By Comrade Habuh-Rajan Suleiman, President Kogi State Shippers Association
On February 12th 2021 to be precise, a New Executive Committee of the Kogi State Shippers Association was inaugurated. Mrs. A. I. Okolue, the Director, North Central Zone of the Nigerian Shippers Council in her inaugural address at the validation and inauguration of the members of the New Executive Committee of the Association said Kogi State Shippers Association is here to support the Nigerian Shippers Council in the discharge of its primary objectives as Port Economic Regulator.
The Nigerian Shippers Council she said was established in 1978 following the recommendation of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in 1965 for the establishment of National Shippers Council in Developing Economies to serve as a countervailing force against the excesses of Foreign Ship owners and Multinational Maritime Service Provider. In line with the implementation of the UNCTAD recommendation, Nigeria established the Nigerian Shippers Council in 1978.
One of the statutory functions of the Nigerian Shippers Council according to Mrs. Okolue is to provide a forum for the protection of imports and exports to and from Nigeria and to encourage the formation of Shippers’ Associations. In pursuant of this statutory mandate, the Nigeria Shippers Council vide NSC Act, Cap 133LFN 2004, Section 3, Sub-section C, established the Shippers’ Association of Nigeria, with Kogi State Shippers’ Association coming into being on March 8th 2000.
Since coming on board, the Kogi State Shippers Association has recorded some achievements in the following areas.
1. Organized a National Conference where a case was made for the dredging of the River Niger and Benue to make it easy for movement of goods and services on the waterways.
2. Established contacts with relevant organs of Government with the aim of revamping export and import trade IN Kogi State.
3. Liaise with the Nigerian Shippers Council in finding solutions to the various challenges encountered by Importers/Exporters in conducting International Trade, Shipping and Logistics activities, and finally.
4. Created Kogi Export/Import Shipping Multipurpose Cooperative Society with the support of the Nigerian Shippers Council.
To enable the incoming executives of Kogi State Association meet the demands and aspirations of Kogi business community, the Director North Central Zone had pledged the Council’s supports to the Association to ensure effectiveness and efficiency of the transport and maritime system as well as to ensure service availability to compete in the global economy.
As a membership organization, the Kogi State Shippers’ Association is made up of Prospective and Active and Buyers and Sellers (herein refers to importers and exporters); and as a nonprofit organization, it uses its powers of advocacy to negotiate and manage transportation services on behalf of its members that are involved in Road Transport,, Rail Transport, Air Transport, River Transport and Ocean Transport freighting, and other forms of transportation of goods and services within and outside Nigeria.
Membership of Kogi State Shippers’ Association will benefit both small and medium size companies by:
1. Aggregating volumes of cargoes across its members in order to negotiate competitive volume of discounts with carrier companies on behalf of its members.
2. Facilitating collaboration and information sharing across its active and prospective member shippers in the state, and.
3. Advocating, sensitizing and organizing activities that highlights the role of the Association in promoting sustainable intermodal transportation systems in Nigeria.
4. Partnering with government, non-government organizations, and transport research institutions to promote the best transportation strategy for the movement of cargoes across the nation at minimal cost to her members.
5. Collaborating with governments and other non-state actors to create enabling environment and awareness on the reality of social and economic impact of effective import – export businesses for national development.
6. Promoting the implementation of sustainable best practices and environmentally friendly transportation systems in Nigeria.
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10. Providing other transportation management and administrative services as may be required by members, and finally.
11. Networking with organizations like the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), Raw Material Research and Development Council, Kogi Enterprise Development Agency (KEDA), Technology Incubation Centre (TIC), Nigerian Association of Small Scale Industrialists, Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, Kogi Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (KOCCIMA), the Nigerian Customs Service, the Nigerian Immigration Service, etc. through the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, to build our members’ capacity and provide conditions for the ease of doing business in order to access funding for effective business development in the state.
in his acceptance speech, the President of Kogi State Shippers’ Association in person of Comrade Rajan Suleiman pledged on behalf of Members of the State Executive Committee of the Association to cooperate and collaborate with the Management of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council in all activities geared towards the regulation of the Port and effective transportation and movement of goods and services within and outside Nigeria.
Although, Kogi State with a population of over 5million had working citizens has high potential in agriculture; with a very large body of waters drawn from rivers Niger and Benue; a greater footprint in Cassava, Cashew, Palm Oil, Sesame Seeds, Soya Beans, and indeed varieties of Solid Mineral Deposits which if properly harnessed will greatly contribute to Nigeria’s non-oil receipts yet, the state’s contribution to non-oil export did not go beyond cashew to which 95% of the exporters are foreigners. Not withstand that Kogi State is home to a number of solid mineral based industries like the Dangote Cement Factory Obajana, the West African Ceramic Industry, BN Ceramic, Itakpe Iron Ore Mining Industry, Ajaokuta Steel Industry as well as the Kogi Iron Industry, located at Agbaja, these would have yielded huge foreign exchange if Kogi businessmen and women are willing to exploit them for the export market.
Equally, Kogi State has huge potentials for Tourism Development. Numerous historical relics, like the colonial residence of Sir Lord Frederick Lugard, the first British Governor of Nigeria, the Iron of Liberty, being where the first slaves were set free in Nigeria. The site where the Royal Niger Company Flag was lowered for the last time, and the numerous European cemeteries, and indeed the rich cultural heritage of the state, if properly developed will attract huge tourists to both the state and the country.
With the renewed drive by Government to attract investors to the agricultural sectors with the aim of boosting food production and for exports, especially in the nonoil sector, Kogi State Shippers Association will work closely with various trades and commodity associations in the state in order to build their capacity so as to add values to the various agricultural produce to key them into the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA); while the Nigerian Shippers Council will:
1. Provide access to industry support services to protect investment of shippers from exploitative tendencies from shipping service providers.
2. Access to information on freight rate along the Nation trading routes.
3. Access to legal assistance to shippers through Cargo Defense Fund to pursue recovery of financial losses sustained in legitimate maritime transaction within Nigeria and abroad.
4. Access to Port Service Support Portal (PSSP) platform to lodge complaints on excessive and arbitrary local shipping charges, short landing, non-delivery of goods, cargo losses, damage, maritime insurance claim, and non-refund of container deposit, etc.
5. Participate in a wider level of consultation with government agencies to boost financial and technical capacity of members for socioeconomic development. (CBN, Custom, NEPC, SON, NAFDAC).
6. Participate in enlightenment programs (Seminars, Workshop, and Clinics) within Nigeria and at Regional activities of African Shippers Council and Global Forum.
With the above in view, it is evident that the Nigerian Shippers Council will not relent in providing Kogi Shippers, especially aspiring importers and exporters with effective business support services to ensure efficiency of the transport/maritime system as well as to support service availability to compete in the regional and global economy as the quality, cost and efficiency of these services will influence the trading environment as well as the overall costs of goods traded internationally and the fortunes generated by, and accruing to local importers and exporters.