Rewane: Nigeria Still on Margin of Global Maritime Trade

Esther Oluku 

Renowned economist, Mr. Bismarck Rewane, has said that the Nigerian maritime industry still lies on the margin in global maritime trade after four years post the COVID era.

He stated that with the global economy standing at about $90 trillion pre-COVID and Nigeria’s share at about 2 per cent, global trade is expected to rise at about three per cent in 2025. 

With fluctuating currency exchange rate, he posited that Nigeria’s economy is speculated to slightly underperform.

Hence, he advised that to keep up with the ever-changing trends in the global maritime industry, the Nigerian Maritime industry must first aspire to bounce back to the Pre-COVID era of maritime business.

Speaking during the second Maritime Industry Breakfast Meeting of the Nigerian Maritime Law Association (NMLA), he submitted that to bounce back from this state, the Nigerian maritime industry must build strong institutions.

Rewane also noted that Nigeria must stimulate growth by encouraging cabbotage and international trade to boost indigenous business competitiveness. 

“We are marginal players in the maritime industry. But in the meantime, we have to aspire to where we want to go. And to aspire, we have the cabbotage law and all of those, to ensure that you begin to grow from there. What is common to positive economic outcome is strong institutions. That is the test of economic analysis to look at.

“It is important to know that the flow of trade has changed and Nigeria’s share of all of these things is actually declining.

First, Nigeria needed to catch up with where it used to be. Nigeria does not have that comparative advantage.

“Comparative advantage is a national endowment and how you use natural endowments to give you an open market and how the companies within your economy can compete against themselves and compete against others,” he said.

On her part, President, NMLA, Mrs. Funke Agbor, noted that the subject of Nigeria’s position on the global maritime environment is crucial at a time as this.

The topic, she said, is an eye opener for industry experts and professionals and would help to guide policy directive for the industry for the progress of the nation.

She said: “The speaker broke down how he saw the growth of the maritime industry and it is definitely related to the growth of the Nigerian economy. So, if the economy grows the Nigerian maritime would grow.”