Constraining The Constraints In Nigeria’s Air Freight Sector, By Musa
The Group Managing Director of Widescope Group of Companies and Chief Executive Officer of Global Transport Policy, Dr. Oluwasegun Musa says the achaic structure and over-taxing in the aviation sector, is impeding revenue generation and the desired growth of the sector.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with AVIATION MONITOR, Musa said: “We don’t have the infrastructure to drive the growing cargo traffic and we have an over-taxed aviation sector. When you have an over-taxed sector, every tax on the airline will be passed on to the products and final destination. Such product cannot be competitive at the destination. It is when your product meets demands in terms of quality and price that you can think of generating huge revenue.”
He also said “the cost of freight is very high in Nigeria. When you have such component that is overwhelming, it is an issue.”
He equally said the warehousing charges are very high. “If we have effective system as we have in Ghana and some other climes in West Africa, that’s when we can think of generating much revenue. We have to be competitive in terms of services and products availability to generate huge revenue,” he said.
Musa who has 35 years experience in transport management and dozens of excellent performance awards, also made a case for consistency in government policies to grow freight business.
“During the last administration, we lost over N100 billion to ports closure. We lost traffic that was coming in. They all perished at the border; goods that were paid for. Policy should be consistent in Nigeria and have a human face,” he said.
