Admiralty Lawyers Society of Nigeria (ALSN) has called on the Federal Government to immediately fashion out a blueprint for the development and diversification of the maritime sector.
ALSN also called for a state of emergency on revamping of eastern ports. The President of the society, Angus Obinna Chukwuka, lamented that lip service is not enough to revamp the eastern ports.
“The government must depart from politicisation of ports development in Nigeria. Immediate and all-embracing economic growth should outweigh the trappings of tribalism and sectionalism in the sector.
“Nigeria has one of the best maritime ambiances in the world. Nations that are less endowed than Nigeria are steadily boosting their gross domestic products and foreign reserves by leveraging the sea. But isn’t the reverse the case in Nigeria? With such an astonishing maritime ambiance, Nigeria cries like a baby; washing its face with spittle whilst sitting in the river,” he said. He lamented that Nigeria has not been able to effect a proper diversification of its economy.
Nigeria, he said, was still grappling with pedestrian matters like gas flaring and subsidy removal. His words: “Nigerians are suffering deep inexplicable hardships. Nigerians are finding it difficult to eat decent meals. Many Nigerians are living from hand to mouth and cannot pay their basic bills. The youths are roaming the streets unemployed but involved in kidnapping, yahoo-yahoo and cultism as escape routes. Given our maritime potential, this situation ought to have been long outlived.” Chukwuka added that the need to revisit and improve the dry port system could not be overemphasized.
