Prof. James Epoke, a former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Calabar has said the cost of governance in Nigeria was too much, noting that no country can make meaningful progress by spending huge resources in governance.
Epoke who stated this in an exclusive interview with Punch called on Organized Labour to mobilize against State Governors who spend so much on vehicles in convoy and other frivolities.
"This is where labour should come in. Instead of going on strike for minimum wage, workers should go on strike for the reduction in the cost of governance. Why should a governor, for instance, use 20 to 30 vehicles in a convoy to move from point A to point B doing nothing? Why would a president want to land in an airport and the roads around the airport are closed for between four and five hours after which he (president) is escorted with armoured cars? Who wants to kill him? All those are the reasons for the increased cost of governance. It should stop."
On why seaports in the South-South region appear dormant, he said
"Most of the importers of goods in the country started from the Lagos port. The South-West has a very good hold on importation business. However, we need to remember that Lagos has very deep sea, while those in other ports in the South-South are shallow and heavy vessels cannot pass through them. That is why the issue of continuous dredging has been suggested.
"The best way out is for the bigger vessels to continue to come to Lagos while the smaller vessels should be used to distribute them to Calabar, Port-Harcourt and Warri. By so doing, Lagos will be decongested. This should be followed with good road networks from Warri, Calabar, Port Harcourt to the northern part of the country. When this is done, all the ports in the country will be busy.
"If that is done, the dry ports can now be utilised with good rail network. There is no reason why we should not have rail line from Calabar to Maiduguri. I was in a hotel in one of the towns in the United States and for over 45 minutes, I watched how just one train was loaded with different types of goods going from the South to the North.
"Countries are moving away from transporting goods through the road network. I think part of the ways to decongest the Lagos port is to use smaller vessels to transport goods from Lagos to other ports. The issue of dredging is just a way to milk the country."
