As Customs makes N1.3trillion Revenue

To say that the Apapa traffic conundrum has defied all solutions applied thus far is at the risk of sounding like a a broken record. The solution I propose here, which will require very uncommon political will under this democratic dispensation is to pull down buildings and structures to make way for parks/holding bays for trucks and vehicles within Apapa.

Considering the might and political weight of the owners of many of such structures, the cost alone could be a major obstacle.

The sinister and very dangerous chaotic traffic situation in the Apapa area of Lagos, which is the gateway of shipping businesses in Nigeria has become a classic case of abracadabra-the more you look, the less you see, the harder you try, the more complex the task becomes.

Apapa is home to banks, several hotels, hospitals, schools, homes, offices, eateries and boutiques. Operators of bureau de change outlets, food vendors and a variegated assortment of service providers find Apapa a lucrative area to ply their businesses.

There is hardly any service you need for which you will not find one or more providers within Apapa. Thus, men and women professionals converge in Apapa daily in pursuit of what they chase or to escape what from chases them.

This accounts for the high human and vehicular movement to and fro Apapa and, because the transport infrastructure is in huge deficit, the chaotic traffic situation has persisted in spite of efforts by concerned stakeholders.

The construction of the Wharf road from Ijora bridge to the Apapa Port Complex by Dangote was expected to ease traffic along that ever busy road, unfortunately, months after completion, truck drivers say they still spend days to move from Ijora to the Apapa port.

Other access roads like Warehouse road, Creek Road and all adjoining streets are very often on perpetual traffic lock down-making motor cyclists (Okada riders) king of the roads in Apapa.

The Chartered Institute of Transport Administration of Nigeria, CIoTA, held a national conference in Abuja last year with the aim of addressing the issues of Transportation in Nigeria.

President of CIoTA, Dr. Bashir Yusuf Jamoh assured participants at the conference that the Institute shall strive to proffer lasting solutions to the multi-faceted problems affecting all modes of transport in Nigeria and bring to bear a seamless transport network in the country.

Dr. Bashir Yusuf Jamoh, President, CIoTA

While expectations are high based on the Chartering of CIoTA, the resolutions and promises by the Institute have rekindled hope that Nigerians could travel and indeed move their cargo from place to place within the country at less costs/hassles.

This, added to ongoing efforts by the Federal Government on linking the entire country by rail, the Apapa sea ports inclusive, give stakeholders hope of a workable, dependable transport network in Nigeria soonest.

The Apapa traffic quagmire is a reflection of successive inability to project and plan for a burgeoning population in dire need of transportation and other facilities.

The Presidential task force constituted to ensure free flow of traffic to and fro Apapa has been enmeshed in more controversies than is common between buyers and sellers of commodities even in Apapa.

From allegations of bribery and corruption to collusion and extortion, the task force, contrary to realities want Nigerians to believe that there is no more gridlock in Apapa even as accessing the Apapa and Tin Can ports is as tasking and demanding on truck drivers/motorists as it is for a pregnant woman doing a hundred meters dash.

Hadiza Bala Usman, MD, NPA

So high is the level of distrust and lack of confidence on the Comrade Kayode Opeifa led task force that even the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, had to set up a parallel traffic management team known as the Traffic Task Team, TTT.

The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), members of the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria, RTEAN and others have roundly berated Opeifa and members of his team for their inability to restore traffic sanity in Apapa.

Executive Secretary/CEO of the Nigerian Shippers Council, NSC, Mr. Hassan Bello, has repeatedly lamented the on the pains and cost to country of the Apapa gridlock. He cautions that unless something urgent is done in the Lekki axis of Lagos where refineries, Ports and other industries are springing up residents there may have a taste of what obtains in Apapa.

Director General of the Lagos Chambers of Commerce and Industry, LCCI, Mr. Muda Yusuf disclosed last year that the Nigerian economy is losing about N600 billion in customs revenue, estimated $10 billion for non-oil export and about N2.5 trillion corporate revenue in the industry on an annual basis.

He further posited that owing to the gridlock, Capacity utilization stands at 38-40% and approximately 40% of businesses located in Apapa have either relocated to other areas, scaled down operations or closed shop.

Giving his score card at a conference anchored by the League of Maritime Editors, Comrade Kayode Opeifa, head of the Presidential Task Force on decongesting the Apapa traffic said his team has resolved all traffic issues in Apapa. He reiterated that the Apapa gridlock still exists only in the imagination of those who are not in touch with reality.

Kayode opeifa

In his words “We have delivered on our mandate. There is a cartel, a cabal benefitting from the traffic chaos in Apapa. Some terminal operators don’t know how to run their terminals and manage traffic. There are traffic movers whose duty it is to manage and control trucks and the more you pay to these people the faster you go”

“The traffic situation has improved far much more than it used to be but detractors and some paid journalists who prefer to use old pictures to tell the present story mislead the public”, Opeifa said.

The long stretch of trucks with containers on Lagos bridges from Ikorodu road to Constain to Ijora and from the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway to mile 2 to Coconut down to Tin Can are not real?

The oozing odour and stench arising from use of the roads and bridges as toilets by truck drivers and their motor boys to and from Apapa could lead to epidemic if correctional action is not taken, health officials have warned.

While all available canals and drainages have been blocked by wastes disposed therein by these persons, food vendor and those who provide other services to the truck operators also find the canals and gutters convenient places to dump wastes; unmindful of the consequences of their actions.

Faeces and urine-fresh and stale, litter the streets of Apapa. Why there is no outbreak yet of cholera and other communicable infectious diseases is attributed to the resilience and doggedness of Nigerians.

Notwithstanding the gridlock and ooze, the attractions to Apapa are many and huge is the number of persons attracted everyday.

The buzz, frills and thrills of Apapa have therefore not dimmed as figures declared by the Nigeria Custom Service, NCS clearly indicate.

Out of the N1.341 trillion collected in 2019 by the NCS, the Apapa command hauled in N420.1b and Tin Can N346.5b.

Col. Hameed Ali (rtd) Comptroller General, Nigeria Customs Service

Also in Apapa is the Ports and Terminal Multi-services Limited, PTML Command of the Nigeria Customs Service. The Command in defiance of the gridlock menace, collected a total of N143, 629,894,285 in 2019.

From the Onne Command of the Service, N107.3b was recorded for the year under review.

Evidently, Over N9b of the total revenue of the NCS in 2019 accrued to the Service from Apapa.

Customs Area Controllers of these Commands agree that the gridlock poses a serious challenge to them in their operations.

In trying to make sense out of the seeming nonsense, ooze and buzz of Apapa, the pertinent questions is: could the gridlock be unlocked for better performance by Customs and other Federal Government agencies within Apapa?

This, maritime stakeholders say is the $1b dollar question.

Kelvin Kagbare is Editor-In-Chief, MD/CEO Data resources Ltd, Publishers of Maritime Insider, Newsgate, NewsAround and Maritime Nigeria online