The Chairman, Seaport Terminal Operators Association of Nigeria, Vicky Haastrup, has observed that Nigeria’s cargo clearing process is still primitive when it comes to the issue of trading across the border.
She stated this at the 2018 Multimodal West Africa International Transport, Logistics and Supply Chain Management exhibition organised by the Chartered Institute of Logistics of Transport, Nigeria and Clarion Events.
According to her, most of the sub-indices used by the World Bank to measure the Ease of Doing Business in 190 countries of the world are still begging for government’s attention in Nigeria.
She said, “On trading across borders, our cargo clearing processes are still primitive. Customs checks are duplicated, manual and too laborious. There are also too many government agencies involved in cargo examination at the port and land border posts. All of these slow down trade and add to the cost of doing business.
“The Ease of Doing Business ranking of a country is based on 10 sub-indices which include starting a business; dealing with construction permits; getting electricity; registering property, and getting credit.
“Others are protecting investors; paying taxes; trading across borders; enforcing contracts; and resolving insolvency. A cursory appraisal of Nigeria’s operating environment reveals a yawning gap in some of the sub-indices.”
Haastrup maintained that Nigeria is a country with enormous human and material resources with a youthful, teeming population of over 180 million, adding, “Under the right leadership, the economic successes recorded by a country like Singapore will fade in significance when compared to Nigeria.”
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