"When I reflect, as I frequently do, upon the felicity I have enjoyed, I sometimes say to myself, that were the offer made me, I would engage to run again, from beginning to end, the same career of life. All I would ask, should be the privilege of an author, to correct in a second edition, certain errors of the first." Benjamin Franklin
Several invoices issued by the clearing agent to some of his own clients had been tendered in evidence. The clearing agent, who prior to this time had given evidence of his good character, his social status and the fact of him being a devote Christian was then led through identifying his signature on each of these invoices. He gladly obliged. His attention was then drawn to the some particulars contained in the invoices. Things like:
Resolution of low duty query as agreed---------------------------------------------------N70, 000
SON inspector; in lieu of sample ------------------------------------------------------------N80, 000
Fumigation of pallets by quarantine in lieu of N80, 000 Bank draft payment-----N30, 000
NAFDAC Release in lieu of import Permit-------------------------------------------------N50, 000
The follow-up question thereafter was;
Sir, do these point to the ordinary business conduct of devote Christians; people of good character, or do they on the other hand, warrant a petition to the EFCC?
His lawyer objected promptly but it was too late. The damage had been done. The man was thoroughly embarrassed.
Of course I do not seek to imply from the above that all of Nigeria’s freight forwarders are dubious persons. Quite the contrary, I know many who are decent and honourable men. The problem however lies in the fact that the concept ofsettlement is very well institutionalised in our ports. All the stake holders in that sector (the Ports Authority, the Nigerian Customs, clearing agents and even the importers) are involved. Most lawyers who represent cargo interests are familiar with the difficulty one experiences while trying to convince clients with valid claims (against say the Nigerian Customs or NPA) to seek legal redress for these claims. The usual reply that one will get to ones very well-articulated legal opinion is:
“Lawyer, how can you ask me to sue government? Do you want them to target all my subsequent consignments? It is better to just settle them and then get on with business”
Perhaps, more worrisome than settlement is the issue of multiplicity of government agencies at the ports. In June 2010, a Ministerial Task force set up by the Minister of Transport to fashion out ways to attain efficiency in port operations identified 13 different government agencies working at the ports. The Task force which was headed by Mrs Chinwe Ezenwa, a Deputy Director in the Ministry of Transport, noted that all of these agencies were participating in the cargo clearance process thus making the process cumbersome, inefficient, slow and very expensive. Some of the identified agencies at the ports are:
• Nigerian Ports Authority
• Nigerian Customs Service
• Nigerian Immigration Service
• Nigerian Police Force
• State Security Service
• National Agency for Food, Drug and Control
• National Drug Law Enforcement Agency
• Port Health
• Veterinary Quarantine
• Plant Quarantine
• Federal Produce Inspection Service
• Directorate of Naval Intelligence; and
• Standard Organisation of Nigeria.
As if these are not enough more are springing up daily. The activities of two of the new entrants ruffled a quite a few feathers very recently. The agencies in question are the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Agency (NESREA) and the National Task Force to Combat Illegal Importation of Goods, Arms, Ammunition and Light Weapons (NATFORCE).
NESREA in execution of its campaign to rid Nigeria of what it terms e-waste recently embarked on a spree of detention of container ships which were alleged to be carrying toxic wastes. The toxic wastes turned out to be used electrical and electronic appliances. This state of affairs has led major shipping lines and their agents operating under the aegis of the Shipping Association of Nigeria (SAN) to suspend the carriage of used electronics destined for Nigeria. While it is important to point out that used electrical and electronic appliances are not included in the Nigerian Customs Prohibited Import List, it is also important to note the implications of NESREA’s actions. The secretary to the Association of Importers of Used Electronics (AIUE), Alaba International Market Chapter Mr Andy Okoro captured this when he opined that:
Any Nigerian who intends to import used electronic items such as television sets, radio, DVD players and I-pods even as personal effects from any part of the world may now not be able to find a shipping line that will be willing to ship his consignment into the country.
It is my hope that the legality of NESREA’s actions in this regard will be tested in a court of law. This may never happen however, as the suing of government is the beginning of trouble for your next consignment.
NATFORCE is another new entrant to the Nigerian ports racket. It’s Deputy Chairman, Commissioner of Police Edwin Tonkmor (Rtd), while on a courtesy visit to the minister of commerce and industry recently gave a recap of events that led to its establishment. He pointed out that in order to absolve itself of any culpability for the importation of illegal arms and goods into Nigeria, the Importers Association of Nigeria (IMAN) seized the opportunity of a Public Private Partnership (PPP) to collaborate with the Federal Government through the Ministry of Finance and other agencies to set up NATFORCE in July 2010. The mandate of NATFORCE according to CP Tonkmor (Rtd) include to identify sources and main routes of small arms, ammunitions, light weapons and general contraband as well as monitor, control, halt and mitigate illegal activities by unscrupulous persons, companies and organisation.
The last time I checked, most of what Mr Tonkmor described fall squarely within the jurisdiction of the Nigerian Police, The Nigeria Customs and State Security Services. But then we are talking about Nigerian Ports here. Who cares about such trifles and niceties as jurisdiction and statutory authority? The taskforce now has its own checkpoints mounted around our ports. When you are done with customs please don’t forget NATFORCE.
The reader may wish to recall that the huge number of government agencies, at Nigeria’s ports expressly violates the recommendations made by the Joint Intelligence Board (JIB) in June, 2003 to the effect that only five agencies are required at these all-important national gateways.
All of the above added to a host of other sundry issues (100% physical examination of most cargos for instance) contribute to ensure that our ports get ranked very low even by African standards. Ships and Ports Newspapers recently reported that no Nigerian port is currently listed among the top 125 ports in the world. With navigable inland waterways of 30, 000 kilometres, eight major seaports, 11 oil terminals, over 170 private jetties as well as four major inland container depots (ICDs) and a cargo generating economy, this score is very unbecoming of Africa’s giant.
Recently, the Federal Government delisted many items form the imports prohibition list. While that is not my concern here, I must point out that if as has been widely reported, the delisting reflects a political will to curb the excesses of greedy customs officials, then at least with respect to the problem of settlement, hopes are rising. Other highlighted areas need also to be addressed with the same doggedness. At this dawn of the second decade of the 21st century, we can resolve to correct, in the second edition, certain errors of the first. We can also choose to forgo the privilege of being authors for playing the part that we are so very used to.
