Nigeria is losing over $6 billion yearly to freight diversion to neighbouring African countries due to high airport charges, multiple levies and continuous infrastructure gaps in its air cargo system.
Speaking with The Guardian in Lagos over the weekend, the Managing Director of Worldscope International Logistics Limited, Dr Segun Musa, regretted that the country loses at least $500 million to countries like Ghana, Togo, Benin Republic, Cote d’Ivoire, Niger Republic and several others within the subregion.
Musa who is a cargo expert, lamented that the combination of unnecessary costs and operational inefficiencies was already pushing exporters and importers to route shipments through other countries within the subregion, saying that air and sea cargo levies fees are lower, while their clearance processes are also faster.
Musa, expressed the situation as alarming, warning that Nigeria may lose its leadership position within the region to other countries if its current unfriendly policies not changed.
Musa who is also an aviation expert, insisted that Nigeria would not be a regional aviation hub with the current policies, which are being implemented.
He said: “If you look at the figure, we are losing over $500 million in terms of revenue monthly, which is about $6 trillion yearly. Neighboring countries have relaxed their charges and created a business-friendly environment. That is why cargo that should come into Nigeria are diverted.
“Government policies have not been favourable to the air cargo sub-sector. Number one, we don’t need to have multiple agencies in the airports. Even seaports are complaining of this challenge.
When you have the same number of agencies that regulate the same cargo and doing virtually almost the same thing, it frustrates business and creates a bottleneck in the system.
“Cargo business is supposed to be very fast because it’s a premium passage. You have to pay a lot of money for you to freight your cargo and when you are now subjected to different agencies doing all these checks that are supposed to have been done by a scanner, it increases the number of period that you’re supposed to have exited or exported your cargo. These bottlenecks also create room for corrupt practices and delay in the clearance process.”
He added that air freight was a volume-driven business, which rates decrease by the number of volumes processed.
However, Musa regretted that multiple charges imposed by aviation agencies, ground handling companies and other regulatory bodies had significantly raised the cost of doing business at Nigerian airports.
According to him, agencies such as the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), among others play roles in cargo processing, which often lead to duplication of functions and bureaucratic bottlenecks.
He expressed that these multiple charges are ultimately transferred to freight costs, making Nigerian airports less competitive compared to their West African counterparts.
“When airlines know they may not get enough outbound cargo from Nigeria, they factor in the cost of returning empty and increase freight rates. That makes our system even more expensive,” he said.
Musa also declared that many airports lack sufficient cargo handling equipment, modern warehouses and automated systems required for large-scale operations.
He pointed out further that poor road connectivity around certain cargo facilities also discourages cargo movement.
Musa also bemoaned the increasing number of cargo airports constructed by State governments, maintaining that these projects were undertaken without comprehensive feasibility studies or sufficient stakeholder consultation.
