As part of its benchmarking efforts in the air cargo business, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), and the Aviacargo Team from Nigeria made a fact-finding visit to Kotoka International Airport Cargo facilities in Ghana.
Leading the team on the trip was the Director of Commercial and Business Development, FAAN, Olumuyiwa Femi-Pearse, with the support of the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority GCAA and the Ghana Airport Company Ltd GACL.
The trip formed part of the effort by the Nigerian team to ramp up aviacargo business in Nigeria, a country that is presently ranked Number five in Africa behind aviacargo leaders of Kenya, Egypt, South Africa and Ethiopia.
As the biggest economy and the largest population, Nigeria receives over 10 fully loaded freighters weekly and most leave empty.
To redress this situation, the government of Nigeria set up an Aviacargo Roadmap Committee with Ikechi Uko as the Coordinator of the project.
During the visit to Accra Ghana the Nigeria’s aviacargo team was received at the airport by the GCAA and GACL led by Reverend Alexander Kwaiku Yeboah, the Air Cargo Safety Inspector for GCAA; Captain Solomon Quainoo, the Director of MCDAN Aviation and the Group CEO, Kweku Ampofi.
The team includes the general managers of Business Development and that of Cargo Development, Hycienth Ngwu and Kabiru A.N. Mohammed, respectively. Also senior officers from both cargo and business development of FAAN with a representative from NAFDAC, Mrs Sanwoolu and another member of the aviacargo committee, Alex Nwuba were part of the team.
The team was taken to the aviance cargo, the oldest special purpose cargo terminal in Ghana, for a tour of the first upscale cargo terminal in Ghana even as the team also visited the Swissport Terminal which is the most modern cargo terminal in West Africa where they engaged with government agencies and some stakeholders.
The team also visited the Nigerian Embassy where the High Commissioner, Ibok-Ete Ibas and the staff hosted them, with the High Commissioner thanking the Team for making out time to visit the embassy. He wants the team to make sure the report and findings are implemented.
According to the commissioner; “”Nigeria is now learning from people who had earlier learnt from us, we should show more patriotism to restore Nigeria to its rightful position in the world”.
The DCBD in his remarks told the High Commissioner that “the Potential in Nigeria to do air cargo is massive but mostly untapped. We have seen the high tech facilities at Addis Ababa, we have seen the output by Kenya and we have now seen the modest but functional adaptation by Ghana so we know exactly what to do sir. We have now woken up to the reality of the game.”
The group rounded off the tour with an engagement with the Ghana Export Promotion Agency GEPA were received by the Deputy CEO Albert Kassim Diwura. After the engagement, the Coordinator of the Nigerian Aviacargo Roadmap Committee while thanking the government of Ghana for the reception of the team, wondered why the 2 countries are not working closer together. “I observed that Ghana imports eggs from Belgium to hatch for day old chicks while eggs are rotting in North Central Nigeria. Why is Ghana importing mangos from Brazil to produce fruit juice for export. Why is Nigeria importing chocolate from Europe when Ghana can supply all we need. If Ghana is good at exporting yam can we supply more yams to Ghana for increased exports. These will grow the 2 economies. We need to start this export thing at the regional level then expand globally,” he observed.
The Deputy CEO of GEPA thanked the Nigerian visitors and said that he was happy that NAFDAC was part of the team as NAFDAC has been one of the obstacles faced by Ghanaian exporters to Nigeria.
The NAFDAC representative was quick to assure him about the ease and transparency of the agency pointing out that importers come to the agency when their goods arrive instead of coming to get the approval before bringing in the goods. The visit to Ghana is the 3rd international airport visited by the Aviacargo Committee. They had earlier visited the airports at Nairobi Kenya and Addis Ababa Ethiopia. They have also visited 3 airports in North Central Nigeria in Jos, Lafia and Abuja.