Former Acting Managing Director, National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), Mrs. Chinwe Ezenwa has asked Nigerians, especially stakeholders in the maritime sector of the economy to stop making noise and take action on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Ezenwa who has since left the service of the Federal Government to set up a flourishing private business argued that going about the whole space making empty noise through series of seminars, workshops and conferences would not help Nigeria nay Nigerians.
She enjoined Nigerians, particularly stakeholders in the maritime industry to take practical steps to fully participate in AfCFTA instead of embarking on a wild goose chase in talk shops while other parts of the African continent are already deriving the benefits through decisive actions.
She argued that practical participation and not endless talks will help Nigerians to reap the gains accruing from the implementation of the AfCFTA regime in the continent in the coming years.
Ezenwa who was prior to her retirement over a decade ago was Director, Federal Ministry of Transportation stated this recently in Lagos at the 2021 Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) Fellows and Corporate Members’ induction.
The event with the theme Optimizing Opportunities in AfCFTA through Logistics and Transport Services was also used to honour Ezenwa and other key players in the transport industry as Fellows of the CILT.
Buttressing her assertions, she recalled her recent trips to South Africa and Rwanda on a trade fair during which she discovered the high level of commitment being shown by the nationals of these countries on the success of the AfCFTA.
While expressing dismay that smaller African nations have fully embraced a trade regime whose first anniversary is just a month away, she condemned Nigeria’s poor attitude to the AfCFTA.
She flayed the numerous conferences and workshops on AfCFTA across the country where resolutions on the new trade regime are not implemented.
Her words: “We do so much talking in Nigeria and no action. People should come out of their cocoon and participate. The only way to ensure that the giant of Africa is not shortchanged in AfCFTA is full participation so that we can reap the huge dividends from Nigeria’s population and large market”.
Ezenwa whose remarks attracted intermittent applause from the audience at the occasion noted that only the full participation of Nigerians in the affairs of new continental trade regime will place the country in a position to reap its goodies in the coming years.
