NIPCO urges Nigerian government to use CNG vehicles to cut costs
Rajesh Prabhu, the general manager of Nigerian oil and gas firm NIPCO, has urged Nigeria’s federal government to use Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) in official vehicles to reduce costs. The move would reduce the amount of foreign reserves spent on importing petrol, Prabhu said, and could save the government over $2bn annually.

Democracy, simply viewed as government of the people, for the people, and by the people, is globally acclaimed as the best form of government. Its major implication is that it offers an entirely suitable environment for the citizenry and government to coexist peacefully and satisfactorily. However, how far this is true is dependent on different variables in different countries. As Nigeria marks her 24th Democracy Day today, The Tide’s Business Editor, Soibi Max-Alalibo, anchors reports from Senior Reporters: Lilian Peters, Corlins Walter Amadi, Tonye Nria-Dappa, King Onunwor, and Chinedu Wosu in what has turned out to be a very distinct picture of how Nigeria’s business sector has fared in the country’s Democratic experiment and journey in the last eight years, under the All Progressives Congress (APC), with a view to giving the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led government a good idea of what is required for a better Nigeria.

The Nigeria Project has had various twists and turns in its entirety since it started from independence in 1960. But never have these been as daring in a democratic dispensation as it has been in the last 24 years, which constitute Nigeria’s 4th Republic.

This is probably due to the fact that the two decades plus has also been the first time any democracy in the country had gone beyond the first four years uninterrupted.

All segments have also had their ups and downs often to the point of clear frustration not just to the government, but also to the citizenry, with, of course, the latter worst off.

The Aviation, Maritime, Information Communication Technology (ICT), Energy, Oil and Gas, as well as the financial sectors constitute key areas that have been affected in the last eight years.

Nigeria’s Aviation industry, for instance, has gone through many challenges over the years. Such challenges range from infrastructure, security and safety, which is a core value in the industry, according to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standard.

Various democratically elected administrations have come on board with policies which they deem necessary for the development and advancement of the industry, which explains why there are usually high expectations from the industry operators when a new government mounts the saddle.

The coming on board of the Muhammadu Buhari-led All Progressives Congress (APC) administration in Nigeria on May 29, 2015, therefore, brought new hopes for many Nigerians, particularly in terms of the remodeling of the aviation industry across board.

In Rivers State, the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa, was operating under canopies at the Arrival Wing for both domestic and international arrivals, for which many described the airport as a dirty local place that was not fit to be called an international airport.

At that time also, the international wing and the domestic wing were operating from the same terminal building, which made the terminal building to be highly congested.

Another sour taste the Buhari administration met on ground was the inefficiency at the runway of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, and the same at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu. In fact, almost all other international airports in the country had their story.

No doubt, past administrations made some efforts in addressing the challenges, but the Buhari administration swung into action to address the challenges. One of the steps was to close the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, for three months to carry out an expansion of the runway.

According to the former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, “the runway was causing traffic congestion, and needs to be expanded to make for free flow of flight operations”.

Flights were subsequently diverted to the Kaduna Airport. To make it easier for the Kaduna Airport to be able to cope with the influx of passengers, the Federal Government had first upgraded some of its infrastructure.

Consequently, all Abuja bound passengers from Port Harcourt and those from other distant states passed through Kaduna, to access Abuja by road until normalcy was restored at the Abuja Airport, after the completion of the runway.

In October 2018, the Federal Government commenced the remodeling of the Port Harcourt Airport. The international wing terminal building was constructed by the Chinese Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC) and was subsequently commissioned by former President Buhari.

Additionally, the administration ensured that the domestic arrival terminal wing being constructed by InterBau Construction Company, at the Port Harcourt Airport, was also delivered to remove the reproach of using tent and trampoline for operations.

Describing these achievements of the Buhari-led administration at the Port Harcourt Airport as a ‘remarkable feat’, a forex operator, Mr Igwe Vincent, said it has brought a relief and ease to users of the airport, among others.

“The past Buhari administration achieved many things in the aviation industry in Nigeria. There are things other administrations did not accomplish, but the last administration did.

“In the first tenure of Buhari’s government, that was when some airports were remodeled, and that has brought a big relief and ease of operations at the Port Harcourt Airport, both at the domestic and the international terminals.

“In the last administration, we witnessed the coming of new airlines into Port Harcourt for operations both at the domestic and international terminals, and such has created jobs for the unemployed in Rivers State and for Nigerians”, he said.

Vincent said another achievement of the Buhari administration in the aviation sector was the certification of Lagos and Abuja Airports, while the process for certification is still ongoing at other airports like Port Harcourt and Kano.

According to him, the last administration “took the bull by the horn to fulfill all the international standard requirements for the certification of these airports, which was certified by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) for Safety and Security”.

Nevertheless, the Buhari government also witnessed a lot of challenges in the aviation sector, especially in the COVID-19 era in 2020, which grounded airlines operations for many months.

Many jobs were lost, as new protocols were introduced for operations at the airports, while some business wound down for inability to cope with the order of operations.

Another challenge the administration faced was the unending scarcity of ‘jet-A1’, otherwise known as aviation fuel. The government appeared to be helpless, as it was difficult for airlines to purchase fuel, which led to hike in flight tickets, and consequently reduced patronage by passengers.

Prices of flight tickets increased by 100 and 150 percent for all routes. This period was a very challenging period for both airlines and passengers, as many people stopped travelling under that situation, and airlines also could not operate at ‘ break even point’, specifically between November 2021 and December 2022, as air passengers drastically reduced.

Chairman of Airline Operators Committee (AOC) at the Port Harcourt Airport, Francis Ofangba, described the period as the worst so far in the history of their operations.

Ofangba in a chat with The Tide noted that airlines recorded a lot of flight cancellations due to unavailability of passengers or inability to get aviation fuel on time: “no flight will run empty under that situation, and the Federal Government could not address the matter as it were”, he said.

One major policy of the Buhari’s administration that generated much controversy and disagreement in the aviation industry was the issue of the “National Carrier”, the “Nigerian Air”, which domestic and indegenous airline operators vehemently opposed.

The domestic airline operators went to court to stop the Nigerian Air operations, accusing the former Minister of Aviation, of conniving with a foreign airline, Ethiopian Air, to surcharge Nigerians, and that the Federal Government was not sincere with the policy, because, as they alleged, everything about the contractual agreement was shrouded in secrecy.

They approached a Federal High Court in Lagos and obtained a restraining order against the certification and operations of the Nigerian Air, earlier this year, but the Minister of Aviation went on to continue with contract.

On Friday, May 26, the Minister went on to unveil the Nigerian Air, in spite of the court order, an action many Nigerians described such as a drama.

The Chairman, Senate Committee on Aviation, Nlolim Nnaji, last Tuesday, ordered the immediate suspension of the Nigerian Air, accusing the former Minister of Aviation of conniving with Ethiopian Air on a secret deal, inspite of the court injunction, and sidelining the Senate.

Also, the issue of concessioning of some airports was another policy that received strong opposition: aviation worker unions vehemently opposed the policy to concession the four major airports – Lagos, Port Harcourt, Abuja, and Kano. It has been alleged, however, that the Abuja and Kano Airports have already been concessioned.

Chairman of the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), Felix Ovude, told The Tide that the position of the union was that the Federal Government should look at other airports for concessioning, and not to concession the four viable airports.

As it stands, the onus lies on the present government of President Bola Tinubu to see how some of the errors made by the past administration in the aviation industry could be corrected.

As the call for suspension of the Nigerian Air, among others, keep raging, the President Bola Tinubu-led APC government is required to give the matter the attention it deserves.

A major characteristic of a democracy is for a government to have the patience and ability to listen to the voice of reason, especially in key decisions that affect the people.

This is what is currently required by the Tinubu-led Federal Government to be in a better stead to turn the aviation industry to a more viable sector than it had been in the last eight years.

Maritime

In the maritime sector, there have been reforms that have yielded some form of achievements in the past eight years of democracy, but these have also come with pains.

There is no gain saying that the maritime sector is one of the strongest pillars upon which the nation’s economy rests. An appraisal of the sector in the period under review will focus on some key indicators such as Port concession, Customs reforms, maritime safety and security, exchange and training of Naval officers with their foreign counterparts to tackle piracy, sea robbery and all forms of social vices in the nation’s waterways.

The greatest benefit of the President Buhari-led APC Government over the years is the port concession and the nation’s port system, which has transformed the nation’s seaports into a safer and more profitable venture,

In the past, the Nigerian port system was a haven for all manner of illegalities including: discharge of un-manifested cargoes; cargo vandalism and theft; uncontrolled human and vehicular traffic; embarrassingly long cargo dwell time and ship turnaround time; and a host of other vices.

During the past eight years, however, virtually all of the stated vices are either at their barest minimum, or have totally gone extinct. The ports are now better, safer and more profitably operated, but for some complaints from freight forwarders and shippers about high charges from the port management.

There is also an improved traffic in the nation’s ports and with high shipping activities in terms of exports, imports and trading recorded currently, compared to its West African counterparts.

Ships of bigger draughts now call at the ports with maximum Twenty foot Equivalent Units (TEUs).

In spite of these recorded successes, however, there are still challenges in the Ports. But the challenges are more operational, unlike before the commencement of the 4th Republic, with even more improvements being witnessed in the last eight years.

In this wise, it is noteworthy that the uninterrupted 24 years of democratic governance gave the nation’s maritime sector the Cabotage Act, and the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding of Nigeria (CRFFN).

Having seen what democracy has achieved in the sector for the past years, same system had failed to improved in the Cabotage Act in the sector

Globally, countries around the world, especially coastal States, establish cabotage laws which protect domestic shipping industry from foreign competition by eliminating or limiting the use of foreign vessels in domestic coastal trade.

The inability of the Federal Government to improve on the Cabotage Act passed into law made the indigenous ship owners to partake less in the sector, resulting in poorer earnings than they were prior to the enactment of Cabotage Act, which created more unemployment for seafarers and dockworkers than before.

This Act means that vessels of whatever type or size shall not engage in domestic trading in the inland waters of Nigeria except a vessel that is wholly owned by Nigerian citizens.

Section 43(a) of the Cabotage Act, Te Act, imposes a 2 percent surcharge of the contract sum performed by any vessel engaged in coastal trade in Nigeria.

The Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) has not been allowed to function effectively in that capacity due to some restrictions by government agencies.

The council is responsible for protecting exporters and importers in Nigeria and their goods. The Agency is an affiliate of the Nigerian Ports Authority and was under the supervision of the Ministry of Transportation (Nigeria).

Arguably, the greatest failure of the democratic dispensation is most visible in the prevailing state of the nation’s waterways and territorial waters where sea robbers and pirates have resurfaced, sadly, piracy has put Nigeria on the world map of notoriety, particularly at the Gulf of Guinea (GOG), next to Somalia.

Though piracy and sea robbery abated at a point, their resurgence and rise calls for concern. It is in this wise that the government failed Nigerians in maritime safety and security.

A setback to the development of the sector.is that most ports in the country lack good access roads to the terminals where they load consignment from the ports. This affects free movement of goods and services in the ports.

However, on the whole, pundits have expressed the belief that the maritime sector had a better deal in the last eight years compared to what it was before, but that there still needs to be improvements to meet global best practices.

Information Communication (ICT)

Information Communication Technology (ICT) has remained one sector that has not received the required attention in the country’s 24 years of democracy, even as many believe that the sector is the mother of all sectors due to its presence in virtually all the aspects of human endeavour.

Apart from contributing hugely to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), at 13.8 per cent as at the end of the second quarter, 2019, its sub-arm, telecoms, has remained a “Star Performer”, the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed.

According to analysts, other sub-sectors, including software, hardware, e-learning, e-commerce, among others are, however, struggling to live up to expectations and make Nigeria more competitive, not only in Africa but also across the globe.

According to reports, the country’s hardware sub-sector is 80 per cent foreign-dominated. The fact is that Nigeria is still very much a consuming nation. The country’s technological prowess is abysmally low. Nigeria has consistently, in the last seven years ranked lowest in the Global Innovation Index (GII) and had not fared better even before then.

In the 2019 GII, Nigeria ranked 114th out of 129 economies. A year earlier, it ranked 118th.

Nigeria was also missing among the innovation achievers in Africa, but five countries, which emerged in terms of innovation relative to their level of development, from sub-Saharan Africa, include Kenya, Rwanda, Mozambique, Malawi, and Madagascar.

The GII study said Africa’s largest economy performed below expectations compared with the level of economic development in the country.

The report on innovation ranking noted that Nigeria performed poorly in political and operational stability, government effectiveness, ease of resolving insolvency and general infrastructure.

Some other notable areas of weakness include, but not limited to domestic credit to the private sector, Wikipedia edits, creative goods export, high-tech net exports, etc.

Regrettably, the country has consistently participated in global IT event, but it is yet to replicate some of the developments seen locally.

Lately, with these challenges persisting and no formal headway in curtailing the impacts, Nigeria also considered enthroning a 5G network by 2020. Meanwhile, this is a country where efficient 3G and 4G networks remain a tall order to attain, where electricity supply remains epileptic, vandalism is rife, policy inconsistency, telecoms development bills linger for decades at the National Assembly. These and many other limitations have continued to reign supreme.

In terms of ICT policy and gains, reports revealed that the earlier the country moves against these challenges, the better for the economy. To them, Nigeria’s ICT policy needs to perform if the country must enthrone a robust ICT sector.

Nigeria started implementing its ICT policy in April 2001 after the Federal Executive Council approved it by establishing the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), the implementing body.

The policy empowers NITDA to enter into strategic alliances and joint ventures and to collaborate with the private sector to realise the specifics of the country’s vision of, “making Nigeria an IT capable country in Africa and a key player in the information society by the year 2005 through using IT as an engine for sustainable development and global competitiveness”, according to reports.

There is no gainsaying the fact that this vision is yet to be fulfilled, despite NITDA having been led since establishment by technocrats, which include Prof. Olalere Ajayi, Prof. Cleopas Angaye, Peter Jack, Dr. Ibrahim Isa Pantami, and Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi.

The objectives of Nigeria’s ICT policy, include to ensure that ICT resources are readily available to promote efficient national development; to guarantee that the country benefits maximally, and contributes meaningfully, by providing the global solutions to the challenges of the information age; to empower Nigerians to participate in software and ICT development; to encourage local production and manufacture of ICT components in a competitive manner; to establish and develop ICT infrastructure and maximise its use nationwide; and to empower the youth with ICT skills and prepare them for global competitiveness.

It is also to integrate ICT into the mainstream of education and training; to create ICT awareness and ensure universal access in promoting ICT diffusion in all sectors of national life; and to create an enabling environment and facilitate private sector (national and multinational) investment in the ICT sector.

Others are to encourage government and private sector joint venture collaboration; to develop human capital with emphasis on creating and supporting a knowledge-based society; to build a mass pool of ICT literate manpower using the NYSC, NDE, and other platforms as a train-the-trainer scheme for capacity-building.

Unfortunately, these lofty ideas seem to have been more exotic and psychedelic in thought than in practice.

One industry expert, Kehinde Aluko, noted that there is nothing to cheer about as far as the ICT policy is a concerned. He noted that most of the objectives itemised in the policy would require determination and discipline on the part of the government if they must be realised.

Aluko picked on three areas: lack of computers; lack of electricity; and lack or slow Internet connectivity.

According to him, computers are still very expensive and despite spirited efforts by government agencies, NGOs, corporate organisations, and individuals to donate computers to as many schools as possible, there still remains a huge gap among users.

He said many areas, not to talk of schools, are still not yet connected to electricity. Nigeria, according to him, being a developing country, the government has not been able to connect all parts of the country to the national electricity grid. Consequently, those areas are left handicapped in terms of even development.

In his views, the former Chairman of Conferences, Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), Jide Awe, said much more must be done in terms of the overall impact of ICT on the nation’s development and creating a better future for citizens and the country.

“But the real concern is that using ICT to become a more competitive economy and a sustainable society, is still a work in progress”, he stated.

In terms of leadership direction matters, Awe noted that the ICT landscape faces serious challenges with leadership, policies, and implementation. Leadership, according to him, is, however, the most challenging.

“Competent and committed leadership must do more to ensure policies are formulated, monitored, evaluated and updated to improve the enabling environment and quality of policy impact.

“For policies to be grounded in reality, they must address the health of ICT in the country, regulatory challenges, inclusive policy engagement, and other issues.

“Policies are one thing. Impact and quality of implementation have to a large extent been dependent on leadership’s inability to make capacity and resources available. Leadership also addresses the critical issues of coordination, governance, and financing. Leadership must additionally be proactive and visionary for implementation to succeed. We must not reduce leadership to the management of the status quo.

“Most importantly, what makes leadership the greatest challenge is the importance of a political will. Very often, policy or infrastructure problems are not issues holding digital transformation back; very often, the political will is lacking.

“Broadband rollout is hindered in some states because the leadership lacks the vision and political will to resolve the problem of multiple taxation and duplication of regulation”, he stated.

According to him, Nigeria must embrace an ambitious vision of digital transformation that has people at the center, which must identify priorities for realisation.

Buying from stakeholders to Awe is fundamental, as the government cannot do it alone. He stressed that the private sector, the ICT sector (industry and services), academia, civil society, and young people are all critical.

Awe, the CEO of Jidaw Communications, wants the country to prioritise youth innovation, adding that though the young people constitute the majority of the populace, youth unemployment is huge and rising rapidly.

He stressed the need for a deliberate ICT human capital strategy in line with the nation’s digital agenda and vision. Awe said human capital is critical for competitiveness, local ICT capacity building and development is integral to sustainability and diversification of the economy.

“Digital inclusion must be prioritized not just on paper but in reality. Exclusion makes it impossible for the nation to fully utilize its Nigerian talents and potential. Location, gender, income level, age and living with disabilities should not be barriers to growth and digital contributions.

“Digital access gaps need to be closed by improving the availability, affordability, and reliability of ICT infrastructure. It is vital for competitiveness and maximization of potential in the digital era.

For the President, Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Olusola Teniola, many great ideas, and policies have simply not been implemented to the word or at all.

He stressed that this reflects the dearth of skills sets, lack of funding and low political will to refocus attention and resources to building the frameworks necessary that builds the blocks right from the foundation level to tertiary level together with apprenticeships that can address youths, who require a more vocational education that provides an alternative to traditional modes of studying.

Teniola appreciated the telecoms arm of the sector, saying it has been the true single development that Nigeria has recorded since the return to democratic rule in 1999.

“It is the only recognised positive achievement recorded and recognised by ITU, EIU, ECOWAS, GSMA, and the UN that contribution to socio-economic development has been achieved and driven by the digitisation.

“We need to recognise the leadership of former President Olusegun Obasanjo for allowing an enabling and conducive environment to exist for the private sector to come in and demonstrate its innovation and tenacity to drive through tremendous telephony penetration and create an industry respected the world over that allowed $70 billion of investments to be made and generated $11 billion of licensing fees to the coffers of the Federal Government of Nigeria in between 2001 and 2011”, he said.

With continued investments and adoption of AI, Machine Learning, 5G, and IoT, the country should hopefully see a more sophisticated consumer society that demands higher levels of QoS and improves on the connectivity reach of current networks to serve the growing population that is projected.

From his perspective, the Director-General, Delta State Innovation Hub, Chris Uwaje, Nigeria has come a long way in governance and citizens’ development after acquiring her independence and enthronement of independence.

Uwaje said the emergence of the information technology knowledge and skills build-up, which dates back since 1950-1970 brackets and currently at the digital transformation level. “The National ICT landscape suggests the country perhaps, did not take maximum advantage of the opportunities and benefits of Science and Technology – in spite of its embedded challenges.

“Did we fail to build specialist and Domain experts in those areas? Or leadership lacked the foresight and political will to comprehend the evolution of human development, civilization matrix, and future survivability strategies?

“With respect to ICT, we continue to beg external forces for what we already have in abundance: Human resources! We can succeed only when we reserve our science, technology and innovation policy and strategies, which have not delivered the commensurate benefits and security of our progressive future,” he stressed.

In crime fighting, during the #EndSARs era-cum Lekki Toll Gate shooting of of October 20, 2020, the ICT tool was part of the lee way to the claim and counter claim of the true actors of the incident.

Without the ICT, the Nigerian Army would have vehemently denied its involvement in the shooting, but for the video reports of the Circuit Cable Television (CCTV), mounted at the place, they ( the Army), were left without much doubts in their minds.

To exploit the country’s potentials in ICT, the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led government should consider the need to reduce the high tariff tag associated with the Industry.

For instance, why should Nigerians keep paying for services not by GoTV and DSTV operators even when such subscriber is out of power for one month or more?

The present Federal Government, should force the Cable Network providers to accept the concept of ‘ Pay As You Go’, a system that allows subscribers to pay only when they are online and not when they are off line.

To network providers like the MTN , GLo etc, they should be also made to trim down on their charges, given the economic quagmire currently stirring at the faces of Nigerians.

Just as the Obasanjo and his administration can always be remembered for the advent of Mobile Tele Communication Networks, Tinubu and his team need to take the bull by the horn and do the needful in the ICT industry.