Onitsha River Port: Consistent propaganda widening trust gap

In the run-up to the 1983 presidential election, the incumbent President Shehu Shagari, had a commissioning ceremony for the Onitsha River port ostensibly to curry votes from the South East. The port never really functioned after that ceremony.

Twenty-nine years later, in August 2012, there was another commissioning, of the same Onitsha River Port Complex, by President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. Then on 7 October, 2020, there were reports that the Onitsha River Port had been commissioned yet again by the Buhari Administration and was already being patronised.

A couple of pictures from obscure Twitter accounts posted pictures and equally obscure partisan Twitter mouthpieces went to town with talk of how the achievement was being overlooked because of Igbo bias. Clearly baiting an entire ethnic group, and asking for their gratitude to President Buhari.

Sadly, despite so many false starts, it appears that Nigerian government types do not still understand that consistent propaganda eventually leads to a trust deficit. This means that a people who have seen two commissioning ceremonies of the same project over the course of three decades would be definitely unimpressed by the news of yet another commissioning of the same project.

At this point, the people are weary of propaganda and absolutely have to see a sustained stream of shipping activity. There were reports linking globally renowned shipping firm Maersk with the project but the organisation was quick to state that their ships do not berth at Onitsha, instead that they now have a service that takes cargo discharged at Onne, in Rivers State, to the Clarion Depot in Onitsha.

What this means is that at this time there is very little clarity on the exact nature of what is available at the Onitsha River Port in terms of draft details, maximum vessel quantity limits, delivery schedules, and most importantly perhaps, what is allowed into the depot. Rather than the relevant parties to properly handle the release of information to the public, this matter was used for propaganda purposes, in a manner that is both tiring and disrespectful to an entire ethnic group, my ethnic group.

For starters, it is in bad taste for communication on transportation policy to be primarily hinged on debating politics. There was no high-level announcement with attendant clarity coming from the relevant ministries, nor was there any official communication from relevant departments or agencies such as the Nigerian Ports Authority, the Nigerian Inland Waterways Administration, or the Association of Clearing Agents who are the major direct clients of the Port Agencies.

The people are spent. At this point, they just need to see proof of work, and the best proof is seeing businesses constantly using the facilities. The Onitsha River Port was commissioned by the Shehu Shagari administration in 1983 but it was never really completed. Now the Onne Seaport in Rivers State is running and apparently it is possible that this might lead to the sustained development of the associated river ports.

But let us be real here.

In an earlier op-ed in this newspaper (1 October 2019), I talked about the Eastern Economic Corridor and the reason it was abandoned. Both the Onitsha River Port and the Onne Port are on that corridor. As are potential jetties in Oguta (Imo), Idah or Agenebode (Kogi or Edo), Lokoja (Kogi), Makurdi (Benue) and Jimeta (Adamawa). The port at Baro (Niger) is on the LAKAJI corridor, but could benefit from Onne as well, and the revitalisation of Onne is not happening as a favour to the Igbo people. It is happening because of the necessity caused by the mess that is Apapa. Onne, and thus Onitsha and the others are necessary so that Lagos can breathe.

Some industry players have suggested that the project is far from complete with dredging not being fully sorted out yet. If ports in Onitsha or anywhere else are functional, the relevant professional communities will use them and the word will spread. It is better to have the government focus on efficient delivery of projects and release of relevant balanced information to the relevant professional communities and Nigerians than to focus on propaganda that just wins points for a couple of hours until more information comes to light.