Thursday, 28th March 2024
To guardian.ng
Search

Practitioners allege policy inconsistency hinders development of logistics supply

By Gloria Ehiaghe
14 December 2017   |   4:14 am
The Director General, African Centre for Supply Chain (ACSC), Obiora Madu, has described government’s lack of political will to implement policies as factors mitigating development of logistics supply chain in Nigeria.

Dr Obiora Madu

The Director General, African Centre for Supply Chain (ACSC), Obiora Madu, has described government’s lack of political will to implement policies as factors mitigating development of logistics supply chain in Nigeria.

He said that the Federal Government’s effort at improving the ease of doing business in the country would only work effectively if adequate logistics’ infrastructure is in place.

Madu who stated this at the unveiling of the 2017 Nigerian Logistics and Supply Chain Industry report in Lagos, stressed the need for the development of a National Logistics Policy in the country to help address challenges in the logistics supply chain.

While calling on government to address logistic challenges in the country, he quoted the World Bank report on logistics that any country that does not pay attention to logistics is impoverishing her citizens.

According to him: “If the quantity of perishable goods we lose every year are to be in the market, it will be a different thing all together. The challenges we are having in exporting our yams is all logistics problem and we are losing huge revenue as a result of that.

“The first step to addressing this issue would be the development of a national logistics policy.

“The economy of the nation would be better if the perishable items lost as a result of logistics challenges were available in the market. The challenge is that the people at the helm of critical government agencies aren’t aware of the inherent potentials of this sector and that is why we have to make our contribution by shouting to get the attention of the government.”

Earlier, while presenting the 2017 Nigeria logistics supply chain industry report to the audience, Deputy President, Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT), Dr Alban Igwe said for Nigeria to become a hub in logistics and supply chain, the private sector must be encouraged to develop the country’s logistics infrastructure and build capacity.

He lamented that the Nigeria being Africa’s gaint is suffering even though it had all the potential to be a true logistics giant.

On the way forward, Igwe canvassed requisite infrastructure and Information Communication Technology (ICT) to drive logistics, saying “if we don’t have the two, we cannot make any progress because logistics is the life wire of any nation.”

He admonished Nigerian leaders to take a clue from Singapore that has become a logistics hub in the world by building capacity, embracing innovation and ensure the appointment of visionary leaders at the helm of government agencies that could transform the logistics industry.

In this article

0 Comments