The Nigeria Shippers’ Council (NSC) rallied all stakeholders to resolve the Apapa Port conundrum. ADEYINKA ADERIBIGBE, who was at the meeting, writes.
Perhaps Mr Frank Aigbogun, publisher of BusinessDay, had intended to quietly observe the stakeholders’ forum called at the instance of the Nigeria Shippers’ Council (NSC) penultimate week. But when he was invited to give the media side of the conundrum, he left a splatter that shaped the rest of the debate, challenging all to rise in finding a solution to the national embarrassment at the nation’s busiest port.
Aigbogun narrated how shortly before Christmas, he had signed a cheque of N690,000 to carry a 40ft container of newsprint from the Apapa port to his Apapa office.
He said: “I signed a cheque last week (shortly before Christmas), to take three containers of our newsprint and each trailer was N690,000. It was like taking my blood and I am asking myself where do the monies go to? When we started business in Apapa, we were paying at worst N40,000 to bring a container, it rose to N100,000 and now N690,000 for one container. Who is sharing the money? I think we can solve the problem in Apapa. We solved it in September 2019, why can’t we solve it now? Why should we allow this mess to continue?” Participants at the Rockview Hotel Hall, venue of the event were stunned, but he was not done.
For Aigbogun, not only was doing business becoming increasingly difficult, even living, is. He revealed that he had abandoned his house in Apapa.
“These days, it is almost a nightmare coming into or leaving Apapa. Often, my members of staff had asked me to turn back or not to come to the office at all, due to the gridlock. I have lost many members of staff, who resigned because the traffic is telling on their health.
Describing Apapa as the nation’s shame, Aigbogun said: “It is time we all agreed that enough is enough. Let all those who are, or have contributed to turning Apapa on its head be ashamed of themselves, and let all of us repent and decide to make Apapa work again.” Aigbogun’s revelation poignantly pointed at the malady that the Apapa ports – whether the Apapa Wharf, the Tin Can Island Port or the Roll on Roll Off (RORO) have all become.
It was not only Aigbogun that felt the urgency to rewrite the narratives on Apapa. The Executive Vice- Chairman of the Presidential Task Team on Restoration of Order on all access roads and Port Area Comrade Kayode Opeifa feels the same.
He and all at the event believed some people are benefitting from the confusion and these profiteers won’t stop unless there is a concerted effort by all stakeholders to crush it.
Opeifa’s team confronted this truth when he moved to Apapa on May 22. He described the endemic situation at Apapa as “a huge cesspool of organised confusion.”
The Task Team originally had a very short time frame – three weeks. But as at the time Opeifa was briefing residents and other stakeholders on January 15, the Task Team he heads had stayed nine months, with all indicators of its successes heading southwards.
Opeifa aided by a truckload of videos and photo evidences of various sections of Apapa since he assumed the role in May showed all what his team has been confronting. He asserted that the PTT was recording huge successes until September 2019. “As at September, we were even contemplating moving out of Apapa to allow other government agencies consolidate on our successes,” Opeifa said.
The Presidential directive setting up the Task Team among others mandated it to: – ensure the immediate removal of all trucks from the bridges and roads within Apapa and all adjoining streets leading into the Apapa axis and the development of an efficient and effective management plan for the entire port area traffic, including the cargo, fuel distribution and business district traffic.
The PTT, according to Opeifa, is to enforce the permanent removal of all trucks stationary on the highway, develop an effective manual truck call-up system, pending the introduction of the electronic truck call-up system, develop and implement a workable empty container return and export container truck handling policy, amongst others.
It was also mandated to remove all extortionist and illegal traffic control groups around Port operations.
To facilitate its success, the President also mandated the PTT to ensure all trucks and tanker operators vacate the port access roads within 72 hours, and the immediate withdrawal of all Nigerian Navy and other military formations from traffic management in and around the Apapa axis, dismantle military and paramilitary checkpoints in front of the ports and its environs.
President Muhammadu Buhari also authorised the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), as the lead traffic management agency in Apapa and ordered NPA to commence the immediate use of the Lilypond Terminal and Trailer Park A as a truck transit parks.
Giving his progress report on these mandates to stakeholders, Opeifa, said while the Navy and military authorities largely complied with the directive of the Commander-in-Chief, isolated cases of compromises still abound from the rank and file, mostly at night.
However, military and paramilitary checkpoints in front of the port area and its environs have refused to comply with the presidential order, with the Nigerian Custom Services (NCS) and Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) still maintaining check points along Wharf Road, especially opposite Area B Police Command.
LASTMA’s effort to move in as the lead traffic management agency have been resisted with its officers physically attacked, adding that two LASTMA officers and a policeman have lost their lives since the exercise began.
Opeifa reported that the PTT enjoyed the cooperation of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), with the opening of Lilypond, for the staging of trucks while waiting for the manula call up designed by the team.
To evacuate the trucks from the bridges and the port access roads, the PTT approved 40 nominated parks outside Apapa to serve as Temporary Truck Parks (TTP), while it developed a time schedule for all categories of transportation needs of the Apapa Port access roads, providing that all flat beds have easy access to the ports while trucks servicing manufacturing companies move in before 10:00 a.m., while other classes of trucks entering have schedules largely controlled by the call-up system by all the terminal operators.
The mandate according to Opeifa was largely successful, until sponsored protests dipped the gains, discrediting the entire restoration operations.
To ease the pressure NPA Lilypond Truck Transit Park (LTTP) managers worked extra hard to decongest the park, until October 24, when hoodlums, resisting restoration clean ups by the Lagos state Taskforce on Environmental and Miscellaneous Offences attacked Lilypond. The LTTP is yet to recover from the effect of that attack. It is currently operating at just about 5% of its capacity.
Opeifa traced the crisis in Apapa since October to the shutting of Lilypond, urging a return of Lilypond to its pre-October status.
On the restoration of law and order, Opeifa reported that law and order has been fully restored in Apapa Wharf, Lagos Badagry-Iganmu and the Ijora axis, as well as on the Mile 2 to Tin Can Port Gate.
Opeifa believed that to defeat corruption that is fighting back at the PTT achievements, the LTTP, and call up system designed by all stakeholders must work.
The Apapa Ports Manager for the NPA Mrs Funmilayo Olotun, agreed with Opeifa. She said the gains of the PTT’s intervention is being reversed by complicit officials of Nigerian Navy and other paramilitary officials who directly aid flouting of laid down rules by truck drivers.
She said it is common to see trucks moving into Apapa aided by armed military officials, saying that for Apapa to work, there must be concerted effort to end the menace.
“What is going on at Apapa is a shame to Nigerians and we must be desperate to wipe it out,” Olotun said.
The Apapa Port chief also urged the Nigeria Customs Service to rejig its operations by ensuring that when trucks with contrabound goods are impounded and the offenders prosecuted, it does not protect its officers who had approved the cargo to leave the port gates.
She assured the Shippers’ Council of the NPA readiness led by its Managing Director Hadiza Ahmed to co-operate with other federal and state government agencies and other stakeholders to make Apapa work.
The Customs Service represented by Danladi Muazu commended the Nigeria Shppers’ Council for the stakeholders initiative. He said the NSC Comptroller-General is committed to ensuring that the bad eggs within its operations are weeded out.
Representative of the Manufacturers’ Association of Nigeria (MAN) Chief Frank Nyiaogu lamented that many of its members are currently operating below installed capacity and some have outrightly closed shop due to the unfavourable environment, especially at the port.
Chief Sam Agu, who spoke on behalf of the NSC praised the PTT. According to him, the stakeholders’ forum was called by the shippers council to come up with solutions to the lingering challenges at Apapa, even as he said that attempts are being made to commit stakeholders to effecting changes that would make the port devoid of unwholesome practices.
He advocated among others the return of full operationalisation of Lilypond and Tin Can truck terminals.
Akin Onole, Managing Director of GDNL, one of the terminal operators said Apapa as presently constituted is a human crisis and its solution also lies with all agreeing to make it possible.
He said: “If Apapa works, we are all winners, but as it is today, we are all victims. For Apapa to work, all hands must be on deck. There is need for better coordination and co-operation among the task team, the NPA, the shippers council and all other stakeholders.
Femi Olawore a major fish importer said the Apapa traffic congestion has been a major challenge to him and most of his colleagues in the fishmongers business. He wants the NPA and the task Team to continue to work at sanitising traffic management at Apapa.
While Opeifa would want all stakeholders to see Apapa as a wheel where all must fully be committed to make it work, the Chairman of the Apapa GRA Residents’ Association Brig-Gen Ayo Vaughan (rtd) echoed Aigbogun’s agony.
He said he was sent to the summit to make just one plea; “help us return Apapa’s glory.”
Most of us have suffered and have continued to suffer the agony of living here. Many of us retirees have lost our means of livelihoods. At old age, many have had to leave their homes to become tenants in other parts of Lagos. For how long shall these continue?”
That was a question all stakeholders at the summit left unanswered.
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