From Anthony Nwachukwu, Lagos
Towards repositioning the nation’s logistics and transport industry and bringing it to global standards, the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) will be hosting a national conference and Annual General Meeting (AGM).
Billed for October 12, 2022 in Lagos, the theme of the conference is “Sustainable Innovations in Global Logistics and Transport,” with the International President, Paul Saint House, slated to attend.
Unveiling plans for the event in Lagos over the weekend, the Chairman of CILT Nigeria 2022 National Conference and AGM Planning Committee, Prof. Kayode Oyesiku, said that scores of business leaders, the academia and policy makers would be coming from within and outside Nigeria.
According to him, the event “will encourage multi-disciplinary networks and provide platforms for academics and professionals to identify and examine the challenges, as well as proffer effective solutions for national logistics and transport operations.”
He explained that the conference will comprise various technical sessions where subject-matter experts will lead conversations primarily interrogating the future of logistics and transport operations in Nigeria.
This will be “especially within the context of a rapidly changing service environment, technological innovations and extensive planning dynamics that characterise logistics, transport and supply chain at the present time.”
Stressing the importance of logistics in the economic development of nations, CILT noted that “the Logistics Performance Index (LPI) of nations is now the yardstick for measuring their economic resilience and competitiveness.
“Wherever the LPIs are weak, the economy is vulnerable and susceptible to uncertainty and high business risks. They are categorised as having poor education and healthcare systems as well as poor social welfare and security framework.
“Therefore, given the observed socio-economic phenomena in Nigeria from recent past to the present, the conference, through the combined cognitive interaction of professionals, practitioners and the academics, anticipates the adaptive measures that policy makers, thought developers and operators are required to embrace for sustainability and competitiveness, internally and among the league of allied nations.”
The event “will also feature exhibitions of transportation and logistics products from cognate industries and sectors. It is an opportunity for Continuing Professional Development (CPD) for industry stakeholders and affords an excellent platform for networking.”
As part of the event, the national council has programmed a technical guided tour, and for this, will lead the delegates to the Lekki Deep Seaport and Eko Atlantic City for on-hand observation of the building, operations and management, to share their strategies for present success levels and future plans.
“We intend to deepen the practical aspects of improving the observed gaps in the sector and enhance the resilience of the vast industry through applied methodologies,” it added. “The idea is to generate sufficient interest in stake-holding parties to motivate attendance.
Meanwhile, Oyesiku explained that 22 experts with various books in various modes of transportation are expected to address the research concerns to be presented, including “the issue of sustainability of logistics and transport, energy transformation, and integrating the technological aspects of logistics and transport (for the first time), among others.
According to him, in the research aspect, CILT normally harvests research articles, particularly from the tertiary institutions, plus a large number of industry professionals who are also conducting research on their own, in order to ensure that CILT in Nigeria conforms with global standards and trends.
