Dantsoho Urges African Countries to Translate Marine Comparative Advantages to Economic Prosperity

Eromosele Abiodun

The Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and President of the Port Management Association of West and Central Africa (PMAWCA), Dr Abubakar Dantsoho, has stressed the need for African countries to translate their marine comparative advantages into opportunities for the collective prosperity of their respective countries.

Dantsohowho stated this while speaking at the PMAWCA Board of Directors and Ports Statisticians Network Meetings in Luanda, Angola, added that the sustainability of Africa countries rests heavily on the sustainability of their seaports.

He added that apart from being linked by water, countries in West and Central Africa are linked by challenges and opportunities. 

According to him, “The need to translate our marine comparative advantages into opportunities for the collective prosperity of our respective countries has never been more pressing than it is now.We must not lose sight of the fact that the demonstrated global leadership of ports in the contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), shows that the sustainability of the world especially Africa rests heavily on the sustainability of our Ports. 

“As I stated last week in my engagement with the PMAWCA Women Network at the NPA headquarters in Lagos, apart from being linked by water, countries in West and Central Africa are linked by challenges and opportunities and With the increasing realization of the leverage that economic cooperation confers in the international arena, we will be doing great disservice to ourselves if we fail to maximize this unity through intensified collaboration of our ports.”

He further emphasised that data remains the major driver of effective decision making in Port Management.

“Coming together with the Statisticians Network, this meeting presents a smart model for regional synergy and partnership, which this administration intends to champion, especially given that data remains the major driver of effective decision making in Port Management,” he said.

Dantsho who commended President Bola Tinubu for creating the Marine and Blue Economy Ministry, said the creation of the Ministry has made implementation of audacious plans for the sector easier.

“With the visionary creation of the new Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy which has re-energized our resolve to invest more in sector-specific talent development order to harness more ideas from operational think tanks such as the PMAWCA.

“The administration of His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has made the implementation of our audacious plans easier with the visionary creation of the new Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy which has re-energized our resolve to invest more in sector-specific talent development order to harness more ideas from operational think tanks such as the PMAWCA,” he said.