Blowing hot and cold

A special adviser to President Bola Tinubu, Bayo Onanuga, has said no agreement or deal was signed between the Nigerian government and the Danish shipping giant Maersk. Earlier, he posted about such a deal on X, but the social media post has been deleted. Maersk officials have confirmed that no such agreement exists, and no deals have been signed. This came after earlier reports that Maersk was set to inject US$ 600 million into Nigeria’s seaport infrastructure. The agreement was allegedly made on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum Special Meeting on Global Collaboration, Growth, and Energy for Development in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The FG’s announcement, subsequent rescission, and the government’s counter-claims, followed by the deletion of announcements, have become a pattern of miscommunication under the Tinubu administration. This has led Nigerians to distrust initial announcements and expect contradictory information to follow, requiring them to verify any information announced. This is not good, especially since the ports desperately need the investment. Serving one of Africa’s largest economies, Nigeria’s ports have, in recent decades, been fraught with inefficiencies and corrupt practices, leading to high prices of items imported into the country. In 2019, SBM conducted a three-month investigation, tracking shipments to three specific ports in Africa. This study revealed average costs for shipping goods from the European Union, and fees containers incur while docked at these ports and the average cost of moving containers from the port to designated warehouses within the port city limits. The results showed that the costs for the Apapa Port in Lagos are by far the highest, five times higher than in Durban, South Africa, and three times higher than in Tema, Ghana. It also revealed that the cost of local transport from the ports was ten times the cost in Lagos than in both Durban and Tema, making Lagos an expensive place to do business. This implies that the whole port value chain is overdue for a revamp. “There was talk of investment” was the defence offered by Mr Onanuga when speaking to the media after reports began to emerge that there was no investment. Mistakes are inevitable, but repeated errors, especially those involving foreign entities emanating from the highest office, are deeply concerning. The incident with Emirates Airlines and the government of the United Arab Emirates happened not too long ago. Qatar has declined to invest despite fanfare and positive noises from the government, and now, another has happened with Maesrk. The Tinubu administration’s pattern of miscommunication has further eroded public trust, both domestically and internationally. This negative trend undermines the signalling power of government announcements and diminishes their effectiveness as leverage in domestic and international affairs. By squandering its credibility, the Tinubu administration has weakened its soft power and damaged stakeholder relationships. Government officials have to understand that their actions have consequences, and they can surely do better than embarrassing the entire country every market day.