Category: Transportation

Frequent accidents on the waterways have continued to put a wedge on the activities of the regulatory agencies to grow the transportation sub-sector to its full potential, writes ADEYINKA ADERIBIGBE

Travelling on Nigeria’s waterways whether for leisure or business can be fun, yet very scary. More for the latter, waterways transportation, despite its huge prospects, have remained stunted compared to the other two modes of transportation – air and land.

Statistics showed that despite its over 10,000 kms of inland waterways, Nigeria has the least developed waterway transportation with only 3,000 kms navigable and viable. Arguably, at its best, Nigeria’s waterways are globally acknowledged as the most unsafe.

While nations have continued to innovate and improve commuters’ travel experience building adjunct economy around their waterways, Nigeria has only negative and fatality reports year- on-year to show for its massive inland water network which traverses over 20 of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Experts said this speaks to the scant attention the sub-sector have continued to get from regulators against the sharp practices of operators whose mindless operations continued to imperil the sub-sector.

Yearly, scary figures continued to tumble out of the waterways of the numbers of deaths lost to shoddy operators. Just last week, an accident was recorded in Lagos State, where a boat carrying 17 passengers capsized when its hull hit an underwater obstacle around Ikorodu. The incident left one dead, though 16 other passengers were rescued alive. The rescue was led by the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) and the Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA), along with other collaborators.

NIWA’s Lagos Area Manager, Engr. Sarat Lara Braimah, who confirmed the incident said the boat named TEMI 3 Global had left from CMS Ferry Terminal at  16:35hours for Ikorodu.

In July, last year, eight passengers died in a boat mishap in Ikorodu; the following month, in another boat mishap, in the Kirikiri area, near Apapa, no fewer than 13 persons died, less than 24 hours after 18 people cheated death in two boat accidents on Victoria Island.

The situation was not different in Kebbi State. In July, last year, a boat sunk killing over 168 passengers on board. The ill-fated boat was said to be carrying traders returning from a nearby market after the day’s trading.

Chairman, Kebbi State Emergency Management Agency, Sani Dododo, said only 22 passengers were rescued alive shortly after the incident and not a single person thereafter.

Among the dead, according to Sanni, was a baby of less than a year.

Early last month, 30 people allegedly drowned, when an overloaded boat capsized in Niger State. This was just as the nation was getting relieved from the July, last year incident, when a boat ferrying 100 traders broke into two after hitting a stump during a storm, which occurred as the traders were returning from the market.

In the same month, about 28 passengers were feared dead when their overcrowded boat capsized in Benue State following heavy rainfall.

Boat accidents are common features in Nigeria, prevalent along River Niger and Lagos. Causes also range from human to mechanical errors of the vessels, and natural causes. Among such causes which fell between human and mechanical errors are overloading, poor, no, or none use of life jackets, over-speeding, poor navigational skills, poor condition of boats, and floating debris or underwater obstacles.

A safety expert, Patrick Adenusi, observed that the trend in the last one decade is a litany of deaths on the nation’s waterways. “It is very scary nowadays to travel on the waterways in Nigeria as death seemed to be on the prowl, just as the fear of abduction and attacks from pirates persist,” Adenusi, founder, Safety Without Borders, said.

He added: “It is disturbing that the causes of waterways accidents are repeatedly common, requiring government’s intervention to avert them. He asked the government at the federal and state levels to collaborate rather than antagonise each other in the war to reversing the ugly trend which has led to a huge loss in terms of human and material resources.”

He explained that despite her rich water resources, the country is known more for unsafe waterways than for breakthroughs by marine technology that can boost waterways transportation by local engineers and architects or shipbuilding, marine efficiency, shipwreck removal and recycling.

He said the growing statistics of fatalities on the waterways, put at over 350 between last year and this year, is not only scary to local or foreign investors, but have also culminated in the low patronage recorded in the sub-sector with passenger count on a a downward spiral.

Adenusi, however, challenged NIWA and other state actors to not be overwhelmed by the challenge but turn it round to develop a vibrant waterway to  stimulate the economy.

Another stakeholder and boat operator Ganiu Balogun (Tarzan) said waterways have extremely high potential for freight and passenger traffic.

Balogun, a boat builder, who is the National President of Association of Tourist Boats and Water Transporters of Nigeria (ATBOWATON), urged the Federal Government not to abandon the inland waterways but to give it the same attention being given to the railway sub-sector of land transportation as all modes of transportation must be addressed.

NIWA Managing Director Dr George Moghalu said despite the hazards, the agency, in collaboration with its stakeholders, especially state actors, are committed to riding the waterways of accidents. He said all hands were on deck to make the waterways hot for any operator who is not interested to ply by the rules.

To underscore this commitment, Moghalu said NIWA has procured 20 patrol vessels to cover her areas of operations, with three brought to Lagos to give more bite to its 24-hour patrol of inland waterways to snuff out sharp operators.

This Moghalu have also inaugurated a Joint Task Force on Inland Waterways Safety to enforce safety protocols on Lagos waterways and other area offices in the country.

The Task Force comprises officials from NIWA, Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA), Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), Association of Tourist Boats and Water Transporters of Nigeria (ATBOWATON) and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

He blamed night trips for 90 percent of all boat mishaps on inland waterways, lamenting why operators whose vessels does not have night navigational lights would continue to flout safety directives. Besides, operators are also known to always overload their boats, while some operates on the waters without life jackets.

Moghalu said: “Another issue that has been bothering us has to do with night boat trips. Our directive is clear; boats should not ply the waterways once it is 6:30 pm. The taskforce will ensure total compliance on our waterways, just as our patrol boats will be combing the Lagos inland waterways on a 24-hour basis to apprehend operators who default on these safety rules henceforth.”

He also restated commitment to the evacuation of all shipwrecks and other floating obstacles from the waterways adding that more than ever before, NIWA and its partners are committed to the safety and security of all Nigerians on the waterways.

As part of sustaining the war against indiscipline on the waterways, NIWA said it would begin online registration of all boat operators on January 1, 2022. The technology driven initiative it was gathered was for easy identification of all operators – whether micro, small, medium or big, by security agents especially the JTF.

According to the Managing Director, the authority was spurred by the need to impose discipline in the operation of boats, vessels, barges and other crafts operating on the nation’s inland waterways.

He said the agency is determined to stamp out the activities of illicit boat drivers, noting that over the years, disgruntled elements had infiltrated the ranks of the genuine operators leading to several unnecessary accidents and deaths across the country.

“The task force will enforce the protocols across all other jetties. They have the mandate to seize any vessel that violates our rules and regulations.”

The NIWA chief noted that with acquisition of the patrol boats and the inauguration of the task force, the agency will free Lagos state and its environs from the menace of the untrained boat operators

The mandate of the task force, includes but not limited to check mating activities of the boat drivers, no over loading and over speeding to reduce accident, ensure that there is no night and early morning movement and usage of live jackets by both the drivers and passengers among others.

Addressing the issues of safety, LASWA’s General Manager Mr. Oluwadamilola Emmanuel said the agency has remained committed to riding the waterways of saboteurs.

He said LASWA’s free life jacket initiative was aimed at ensuring that all operators have functional life jackets adding that it is criminal to operate any vessel on the waterways in the state without a jacket. He said LASWA would continue to collaborate with NIWA and other stakeholders in the efforts to make the waterways attractive to new investors adding that the waterways like the road, is so capital intensive and requires constant funding to ensure the gains of the past are not eroded.

On the achievements of LASWA, Emmanuel said the agency in partnership with a private firm to introduce a hailing app which now makes commuting on the waterways much easier with the presence of water taxis on the waterways.

He said: “The launch of this app is another demonstration of the commitment to this government to maximise the opportunities in waterways transportation and to deliver on best practices that are capable of making the waterways more attractive to all classes of users.”

Emmanuel said as an agency, LASWA is committed to driving a well organised and properly regulated sub-sector of transportation, while making the waterways safer and cleaner for operators.

Bolt, the leading ride-hailing and mobility platform, has raised €600 million in a funding round that increases its valuation to over €4 billion.

The funds will boost its new 15-minute grocery delivery service and to accelerate the expansion of its existing mobility and delivery products.

Sequoia Capital has backed the company as part of the round alongside other new investors Tekne and Ghisallo.

Existing backers also participated including G Squared, D1 Capital and Naya.

Markus Villig, CEO at Bolt, said: “Bolt’s mission is to make urban travel affordable and sustainable. We are building a future where people are not forced to buy cars that cause traffic and pollution but use on-demand transport when they actually need it.

“After seven years of relentless execution, Bolt’s mobility and delivery products offer a better alternative to almost every use case a car serves.

“I’m thrilled to bring these products to millions of customers around Europe and Africa, taking the emphasis off cars and giving cities back to the people.”

READ ALSO: Bolt launches early cashout option

Femi Akin-Laguda, Country Manager, Bolt Nigeria, added: “We remain committed to simplifying mobility and providing the best value for our customers in more than 25 cities in Nigeria.

“Bolt will continue building solutions that alleviate everyday mobility challenges with our safe and affordable services while we also remain committed to providing market leading earnings for our drivers.

“With this investment, we will keep introducing effective solutions, features and products that are important to all our customers while having a positive socio-economic impact on the economy.”

Andrew Reed, partner at Sequoia, said: “Bolt is redefining urban transportation in much of the world. Markus is a driven founder who has built an operationally excellent business spanning Europe and Africa and a mission-driven culture that forms the foundation of an enduring company. Bolt helps customers, cities, and the environment. We’re delighted to partner with them.”

Bolt has experienced hypergrowth in the past year — the company has grown to 75 million customers globally.

The ride-hailing company currently operates across seven African countries, providing earning opportunities for over 400,000 drivers in over 70 cities across the continent.

By Akpan Peters

The Managing Director of Lagos Deep Offshore Logistics (LADOL), Dr. Amy Jadesimi had in one of her numerous interviews promised that her company must exceed international standards as operator of the LADOL free zone.

However, many believe the contrary is the case as the company is sadly developing a reputation for hostility towards international businesses.

Nigeria has continued to lose multi-billion dollar potential investments in the zone due to its unending threats to foreign investors.

LADOL, which is perhaps, the most strategically located free zone, has earned a notorious reputation for negative publicity due to the apparent inability of the zone managers to court investors and put their house in order.

At the last count, the zone was characterised by no fewer than eight litigations in Nigeria and abroad, including arbitrations in the United Kingdom.

This has scared potential investors and stalled ongoing investments by foreign investors operating in the zone to make Nigeria a hub of oil and gas business in sub-Saharan Africa, while the Nigerian Government has made all efforts to resolve the various issues.

The implication is that while the zone managers have continued to lay claim to large expanse of underdeveloped land, there is a consensus of opinion among operators that they have demonstrated lack of ability to attract foreign investors to utilise the opportunities at the zone.

The wider implication is that the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), which is the land owner, and indeed, the federal government has continued to lose revenues due to the inability of zone operators to attract investments.

The Nigerian economy, which is the worst-affected, has also continued to lose opportunities to generate employment and grow the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

In the greater part of the past one decade, the name ‘LADOL’ has become synonymous with crisis and negative publicity as the zone managers have continued to be on the news for the wrong reasons.

Despite the intervention of the various government agencies, LADOL’s reputation of non-tolerance for competition has continued to pit it against foreign investors, forcing a US company previously located in the zone to exit Nigeria.

The zone managers have been accused of effectively deploying lockouts, cancellation of operating licence, excessive charges and frivolous litigations as tools to frustrate investors out of the zone.

Indeed, for more than 20 years of operating the free zone, only about six hectares of the underdeveloped land was able to host tangible investments out of 76 hectares, while the rest remains largely empty land. Other investments for which they have claimed to have spent millions of dollars are only visible on the pages of newspapers, and not at the free zone.

Regulators are also said to be probing the zone managers’ indigenous

status claim following the allegation that the two foreign companies that allegedly own the 84 per cent stake in LADOL – Sable Offshore Investment Limited, and Alsba Ventures, were allegedly registered in the British Virgin Island.

It is also well known all over the world that British Virgin Island is a tax haven where companies do not pay tax while it earned revenue of over $100million through exclusive services in the Free zone during the development of the Egina project.

These companies are shell companies and regulators and anti-corruption agencies in most countries have had cause to probe the business activities of these companies.

The zone managers once claimed that the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) supported it with $25million from the Nigerian Content Fund, while the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) supported it with N6.09billion facility. It was not clear what the loans were meant for but it is very clear is that the opportunities and benefits LADOL have enjoyed are clearly meant for Nigerian companies.

Many Local entities struggle to raise such loans to stimulate the Nigerian economy, thus LADOL was also privileged to be among the companies that used indigenous status to access the federal government’s Nigerian Content Intervention Fund but how the fund was utilised is known to it.

Sadly, the company has refused to use the privileges it has enjoyed under the Nigerian Content Act to help create job opportunities for Nigerians by partnering foreign companies in a win-win situation.

Also, very recently, the zone managers went to town with the news that the federal government has granted them a fresh 25-year lease, a development, which oil and gas operators and maritime experts described as “rewarding failures”.

The free zone managers, rather than build partnerships and alliances to attract investors, were said to have focused on signing memorandum of understanding (MoUs) with portfolio investors, while engaging reputable and credible investors in unnecessary fights and frivolous litigations.

Apart from frustrating investors, the zone managers were also accused by the NPA of violating the terms of their lease and shortchanging the federal government.

Before NPA cancelled its lease, the regulator had accused the zone managers of shortchanging the federal government to the tune of N16 billion, an allegation they vehemently denied.

The federal government agencies were also said to be investigating the legality of its jetty, following an allegation that it was not dully licensed.

However, the alleged violation of the terms of the lease did not go unnoticed as the NPA wielded the big stick in 2019 by revoking its lease as widely reported in the media.

NPA, however, granted a fresh lease under new terms to the zone managers for 5.7574 hectares of developed land and 69, 2874 hectares of undeveloped land.

This fueled a dispute, which is currently a subject of litigation.

No investor will put its money in an environment characterized by unending crisis, litigations and negative publicity, which the zone has come to represent.

Even the few investors that kept faith with Nigeria were said to be facing excessive charges and other acts of hostility by the free zone managers

For instance, an American pipe-coating company, Africcoat was forced to exit Nigeria by operators of the zone.

While other free zones nationwide are championing the struggle to woo investors, the operating environment at the zone is characterised by open hostility against investors.

The investors’ woes were compounded in April 2019 when an officer of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Mr. Innocent Oshemi, guarding the zone, went berserk and shot and killed a fellow NSCDC officer and wounded a Korean staff, working at the fabrication and integration yard in the free zone.

The armed security guard was said to have acted out of control around the SHI-MCI yard, killing his colleague during an argument, and shooting a Korean SHI-MCI employee operating a crane within the yard at the time.

The incident not only scared away any actual or potential investors but also dealt a great blow to trade between Nigeria and South Korea.

To end this unending crisis, stakeholders in Nigeria’s maritime industry had reportedly stressed the need for the federal government to liberalise the LADOL Free Zone in Lagos by licensing many free zone operators to take charge of the zone so as to break the chain of monopoly that had hindered the development of the around 114.5 hectares of land in the zone.

They urged the federal government to split the zone into many free zones and license other managers to utilise the investment opportunities abundant at the zone.

Some of the stakeholders argued that the purpose of setting up the free zones (FZs) by the federal government was to attract foreign direct investment (FDI), generate employment, encourage transfer of technical skills to Nigerians and boost the country’s economy.

They lamented that rather than attract investments, the LADOL free zone has been enmeshed in controversies in recent years, adding that such controversies scare reputable investors.

They cited what they described as multiple litigations between the investors and the zone managers and NPA’s allegation as some of the challenges hindering investments at the zone.

They have also argued that the around 114.5 hectares of land is too big to be managed by the zone management company – Global Resource Management Free Zone Company (GRMFZC).

According to the analysts, the zone operators’ continued stranglehold on 114.5 hectares of land at Tarkwa Bay in Lagos has hampered the federal government’s efforts to attract investors to the Free Zone.

They noted that for over 20 years that LADOL has been managing the zone, a large chunk of the land has remained undeveloped because of the operators’ apparent lack of capacity to form alliances with local and foreign investors to boost developments at the FZ.

They also argued that the overlapping and conflicting roles of LADOL have resulted in exorbitant charges that scared away investors, thus defeating the government’s objective of making the FZ an investment hub.

A Warri-based oil and gas analyst, Mr. Nelson Okon had once pointed out that as the agent of regulator (NPA), LADOL also exercises governmental and regulatory powers over all free zone enterprises within the zone.

“It is evident that this monopolistic tendency has frustrated the free zone operators’ crucial role of attracting investors as they now focused on pursuing their pecuniary benefits at the detriment of the foreign and local investors in the zone and the Nigerian economy,” Okon added.

….Peters, a Nigerian content analyst, writes from Warri, Delta State

By John Ofikhenua, Abuja

The Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) has cautioned the Federal Government and National Assembly not to use the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) to pave the way for Dangote Petroleum Refinery to monopolise importation of the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) petrol.

NARTO noted since the essence of the bill is to create room for competition, restricting petroleum products importation licence to only local refiners will against that.

These were contained in a statement by its National President, Alhaji Yusuf Lawal Othman in Abuja.

NARTO said: “As the nation is now intensifying efforts to make our refineries work, we are seriously taken aback by the provision in the bill restricting importation license to only local refiners.

READ ALSO: NARTO protests against ‘extortion’

“All hands should be put on deck to ensure that PIB does not monopolise the importation of PMS as currently provided in the bill.

“Since one of the major reasons for the PIB is to ensure that there is competition in the downstream oil and gas industry, any provision to the contrary will make waste of all our collective efforts in that regard.”

NARTO advocated that the PIB provides adequate encouragement and incentives to International Oil Companies and indigenous producers to invest in the refining sector of the oil and gas industry.

According to the association, the incentives will help in bringing in the much-needed investments in domestic refining.

It said: “As the two chambers of the National Assembly meet to harmonise their positions, we earnestly plead that these issues be taken on board as they would rather enhance in the possibility of harnessing the full benefits and potentials of the bill to enable it meet the yearnings and aspirations of Nigerians.”

By Ibrahim Adams

Nigeria’s leading logistics service provider, GIG Logistics (GIGL), is digging deeper into Nigeria’s northern markets in spite of what many business watchers see as an uncertain investment climate.

It announced over the weekend a network expansion to five Northern states in the country. The growth sees the launch of new experience centres in Yola, Zamfara, Sokoto, Jalingo and Kebbi states.

This would not be the first of such daring investment moves. A bullish mentality has seen GIGL build a rapidly growing network of experience centres totalling over 133 locations in Nigeria, Africa and the United States of America.

With a business model built and driven essentially by technology, the company supports social commerce , e-commerce and other enterprises by providing innovative delivery solutions to domestic and international destinations.

GIGL’s top executives continue to maintain that they see limitless opportunities in the Nigerian market and that in spite of perceived volatilities, the parameters hold bright prospects for investors who are not averse to risk-taking.

Speaking on the development, Dafe Ojonah, Head of Expansion & Growth at GIGL, said: “The northern experience centres represent a strategic need-meet for us and our customers; they further drive home our commitment to providing easily accessible logistics services to businesses and individuals.

“For us, it is more than just business expansion, it has always been our core focus to empower businesses by creating avenues that support ease of service offerings to their existing and potential customers in Nigeria, Africa and the world at large. This is what we daily strive to achieve by being one of major linkages between B2B and B2C relationships, offering easily accessible core logistics services to all.

“Leveraging on our global network and professional services expertise, these experience centres will enable us create a cohesive service network and further strengthen our capabilities in this region.”

GIGL experience centres also create a channel for businesses to transact without barriers and meet the needs of both potential and existing clients whilst reaching new markets, the company stated, noting “It is not just about local deliveries, as we also ship overseas from all locations nationwide to over 230 countries worldwide through our outbound shipping channels”.

Ocholi Etu, GIGL Director of Operations, expressed elation at the launch of the new experience centres, saying that they would significantly contribute to bridging the regional and national logistics infrastructure gap in the country.

He pledged superior service delivery on the part of GIGL, adding that technology and innovation would continue to form the bedrock of the company’s operations in the digital age.

Etu said: “We are focused on creating the best experience for our partners, be they individuals, small businesses or large corporations; and that is why technology is at the centre of all that we do.”

Top luxury automobile company, Still Autos Limited has rolled out some new innovations to woo customers by offering a chance to trade their old cars for new ones.

Chief Executive Officer of the company, Chief Issa Adebayo announced this.

According to him:“ You don’t have to look for so much money to buy a new car. You can sell your old one or trade it for another. At Still Autos we take the stress upon ourselves to look for who would want to trade a car with you. We have a car buying crowd to achieve this.

” Many Nigerians don’t know that this is a possibility. It is a new innovation we know many Nigerians would embrace because they love to change their cars regularly, but the economic reality may be a hindrance to achieve this.”

The CEO also explained why their company is on top of the ladder and sustain a huge customer base.

“The prices we offer are the very last we can go, this makes a lot of clients stay glued to us. We do a return for a new purchase offer whereby if you buy a car from us and in the future you want a new car , you can trade the car and add more money to get a new one.

“We only sell good running cars that will make our clients keep referring us to people and make them all keep coming back,” he stated.

Reacting to the question of luxury cars being more marketable than regular cars, he posited that regular cars move faster in the market

“Common regular cars move faster in the market because many people can afford them. Because these common cars can almost be found at every car lot, the price discrepancies are minimal. On the other hand, luxury cars don’t move that fast but they are more profitable,” he explained

He also pointed out why he went into the automobile business, asserting that it is a lucrative business from which he has never had any regrets.

“I see how eager many people are to change their old cars as they see it as a new phase of life and I thought to myself I could be a big help in this regard, that by pampering themselves with a new ride it would be a very good business for me,” he noted.