By Idowu Addison
The National Assembly has been urged to enact legislation reserving key segments of Nigeria’s freight forwarding and customs brokerage industry exclusively for indigenous operators, amid growing concerns over the increasing dominance of foreign firms in the sector.
Making the call, former Acting National President of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Dr. Kayode Farinto, warned that the expanding presence of foreign operators is displacing Nigerian professionals, accelerating capital flight and creating potential national security vulnerabilities.
Speaking during the presentation of a position paper to members of the House of Representatives at a Breakfast Session organised to harvest practical policy recommendations aimed at advancing the nation’s economic development through legislative reforms, Farinto stating that Nigeria’s logistics industry has gradually slipped into the hands of foreign interests, leaving indigenous freight forwarders increasingly marginalized, particularly in the handling of project cargoes and customs brokerage services.
According to him, the development calls for urgent legislative intervention similar to the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act to ensure that critical components of the logistics value chain are reserved for Nigerians.
Farinto explained that logistics comprises several interconnected sectors, including transportation planning, cargo booking, documentation, customs clearance, warehousing, cargo handling and customs brokerage. However, he stressed that customs brokerage and freight forwarding should be protected because of their strategic importance to the nation’s economy and security.
He urged lawmakers to either enact a new law specifically on indigenous freight forwarding or expand the country’s local content legislation to accommodate customs brokerage and other sensitive areas of the maritime logistics industry.
According to him, such legislation would stimulate local participation, create jobs and ensure that wealth generated within the sector remains in the Nigerian economy.
“If freight forwarding is left in the hands of indigenous Nigerians, it will create employment opportunities and ensure that revenues generated from the business are retained within the country rather than being repatriated abroad,” he said.
The seasoned freight forwader lamented that foreign firms now dominate the lucrative project cargo segment of the industry, alleging that about 90 per cent of project cargoes entering Nigerian ports are handled by expatriate companies.
“I cannot remember the last time an indigenous freight forwarder handled a major project cargo in Nigeria. Today, almost everything is controlled by foreign companies,” he said.
He further expressed concern that international shipping companies have expanded beyond their traditional role of transporting cargoes into freight forwarding and customs brokerage, thereby competing directly with Nigerian practitioners.
Citing Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) as an example, Farinto said shipping lines are increasingly offering end-to-end logistics services that have significantly reduced business opportunities available to indigenous freight forwarders.
The former ANLCA chieftain warned that beyond its economic consequences, the increasing foreign participation in customs brokerage raises national security concerns because operators in that segment have unrestricted access to sensitive cargo information and import do
documentation.
