From Anthony Nwachukwu, Lagos
For a result-driven implementation bleu economy harnessing, former Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, Hassan Bello, has called on the federal government to enlist private sector leadership and collaboration of all stakeholders rather than name any public institution as the lead implementing agency.
Bello, who chaired the Primetime Reporters’ 10th anniversary lecture and awards in Lagos on Wednesday, spoke against the backdrop of the implementation of the Cabotage Act, which has failed to yield the expected shipping development, among others, since it came into force in 2003.
“Don’t give the blue economy to an agency as the lead agency because everybody must have contributions,” he stated. “Allow the private sector to take over the blue economy, don’t create fantastic departments and overload them into the private sector.”
He explained that under the Cabotage Act, “it was a NIMASA thing and cabotage was colonised. The blue economy should not be colonised. We should have the ramification of that blue economy to make sure that everything trickles down.”
Speaking on the theme, “Leveraging Technology to Maximise the Potential of Nigeria’s Blue Economy,” Bello insisted that the problem is not the absence of technology but the inability to deploy it in the nation’s business life. He stressed that the blue economy cannot survive without technology.
“Technology is central. Without technology, we have limitations,” he stated. “The blue economy will be there; in 10 years’ time, we will still be talking about the blue economy, but we have to harness it.”
According to him, this will require a conscious, concerted and even calculated effort to make it work. It must have the active participation of stakeholders and the involvement of the private sector to harness the resources, and not anything fanciful or pretentious. The government must involve the private sector.
“We can create an alternative to oil and gas. Sustainable energy, renewable energy, fisheries and so on mean that the blue economy will have to settle with other stakeholders.”
Meanwhile, Bello noted that the various organs of government have made a lot of progress even before the naming of the Blue Economy Ministry. According to him, “blue economy has always been there, just as we had the red economy, which is characterised by China’s quest for export for state directed economy.
“We even have the grey economy, which is the informal; the green economy and all shades of economy. So, the call by stakeholders has been for us to have a ministry that will cater for transportation, and transportation is a cardinal or even paramount part of the blue economy.
“I know we have sustainable use of ocean resources and many other things, but when you talk about the blue economy, the central point is the use of ocean, inland waterways and other resources for diversification of our economy.”
