A total of 110 processes are needed before goods are finally released to the importers at the Nigerian ports. This was the submission of the Manufacturers' Association of Nigeria (MAN) which complained about the frustration of clearing goods at the Nigerian ports. MAN noted that while 70 persons inspect goods and append their signatures, another 40 persons undertake documentation in order to approve the release of imported goods. Not only is this development worrisome and unfortunate, it raises serious questions about all the ports reforms of recent years which gulped billions of Naira.
For an economy that is in dire need of revitalisation, the news is indeed alarming. Some 110 signatures! We believe the tortuous process is a deliberate creation of the port officials not only to complicate an otherwise simple procedure, but also to seek personal gains. Stretched over days and weeks, frustrated importers could become desperate by taking untoward means to “fast track” the clearance process of their goods, for some under-the-counter payments.
Apart from the human factors which cause the delays at the ports, the weak and obsolete equipment used in the process of clearing the consignments also contribute in no small way in lengthening the agony of importers. The result is that no matter how a clearing agent may be, consignments are bound to incur demurrage. Too often, it is either the scanners are too slow, not functioning, or the more notorious phrase of “the system is down” help to stall the clearance process. It is then little wonder that the ports of neighbouring countries get busy because of the patronage of Nigerian businessmen, who are frustrated by the choking routines at the home ports.
Some of the notorious agencies have multiple units of their operations at the ports and consignees have to pass through each of them before their consignments could be given an exit note. Even at that, those who have cleared their goods still have to contend with other security operatives outside the terminals, for what they called “routine checks”. These extortions and bureaucratic bottlenecks have given Nigeria a bad image with dire consequences for our economy.
According to a recent World Bank report, the long and cumbersome processes involved in the cargo clearance in the ports have made Nigeria to be one of the most expensive places to do business in the world. Yet as we argued in the past, what is needed is to provide a stress-free one-stop-shop for which all the government agencies that have any role to play at the ports can easily collaborate and interface so that they would no longer continue to be the nuisance they have been over the years to the detriment of the nation’s image and economy.
However, aside the hiccups and corruption associated with clearing goods in Nigeria, our ports and markets are littered with fake or substandard goods and products. But this is not a problem that cannot be overcome. A single automated information transaction system based on the Automated System for Customs Data (ASYCUDA) and the Nigeria Integrated Customs Information System (NICIS) allows all government agencies to electronically interface without physically being present at the port.
Industry players, especially importers, exporters and freight forwarders are therefore waiting to see whether the federal government will muster the political will to do the right thing by adopting this cost-effective measure at the nation’s seaports, airports and international borders.
We expect the new Comptroller General of Customs, Col Ahmed Ali (rtd) to immediately undertake a review of the clearing and forwarding process at the ports, not only to eliminate or reduce the associated stress, but also to seek how a simplified process can make Nigeria earn much more from the maritime industry.
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