By Chinyere Aruogu
Former managing director of Nigeria Shippers Council, Dr. Kingsley Usoh, says quackery is the bane of clearing and forwarding business in the country.
However, he thinks with good education, most of those involved in the clearing and forwarding business in Nigeria could do better and even compete with their contemporaries anywhere in the world.
Usoh who spoke to a select reporters recently in Lagos also said government has a lot to do to ensure that clearing and forwarding business is done appropriately in the country.
Usoh said: “Here in Nigeria, anybody sacked from his job ends up a clearing agent, anybody who leaves his village and finds his way to the Port calls himself a Clearing Agent because they think it is where to undercut the government and the owner of the goods. So many of these clearing agents come and tell you that Customs said this or that; they want us to pay this or that amount of money. Customs did not say any of these. That is corruption and immediately you allow it, it sticks. I am not saying that Customs is innocent. In those days, you had well trained Customs officers but today some of them do not even know what you are talking about. They think Customs is where to go and collect huge money.”
Using himself as a practical example, he noted: “I went to school to learn the procedures but today you have people that call themselves clearing agents. All they know is this is the amount. Anybody who wants to become a clearing agent should go to school. There should be a technical school for them and they must pass before they become licensed clearing agents. The customs authorities should certify them. I am a Fellow of the British Institute of Freight Forwarders but I hardly say anything about it because the way we practice in Nigeria is disgraceful and I do not want to get myself involved with it.”
He also blamed government for the way clearing and forwarding business is conducted here saying: “The government approved freight forwarders in Nigeria is just a political tool. They gather themselves together, those in favour and those against face each other and somebody is at the middle taking advantage of their inability to come together and sort out themselves as a profession.
“Until Freight Forwarders are well trained this will continue. There should be Technical Colleges to train these people and if they do not pass and get a licence, they should not practise. There are so many graduates in Nigeria and Clearing and Forwarding should be made an honourable profession where graduates can key in.”
Continuing Usoh said: “Many of these foreign companies in Nigeria have Clearing and Forwarding agencies because the parent company back in their country make sure that the logistic chain is not broken. What they do is that their ships carry the goods, they own the terminals and they get another arm of their company to do the clearing job and carry the goods. You have to understand that clearing is different from haulage.
“Haulage is the carrying and it could be by railway, road transport, air, water or any other mode. But these foreign companies have the vehicles to carry their goods to their final destination and we are talking about unemployment. Why would there not be unemployment. We allow our laws to be infringed by outsiders because they are bringing foreign exchange.
“They say they are investing in Nigeria but they make sure the chain is not broken. They maximise their profit and you accept whatever price they give you because they have a chain. A Nigerian who is a Clearing and Forwarding agent only has that agency and he wants to compete with the foreign counterpart that has the agency, the ships and the clearing outfit.
“What they do to kill the average Clearing and Forwarding agent in Nigeria is to make the clearing chain, which is part of the entire chain very cheap to attract you. However, they will now take whatever they are losing in the clearing chain and spread it in the haulage leg and the terminal leg where you are not competing. That is why you see many Clearing agents not making headway and in order to keep afloat, they cheat government.”
If follow the argument to continue to produce and produce, it will not help us. Go to the markets and see how much of tomatoes we waste. We do not even have enough storage facilities to store our excess produce. What we waste in Nigeria due to non-availability of storage can feed the country for two years. So Maritime can help but it is not that it will do the magic.