think about this: the so-called looters that affected the federal government wouldn’t have succeeded without the active collaboration and participation of the so-called professionals in the ministries.
The Pandora box was opened unexpectedly through the slide in the actual price of oil (crude); the resultant fall in the Naira, and then, the reluctant looters, not wanting to return their loot, all put together, put the industry under pressure, especially on both the government and the governed.
However, one resolute agreement of all of us is that having gone through this sorry past, it would be more expensive to go back.
What we are saying is that we have gotten ourselves into a hole riddled with allegation of looting and corruption. We must therefore recognise at this point, that it would be more expensive at this point, to go back. So, we should just bear the pains, remain in the hole and sacrifice for the nonchalant attitude of the past, and come out of the hole stronger; and chart a new cause.
Right now, there is no fuel in Ibadan. It is already selling for N120 per litre. It has crept into Lagos. Is this the change we asked for? There is also no electricity to write home about.
Hold on,… We have experienced this type of crisis in the past before, even when the pretence of the Government there then, was that all was well. So, we need to put all the variables into place. If Government says:’ No, no subsidy’!
You have two ministers, overseeing your areas of interest: Finance and Transportation: in your sincere estimation, do you think either Kemi Adeosun or Rotimi Amechi is a thorough bred professional, of the portfolio each holds?
Let me remind you again, like the Minister of Transport has said; he is not a Maritime person; neither is he an Aviation person. He is however an administrator, whose job is to say ‘No’ or ‘Yes’ in line with the current Government’s ‘No wastage’ policy. And that he will always rely on the same civil servants inherited from those who had governed us in the past.
Are you talking of the same civil servants, some of which ‘pad’ budgets and entrench ‘ghost’ worker policies?
I would believe that the best for an administrator should have been not to rely on one-sided information. A good administrator should be able to un-earth, other sources of information and weigh their credibility, whether palatable or not!
For instance, the Minister of transport by now could have been briefed on daily basis, by the agencies under his supervision. But, we know by common sense, that there is no agency that would come out and directly indict itself.
They would rather, pass the buck.
Yet, the Minister has taken a position: ‘No, if your concession is this, then you cannot change it’. He said that to LADOL. That’s one. And another one: ‘oh’ all you Maritime Reporters must merge and become one!’
He has not taken his time, to pocket the advice of the Ministry Officials, and sound out the views and opinions of the individual critical stakeholders! He is supposed to hear them, one by one! Don’t you think that would have enabled him to understand how we actually arrived at this present position? At least, before he draws conclusions? As a Minister of the Federal Republic, who is a member of the Federal Executive Council, he should not be drawing any inferences that may appear to be antagonistic to the provisions of the constitution.
Which Part of the Constitution?
The part that guarantees the Freedom of Association; the freedom for you to seek your daily bread; and the freedom for you to express yourself! Forcing journalists to come together is a gagging of the press! You may as well force all the states of Nigeria, to come together and be one! You may as well, task all the political parties to be one! You may as well ask all the Newspapers in Nigeria to collapse into one!
Even then, is it practicable? And if it is practicable, is it also laudable? I would have thought that a free media would enable the Minister gain the confidence of the reading public. I strongly believe there is a disjoint somewhere. Our Minister is not properly being briefed! And that is the problem we are having!
He cannot in isolation of the contribution of the stakeholders, start taking them on, one by one. He is saying ‘All terminal operators must pay their monies in dollars’. But that is at variance with what the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor is saying: that any local transactions and exchange in Dollars is illegal!
Doesn’t that imply that if the Nigerian Port Authority (NPA) has been charging in Dollars, we should also ask, if the TSA was also running its own Dollar and Naira Account? Shouldn’t we find this out?
I want to believe that the Federal Government should want to earn its Dollars via external trading or transactions.
Besides, there is no free Dollars with the CBN, hat it can give the concessionaires, to pay the NPA in Dollars. Are we saying the terminal operators should now go to the Black market, ignite another forex speculations and buy their Dollars, so as to pay the NPA? Are we trying to punish them for their genuine interest to invest and operate in Nigeria?
Even if foreign investors roll $500m into the Nigerian economy, shouldn’t he be able to trade and transact business in our local currency so as to enhance the value of the Naira?
I think, some of the faux pax coming from the Minister, to me, makes it look as if, all the new Government is doing is ‘trial and error’!
As for the Ministry of Finance, we can’t even know yet, whether or not, she is actually in charge of Finance.
We know we are given license by Customs, whose supervisory Ministry is the Minister of Finance. We don’t have any proclamation or law that has put the Customs service on autonomy. I am yet to find or read such pronouncement issued, affecting our professional trade.
Is it not possible that the Customs Service has become autonomous, and the Ministry of Finance is yet to make this public?
I won’t call it that. The proclamation should have been done as at the time. Besides, there is no arm in Nigeria today that is autonomous. Somebody has to report to somebody. Even if the army reports directly to Mr President, it would not make them autonomous. It would not make the army by-pass the Minister of Defence.
The media believes Col. Hameed Ali (rtd) does not reports to the Minister of Finance and …
I wouldn’t know what Ali’s brief is. But I know the President has the powers to ask to demand that any Reporting from any Head of Agency be to Him, directly. Don’t forget that before Ali, though the Customs was still under the Ministry of Finance; yet Customs Service reported directly, to the President. We know that period.
So, if Col. Ali can handle sacking of high ranking Customs officers, as well as the promotion of new ones, even though he has not done any recruitment yet; but he is doing postings, without any recourse to the Board, as it is provided for in the Customs and Excise management Act (CEMA), then you should know, we are probably using the quasi-military approach, to solve hydra- headed problems.
If it were to adopt the democratic approach,then,the National Assembly must first tinker with that part of the CEMA that gives procedure on how employment, discipline, promotions, termination, must be done; which is in line with the CEMA ;and which also would be in line, as through the Board.
But then, do we have any Board now? We do not have any Board now. We only have a Comptroller General of Customs (CGC) who is an administrator. But then, the President has the power to simply choose an Administrator in charge of a place that is covered by the Act. May be, the powers of the President, he has now delegated to the CGC; and Ali is actually trying to exercise it.
And are we not directly breaking protocols here?
Who create protocols? Protocols may be created by the system. But every protocol is adjustable….
Industry Watchers may think it has to do with an underlying military bias. But then, don’t also forget that while we may not be undermining the military regime, the President has the final say!
Let’s go back to Amechi. Some industry watchers see him as a war lord who is seeking for who to take on, in a bull fight. Can you remind us of your experience when the Minister recently invited your Association to Abuja?
Well, the Minister invited us to Abuja, over allegations that we are collecting illegal monies. We were so happy to go and visit him, with all the necessary documents. But on arrival in his office, we were told, ‘Sorry, the Minister cannot see you today. He is in Lagos attending to critical issues’!
O tio!
Meanwhile, we had left Lagos to come to Abuja, on his invitation! So, we decided to see the Permanent Secretary. But again, the Ministry officials said the Perm. Sec. was also not available.
In the meantime, the Minister was in Lagos, indicting us for what he actually instructed us to come over to Abuja to come and explain to him! He directly denied us the opportunity to see him in Abuja to explain things to him! Now how do you find that?
I should like to use this opportunity now, to plead with the Federal Government functionaries not to embark on measures that could cost this administration, the massive goodwill they are currently enjoying from the populace, especially the critical stakeholders like us, who strongly believe in their cause!
But if Government functionaries have to be doing everything, as if it is trial and error, then it may not be in anyone’s best interest.
The same rights I have, to be doing the business I am legitimately doing now, is the same right I have to say, I am packing it up and I am not doing the business again. Coercion would not take us to any remarkable distance. If there are issues pertaining to our sector, within the Maritime Industry, that the three previous Ministers had stepped into, tried to adjudicate and discovered that there were legal angles to it: and there were cases in court; and a Minister thinks that by fiat, threats and ultimatum he can change it, even against the status quo of a Judge declaration, then to me, it would seem as if we are already inching away from democracy!
As a student of Democracy and Governance, we know how it obtains elsewhere. We also know how easy a democracy may gravitate into autocracy! And I pray we will not ever come up to that!
Nigerians don’t have any other hope, other than that this Government must succeed. But the Government can only succeed better, if it carries the people along.
Mr President has done well. He bluntly told Nigerians we should prepare to suffer in order to achieve and move the country forward. He said it last year. And you can see by some of the actions he has personally taken, are soundly commendable. He has axed 41 items from the list of those that may be imported via scarce forex. It is good. Everyone knows we actually don’t need them. And even if we do, for God’s sake, we can always create alternative here…!
(TO BE CONTINUED…!)
