Prince Olusegun Oduntan

ANLCA’s journey has been one of immense impact on the shipping and trade industry. One cannot tell the story of freight forwarding and customs brokerage in Nigeria without acknowledging the contribution of the elders and senior colleagues who built the association over the years.

ANLCA has been there for decades. Even with internal challenges and the emergence of breakaway groups, the association has shown what I would describe as nine lives. It has survived different periods and remained relevant to the industry.

One of the major achievements of the current administration has been the recognition that peace and stability within the association are necessary for it to succeed. The intervention and support of the Comptroller-General of Customs Bashir Adewale Adeniyi also played an important role because the Nigeria Customs Service needs a stable and functional freight-forwarding community to achieve its revenue objectives.

ANLCA has over 3,000 corporate members across Nigeria, and the contribution of these practitioners to Customs revenue cannot be ignored. Customs needs the freight-forwarding industry, and the freight-forwarding industry needs Customs. There has to be collaboration.

ANLCA also plays an important role in promoting compliance. We tell our members and other practitioners that they must comply with Customs regulations, pay the right duties and ensure that cargo is properly declared. 

Our contribution goes beyond Customs revenue.

We facilitate imports and exports. We ensure that goods come into the country and that Nigerian exports go out so that Nigeria can earn foreign exchange and grow its GDP. We facilitate the movement of cargo to manufacturers, merchants, warehouses and logistics operators.

All of these activities create employment and support the wider economy.

So, ANLCA’s contribution is not just about representing freight forwarders. We are part of the machinery that keeps trade moving.

The biggest challenge is policy changes coming within very short periods.

When government introduces a policy, there should be a timeframe that allows people to understand it, amend their plans and determine what they can do within the new system. Policy should not come as a shock.

There must be a concession or transition period where necessary. You cannot just introduce a policy and expect people to immediately adjust without giving them time to plan.

Take the issue of green taxation and electric vehicles, for example. You cannot tell people to go and buy electric vehicles when the necessary charging infrastructure is not available. There has to be a realistic timeframe.

There are also situations where government announces a concession or zero-duty regime, but the process on the Customs platform does not immediately reflect the policy. You may still need documentation or approval from the Ministry of Finance before the shipment can be cleared.

If government says something is zero-rated, then the system should be configured to reflect it. Otherwise, the policy has not really achieved its purpose. 

We also need stronger recognition of ANLCA’s contribution. ANLCA should have a seat at the table when decisions affecting our industry are being made.

And I ask: why can an ANLCA veteran who has spent years doing well as a Customs broker not have an opportunity to become part of the Nigeria Customs Service?

These are practitioners who understand the system from the operational side. Their experience can be valuable to government.

Things have improved, but there is still much more to be done.

 When we travel to other countries and meet practitioners in the same industry, we see how their systems work. That comparison makes you realise that there are still areas where Nigeria needs to improve.

One of the major complaints is demurrage. Demurrage is an additional cost, and ultimately the final consumer bears that cost.

Cargo clearance does not end simply because Customs has examined the cargo. The process is a chain, and the cargo is not truly cleared until it gets to the owner, user or warehouse.

We now have different digital and clearance initiatives, including the Single Window efforts, FIRS processes and the B'Odogwu system of Customs. But then you can have a situation where you have cleared a cargo and you are at the point of releasing it, and another government agency intervenes.

Let me give you an example from the operational experience we are seeing. 

You can clear your cargo without any issue, get to the releasing point and then the Maritime Police stops the cargo. You may then be asked to go back to the Nigerian Shippers’ Council for another clearance.

You can lose an entire week going back and forth.

And in many of these cases, no problem is eventually found and there is no clear justification for the delay. But that one week has already been lost. 

Who bears the cost?

The demurrage goes back to the importer and eventually the end user.

That is why I keep saying that cargo clearance is a chain. Once one link in that chain is affected, the entire process is defeated.

You may have Customs making efforts to fast-track cargo, but if that cargo gets stuck at another intervention point, what has been achieved?

We need to examine the operations of the Maritime Police at the port and the coordination between all the agencies involved in cargo movement.

If a cargo has already been examined and cleared, we need to understand why another process should unnecessarily hold it up.

The question is: what is the essence of improving one part of the system if another part can still create an avoidable delay?

That is where I believe we need much stronger coordination.

What will make the system easier is for every government agency involved in cargo clearance to be properly onboarded onto the Single Window and to operate according to its mandate.

Every agency should raise its issues at the appropriate stage and within the appropriate timeframe.

The problem is when you have completed your processes, you want to write your TDO, obtain your gate pass and move your cargo, and that is when an arm of government comes up with another intervention.

That affects every effort that has been made earlier in the process. 

Digitalisation should not simply mean putting existing processes online. The agencies must be integrated and the system must be able to identify all requirements before the cargo reaches the final stage.

If an agency has an issue with a shipment, that issue should come up early enough for the freight forwarder to address it.

You should not wait until the cargo is ready to leave before stopping it.

The whole essence of the Single Window is to make the process seamless, transparent and predictable.

Nigeria can win AfCFTA.

We have the resources. We have the technology. What we need to fix is transparency, honesty and, above all, patriotism.

We need to remove corrupt tendencies from the system.

When you travel to other African countries, you see how things are done differently.

Take Ghana, for example. You see transparency at the beginning of the transaction. Things are clear. The process is more predictable.

They put their country first.

For Nigeria to take full advantage of AfCFTA, we must have the determination to make the system work.

We cannot have a continental free trade agreement and still operate a system where businesses cannot predict what their cargo will cost, how long clearance will take or what additional intervention may come up before the cargo is delivered.

If we fix transparency and make our processes predictable, Nigerian businesses can compete.

We have the capacity to become a major trade hub in Africa. But we must first make the environment conducive for people to do business.

Now that the NPERA Bill has been signed, I believe this is an opportunity for the Nigerian Shippers’ Council to demonstrate the strength of the new regulatory framework.

Before now, many stakeholders saw the Council as a toothless bulldog because it could not effectively sanction some of the shipping companies when they acted improperly.

That is one of the things we need to change.

What affects us most as freight forwarders is the behaviour and practices of shipping companies.

Take container deposits, for example. We do not need unnecessary container deposit practices. Shipping companies should also have proper holding bays for empty containers.

Our trailers and every available piece of land should not become dumping grounds for containers.

The regulator should look at these practices.

We also need to address terminal operations, overbilling and operational inefficiencies. There are situations where people are forced to pay through their noses simply to move their cargo.

These are some of the reasons businesses consider taking their trade to other countries.

Turnaround time matters. Delays matter. Cost matters.

If these issues are properly tackled, the environment will become more conducive for people to thrive and conduct maritime business in Nigeria.

The new regulatory framework should give the Nigerian Shippers’ Council the authority to speak and, where necessary, sanction erring shipping companies.

For me, the success of NPERA should be measured by whether the port becomes more competitive, more transparent and less costly for the people who actually use it.

Having just come out of an internal crisis that lasted over five years, the immediate marching order is the restoration of peace within ANLCA.

Once internal peace is restored, we can begin to look outward and build stronger relationships with all the sister associations.

There is an analogy I like to use: a single broom can easily be broken, but a bunch of brooms cannot easily be broken.

That is what collaboration among the different freight-forwarding associations should achieve.

If we come together, we will be heard.

We need to look beyond personal gains and forge ahead to make freight forwarding a noble profession.

We should be able to speak with one voice on issues affecting the freight-forwarding industry.

ANLCA should have a strong platform for presenting our position to government so that government will see us as a serious and responsible association.

So, yes, ANLCA must continue to represent freight forwarders, but we must also become stronger in policy engagement.

If we are united, our voice will carry more weight when decisions are being made about trade, Customs, ports, logistics and the future of the profession.

I will not say I want to remove a particular institution. I will request transparency.

Transparency will enable you to plan, calculate your costs, reduce stress and deliver.

If you know that once your documentation is correct today, you can deliver your cargo within four days, then you can plan your business. You can even go and sleep because you know what to expect.

That is what transparency gives you: predictability.

When I compare our experience with what I see in places such as Ghana, my fellow practitioners there do not have to go and queue at the gate or occupy the Customs office just to get basic processes done.

Everything is increasingly being handled through the system. 

In Nigeria, we need to get to a point where the process is clear from beginning to end.

For example, in my own office, I can give you the TDO before assessing the port. The truck number is sent to NPA. The truck driver completes the biometric process and I proceed to load my cargo.

There should be no ambiguity.

You cannot determine anything when the process is not predictable.

So, for me, transparency and honesty are fundamental.

Anything that is not transparent enough should be removed from the process.