Fully-functional seaports have the capacity to engage thousands of workers in both direct and indirect employment.
According to Managing Director, Lekki Port Free Trade Zone (LFTZ) Enterprise Limited, Mr. Du Ruogang, seaports, when fully operational, could create up to 160,000 jobs. This, according to him, shows that a standard port system can bridge Nigeria’s unemployment gap.
Thus, with Nigeria having just two of its seaports functioning to full or near full capacity (Onne port providing just oil export trade), the full functioning of other four seaports can employ hundreds of thousands of Nigerians.
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This will reduce the country’s unemployment rate of 33.28 percent reported in the fourth quarter of 2020.
Viability of ports
Sea transport remains the fulcrum of foreign trade globally. The sea is estimated to carry out at least 80 percent of global foreign trade. Thus, a developed seaport provides a base for the loading and off-loading of goods transported via the sea to countries in coastal areas for onward movement to the hinterlands.
Coastal countries have greater advantage as their developed seaports serve nations located around them. This generates revenue and provides employment opportunities for its citizens.
Nigeria, a country with parts of its territory along the ocean, can generate revenue and employment opportunities for its citizens by operating ports along the water bodies. The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has raked in N361 billion from 2020 to the first half of 2022, but that is a scratch in the pan when compared with revenues from trade and customs’ duties.
The Apapa Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) alone generated over N1 trillion in 2022. The NCS, in total, received over N2.14 trillion in 2022, the agency said.
The country has established six seaports: Lagos Port Complex, Tincan Island Port Complex, Rivers Port Complex, Onne Port Complex, Delta Port Complex, and Calabar Port. The Lekki Deep Seaport is in the final stage, making it seven ports in the country.
While the Apapa and TinCan account for about 99 percent of Nigeria’s exports and 89 percent of imports, Onne Port accounts for most of the oil exports, as it is one of the world’s largest oil and gas free zones.
Apart from the Onne Port which handles oil export, and Lagos Port (Tincan and Apapa) that handles import and export of the country, others are almost lying fallow as little or no activity occurs there.
Globally, fully operational seaports have been a great source of employment opportunities, providing an average of 10,000 jobs and even more in some cases.
UK port jobs
The United Kingdom’s 120 seaports provide 118,000 direct employment. While the number of direct jobs varies from port to port, the top ports provide thousands of direct job offers.
Port of Immingham has 10,500 employees in direct employment. The figure is 45,000 each in Port of London and Port of Southampton. The Port of Felixstowe has 6,000 employees.
China’s example
In China, Shanghai International Port (Group) Co., Ltd. has 13,546 people employed to carry out various activities. The port has 47 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs), judged the world’s largest container port.
Though the ports in Nigeria cannot be compared to those mentioned, the volume capacity, which ranges from 22,000 TEU in Apapa Port to 3 million TEU in Tincan Port, matches the ports mentioned. Thus, they have the capacity to employ a good number of workers.
Tincan Port, the largest in the country (3 million TEU), is larger than most of the ports in the UK mentioned. Only the Port of London with 10 million TUE is bigger. Thus, it can provide a number of direct jobs for Nigerians. The Port of Southampton with 1.5 million TEU creates 45,000 jobs for citizens around the seaport, showing that ports are veritable employment sources around the world.
How Nigeria can leverage ports
A port agent at the Apapa Port, Mrs Ronke Kareem, said that the ports’ import and export value chain provided numerous job opportunities. Though she couldn’t provide an estimate, she said thousands were gainfully employed at the seaports.
Mrs Kareem further buttressed that both government and individuals worked full-time and on contract bases, noting that shipping companies were also carrying out services for importers and exporters.
“When you consider the number of government representatives needed at the ports, those employed by the shipping company, the agents who carry out transactions on behalf of importers and exporters, and the crane and forklift operators, you will realise that there are thousands of people working at the port,” she said.
An economist and Senior Planning Officer at the National Space Research and Development Agency, Mr Micheal Ojeikpo, said opening the other ports in Nigeria would not only create more jobs but could generate more revenue for the country.
“As the largest economy in Africa, opening the other ports to full capacity will enhance massive job creation. We all know the state of the ports in Lagos, how congested they are, and the delay in transactions because of the dependence on the ports there. If other ports are open and functioning, trade will be diverted to them, enhancing fast clearance of goods, more jobs and revenue to the government,” he concluded.