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By Dickson Okafor
Chief Basil Akukwe, National President, Global Freight Forwarders and Maritime Association (GFFMA) said Nigeria is bleeding because of economic mismanagement by past administration which he said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu- led government inherited.
He also spoke about other issues of interest.
What is your take on the withdrawal of Police escort from VIPs?
This issue of Police escort attached to Very Important Persons (VIPs), the rich and even those whose sources of wealthy is suspicus is anti-global. I have not seen this type of a thing anywhere in the world. Some Police men and women are seen washing cloths for the VIPs, carrying bags for them thereby reducing the integrity of our personnels. But because of insecurity in the country which is alarming, that is why some people are gainst the withdrawal. Like in 1960s, 80s and 90s all these things wasn’t in fashion, but it is very wrong for Police officer to be escorting certain persons because they are rich while there are not enough Police to protect ordinary Nigerians. It is not globally accepted, but I can’t support provision of Police escort to some of us who God bless because of security situation in the country. Instead, the ideal thing to do by government is to provide good governance, increase productivity and engage the youths productively.
How will you rate this government with regards to economic reforms, insecurity, disunity among Nigeians and other challenges?
If I should say my sincere opinion, government is continuity even though I don’t want to blame the past government, but I can’t mention the success and challenges faced by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu -led government without talking about the immediate past government. This present government inherited a lot of problems which include terrorism, banditry, poor economy and high level of corruption. Typical example is the immediate past Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami. There are so many to mention. The level of corruption in the last administration is with impunity which has affected the economy. So, I believe the present administration under the watch President Tinubu is trying to improve the already decayed economy through the ongoing economic reforms. It is not something they can do overnight because it cannot be fixed overnight. So, in my candid opinion he is trying his best. But the obvious fact is that things have gotten bad for over 10 to 15 years. To me, President Tinubu is doing everything possible to bring the nation back to where we are supposed to be. Therefore, it is too early to rate or judge if he has done well or not in two years.
Don’t you think that the security situation can be resolved internally with the recent decision of Northern governors and royal fathers to join in the fight against banditry, kidnapping and terrorism?
Every global crisis are fuelled most times by politicians. There are people who fuel internal crisis in nations because they are benefiting from it. So, the decision to raise money by the Northern governors to fund the fight against insecurity is welcome. Before now, hasn’t government been raising money to end insecurity? What change has the huge amount of money spent in security made? What is required from government officials who this money are given to is integrity, and with sincerity of purpose, the money will be used for the purpose it is meant for and things will be better. For instance, security funds are given to the governors monthly, where is the money? So, is it when another money is given to them that insecurity will stop? No. the decision of the Northern governors to join in the fight against insecurity is a mere excuse.
The Nigeria Customs Service announced that it generated N3.68 trillion in revenue during the first half of 2025 yet, with this huge revenue generated Nigerians could not afford these imported goods because of high prices. As a stakeholder, what do you think has made this huge revenue not to reflect in reduction in the prices of goods in the market?
Let me give you a very simple analysis, cost of goods and services is determined by the exchange rate. For instance, if you minus the amount you use to import goods, the amount you spent to clear the goods from the port and charges then you place the prices of the goods. Because you import to sell and make profit and at the same time you import another one, but if you don’t make profit, you won’t import another one. So, these are the variables and the reason price of imported goods are very high. You can’t import at N20 and sell at N15 because these are private partnership businesses. Nigeria is a country that if you decide to take loan from the bank, you should go and be digging your grave because our loan service is almost 5 to 10 percent and it has no steady rate. That is why I have continued to advocate for local production of what we consume. Today, the situation has been worsened by banditry and killing of farmers.
What is you take on the new tax law?
Like I told you earler, this country is bleeding because we are in serious debt with foreign loans. Public and private enterprises are not functioning properly. If government can be sincere and collect these taxes and use them for the purpose they are meant for, such as buildiing factories and infrastructures, Nigerians will not be suspicious of what government will do with their taxes. They will be happy to pay tax, but because they don’t’ know where the money goes, that is why they are opposing the new tax law. To me, it is not a bad idea, so long as the money will be utilised for the benefit of the citizens.
As one of those who predicted that Governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo would be re-elected in the just concluded governorship election, which came to pass, what agenda do you have for him?
My agenda for Governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo is that he should not be partisan, but to unite the state by settling some disputes such as Chieftancy title disputes in some communities and go deep down and know the root cause and solve it. He should do more on security by finding out the origin of cult groups, kidnappers and fake native doctors and put an end to them. This is not a rocket science because with Soludo’s performance in the last four years, I believe he can still do more, and if you see Anambra State in three years, you won’t believe it and that is the reason why we re-elected him.
