Border Closure was of great benefit to Nigeria’s economy - Olateju

 

Olateju Olabode is the CEO of Bodetek Solutions, a clearing and forwarding agency company in Tincan, Apapa, Lagos. An experienced professional in the industry, he shares with JOY NGWOLO his opinion on the border re-opening by the government.

What does your average day look like?

We resume work at the port in the morning alongside the custom officers because they work for the government. Indirectly, we work for the government as well because we are the ones that run the documentations. When the custom officers are okay with our documents, we gain access to either our cars or commodities. Unlike other businesses, in Clearing and Forwarding, you need to have a good network of clients, in particular, people who want to clear consignments. If not, you need a large capital to invest in the business yourself. You can choose to import cars from overseas, or some other essential items that are in high demand. It is ether you run the business or you work for people doing the business. That is why we have importers and clearing agents.

What makes Bodetech Solutions different from others?

We cannot speak for ourselves but people say we are good, and that is the best way to advertise yourself. People trust us to deliver and we also work hard to impress our customers. We have been in business for 10 years running and people have been giving positive commendations about us. Although I also import goods from other countries, most of my work entails clearing for other people because I get a lot of referrals. The best thing about us is that we give our customers a beautiful and seamless experience in moving their goods.

What challenges do you face with running the business and how do you manage them?

One major challenge with the business is competition. Someone else tries to meet up with what you do, and you also have to upgrade your services. A lot of people are into the business nowadays, and everyone wants to be at their best. And if you are at your best already, you have to strive to maintain that position.

Another challenge we face is bad roads because we get into traffic every now and then within the port premises. Due to these bad roads, a consignment that we were supposed to take out like two or three days, will be there sometimes for a week most especially containers, at times they might be on the road for three to five days before they get into the terminal.

How did the Coronavirus pandemic affect your business?

The coronavirus pandemic had an effect on almost every kind of business all around the world. It affected us because vessels hardly berthed the country’s seaports and we hardly saw any bill of laden. And even when there was a bill of laden, there would be nothing to do and even when there was bill of laden, the vessel would have to stay for 14 days before offload starts. At the start of the pandemic, that is how things were run. It had a lot of negative impacts on the industry.

Even outside the country, there were not enough available goods to buy because people don’t usually sell their things like before. Because people have not really been using their clothes and cars, there have been limited cars up for sale. So, the number of people importing goods reduced. But like I said earlier, our good reputation kept us going.

How did you get into this line of business?

 I have an elder brother who is already into this business, he said that since I was through with High school and also running my education in the university, he felt I could study and work at the same time. He took me in and he began to teach me how the business was run and that was how I got into the involved in clearing and forwarding in 2007. This is what I have been doing and presently, I own a business of my own.

What is your take on the border closure and re-opening by the Nigerian government. Is it a right move? How do you think it has impacted businesses?

I have two answers to this question, both positive and negative.  The closure of the Nigerian border has had a positive impact on Clearing and Forwarding. There are some goods that some importers prefer to convey through our land borders through neighbouring countries like Cotonou to be precise. They prefer to take in their cars there because they believe they have lower duty rates and they have their ways of skipping through the federal operation units that are mounted at the borders of the country. At the end of the day, they run into massive profit. But since the borders were closed, there has been a large number of vessels at the country’s seaports. Most of the goods that should have been conveyed across land were seen at the sea ports. The initial intent to close the border was a very good move for Nigeria because the Nigerian government has realised more income than usual. Clearing and Forwarding agencies have also received more patronage.

Although, it has helped Clearing and Forwarding, it has damaged some people’s lives as well. My advice to the government on the re-opening of the border is that it should be done with strict measures, they should know the kind of goods that are being brought into the country.