Editorial
Ensuring Food Safety
Last Friday was the maiden observance of World Food Safety Day. Proclaimed on December 20, 2018 by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), June 7 now serves as a day to raise global awareness to the seemingly simple but very crucial need to ensure the safety of whatever man produces and consumes as food.
Spearheaded by two United Nations agencies, namely the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), the day aims at inspiring food safety campaigns in a manner that reduces food-borne ailments and food poisoning around the world.
Going by WHO’s figures in 2015, approximately 600 million people suffered from food-borne diseases out of which about 420,000 died globally, mainly children below five years.
Considering the unacceptable low levels of sanitation and hygiene, particularly in the highly-populated poor countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America, this year’s theme, “Food Safety, Everyone’s Business,” cannot be more apt.
Climate change, with its dire economic consequences on mankind, means that dangerous short-cuts have been adopted as survival strategies across the world. For instance, in Nigeria, grated cassava is hardly kept to stay out its due fermentation period before being processed into garri; just as an overdose of fertilizers and pesticides applied during planting and the use of detergents, calcium carbide and other toxic chemicals to ripen fruits have become common.
Also worthy of mention is the continued use of discarded vehicle tyres to process meat at the nation’s abattoirs, formalin for preserving poultry meat and other harmful chemicals for storing beans, maize and other grains.
We recall that a few years ago, the media was awash with news of the ban on imports of beans, yams, palm oil, groundnuts and other food items from Nigeria by the European Union on account of these food materials being tainted by dangerous chemicals.
Again, an international brand of soft drink exported from Nigeria was reportedly rejected abroad after laboratory tests proved that it was substandard and highly conterminated.
WHO Director-General, Tedros Ghebreyesus, had, at a two-day WHO, FAO and African Union international food safety conference held in February in Addis Ababa, recommended that at every stage of the food value chain, from production, harvesting, processing, packaging, storage, distribution, preparation and consumption, there should be regulation by a constitutionally empowered agency.
During a speech to mark the food safety day in Abuja, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Health, Mr. Abdullahi Mashi, reportedly assured that his ministry was working with state Health and Agriculture Ministries to further strengthen the work of environmental health officers.
He also disclosed that the Federal Executive Council had approved for the Food Safety and Nutrition Directorate of the National Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to be expanded for effective and efficient achievement of its mandate.
Mashi agreed that, given the unhygienic environment in which foods are prepared and sold in Nigeria, especially by the roadside, open drainages and near faecal defecation areas; there was bound to be diseases like typhoid, cholera, diarrhoea, botulism, hepatitis A and cancer-related ailments
Despite these assurances, however, The Tide is worried that NAFDAC seems to have run out of steam since the exit of its former boss, late Professor Dora Akunyili. Genuine alarms raised by vigilant traders over the infiltration of fake and substandard goods and food stuff into the markets do not appear to have been followed up as there is hardly news of any arrests.
Added to this is the discovery that veterinary experts, public health and environmental officers are hardly regular at the abattoirs. We suspect that while some may have been compromised with daily supply of meat which health condition they never even certified, others have been threatened to abandon any further nosey inspections by the usually powerful butchers’ associations.
Spot checks on hotels and roadside eateries are almost non-existent. The bottomline, therefore, is that the government should continue to insist that its relevant agencies live up to their mandates. But while that is on, individuals should also endeavour to be more circumspect in sourcing and handling their food. Nigerians already have insatiable appetite for foreign processed food. And this, we think, is both unhealthy and unpatriotic.
When Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, received the Board and Management of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), led by its Chairman, Senator Adeyeye Adedayo Clement, his message was unmistakable: Rivers’ seaports remain underutilised, and Nigeria is poorer for it. The governor’s lament was a sad reminder of how neglect and centralisation continue to choke the nation’s economic arteries.
The governor, in his remarks at Government House, Port Harcourt, expressed concern that the twin seaports — the NPA in Port Harcourt and the Onne Seaport — have not been operating at their full potential. He underscored that seaports are vital engines of national development, pointing out that no prosperous nation thrives without efficient ports and airports. His position aligns with global realities that maritime trade remains the backbone of industrial expansion and international commerce.
Indeed, the case of Rivers State is peculiar. It hosts two major ports strategically located along the Bonny River axis, yet cargo throughput has remained dismally low compared to Lagos. According to NPA’s 2023 statistics, Lagos ports (Apapa and Tin Can Island) handled over 75 per cent of Nigeria’s container traffic, while Onne managed less than 10 per cent. Such a lopsided distribution is neither efficient nor sustainable.
Governor Fubara rightly observed that the full capacity operation of Onne Port would be transformative. The area’s vast land mass and industrial potential make it ideal for ancillary businesses — warehousing, logistics, ship repair, and manufacturing. A revitalised Onne would attract investors, create jobs, and stimulate economic growth, not only in Rivers State but across the Niger Delta.
The multiplier effect cannot be overstated. The port’s expansion would boost clearing and forwarding services, strengthen local transport networks, and revitalise the moribund manufacturing sector. It would also expand opportunities for youth employment — a pressing concern in a state where unemployment reportedly hovers around 32 per cent, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Yet, the challenge lies not in capacity but in policy. For years, Nigeria’s maritime economy has been suffocated by excessive centralisation. Successive governments have prioritised Lagos at the expense of other viable ports, creating a traffic nightmare and logistical bottlenecks that cost importers and exporters billions annually. The governor’s call, therefore, is a plea for fairness and pragmatism.
Making Lagos the exclusive maritime gateway is counter productive. Congestion at Tin Can Island and Apapa has become legendary — ships often wait weeks to berth, while truck queues stretch for kilometres. The result is avoidable demurrage, product delays, and business frustration. A more decentralised port system would spread economic opportunities and reduce the burden on Lagos’ overstretched infrastructure.
Importers continue to face severe difficulties clearing goods in Lagos, with bureaucratic delays and poor road networks compounding their woes. The World Bank’s Doing Business Report estimates that Nigerian ports experience average clearance times of 20 days — compared to just 5 days in neighbouring Ghana. Such inefficiency undermines competitiveness and discourages foreign investment.
Worse still, goods transported from Lagos to other regions are often lost to accidents or criminal attacks along the nation’s perilous highways. Reports from the Federal Road Safety Corps indicate that over 5,000 road crashes involving heavy-duty trucks occurred in 2023, many en route from Lagos. By contrast, activating seaports in Rivers, Warri, and Calabar would shorten cargo routes and save lives.
The economic rationale is clear: making all seaports operational will create jobs, enhance trade efficiency, and boost national revenue. It will also help diversify economic activity away from the overburdened South West, spreading prosperity more evenly across the federation.
Decentralisation is both an economic strategy and an act of national renewal. When Onne, Warri, and Calabar ports operate optimally, hinterland states benefit through increased trade and infrastructure development. The federal purse, too, gains through taxes, duties, and improved productivity.
Tin Can Island, already bursting at the seams, exemplifies the perils of over-centralisation. Ships face berthing delays, containers stack up, and port users lose valuable hours navigating chaos. The result is higher operational costs and lower competitiveness. Allowing states like Rivers to fully harness their maritime assets would reverse this trend.
Compelling all importers to use Lagos ports is an anachronistic policy that stifles innovation and local enterprise. Nigeria cannot achieve its industrial ambitions by chaining its logistics system to one congested city. The path to prosperity lies in empowering every state to develop and utilise its natural advantages — and for Rivers, that means functional seaports.
Fubara’s call should not go unheeded. The Federal Government must embrace decentralisation as a strategic necessity for national growth. Making Rivers’ seaports work is not just about reviving dormant infrastructure; it is about unlocking the full maritime potential of a nation yearning for balance, productivity, and shared prosperity.
