Maritime industry expert, Dr. Segun Musa, has warned that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) will not deliver meaningful benefits for Nigeria unless backed by clear, holistic, and measurable policies. <\/p>\n
Speaking at a roundtable organized by the Maritime Reporters Association of Nigeria (MARAN), Musa criticized Nigeria\u2019s \u201cceremonial participation\u201d in AfCFTA, arguing that genuine engagement should be reflected in export volumes and measurable benchmarks rather than symbolic media showcases. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf we were serious under this scheme, we should be talking about exporting 200,000 to 300,000 containers by now \u2014 even up to a million. Instead, we are celebrating one or two containers and gathering media houses to showcase them. Is that participation? It\u2019s painful for a country of this size,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Policy Gaps and Institutional Readiness
\nMusa stressed that policy frameworks must be predictive, structured, and outcome-driven. He argued that Nigeria\u2019s challenge lies not in declarations but in institutional readiness and structured participation. <\/p>\n
He also questioned the effectiveness of the proposed National Single Window, a government initiative touted as a major trade facilitation reform. <\/p>\n
\u201cSingle window? What change will it bring? Nothing will change if the agencies inside that system are not competent and ready. You cannot pull the cart before the horse,\u201d Musa noted. <\/p>\n
While acknowledging the importance of digitisation, Musa cautioned that technology alone cannot resolve deep-rooted inefficiencies. Without performance standards and accountability mechanisms, he warned, the Single Window risks becoming \u201cjust another jamboree.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cYou must ensure the agents are ready before you start talking about digitisation. Otherwise, it will remain a single window in name, while inefficiency continues behind it,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n
Drawing on his 36 years of industry experience, Musa emphasized that his position was based on technical knowledge and integrity rather than pessimism. He urged Nigeria to move beyond rhetoric and adopt practical, measurable strategies. <\/p>\n
He compared Nigeria\u2019s export performance with Europe and Asia, noting that serious trading economies prioritize volume and competitiveness over symbolic shipments. <\/p>\n
Musa concluded with a warning: without concrete benchmarks, coordinated institutional reforms, and export-driven strategies, Nigeria risks squandering the opportunities presented by AfCFTA. <\/p>\n
The roundtable ended with renewed calls for actionable policies, institutional competence, and measurable targets to ensure AfCFTA translates into tangible economic gains rather than remaining, in Musa\u2019s words, \u201ca wasteful exercise.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Maritime industry expert, Dr. Segun Musa, has warned that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) will not deliver meaningful benefits for Nigeria unless backed by clear, holistic, and measurable policies. Speaking at a roundtable organized by the Maritime Reporters Association of Nigeria (MARAN), Musa criticized Nigeria\u2019s \u201cceremonial participation\u201d in AfCFTA, arguing that genuine engagement […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9727,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9726","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-maritime-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9726","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9726"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9726\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9728,"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9726\/revisions\/9728"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9727"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9726"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9726"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9726"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}