Chairman of SAHCO, Afolabi
How Nigeria’s world-class cargo terminals is fast becoming sausage markets and what SAHCO is doing to fix it
By Gboyega Adeoye
It was supposed to be a routine stakeholders forum at the Marriott in Ikeja. It turned into a brutal, honest X-ray of Nigeria’s air cargo industry.
Hosted by Skyway Aviation Handling Company (SAHCO) PLC, the forum brought together the entire value chain – airlines, freight forwarders, cargo agents, regulators, importers and exporters. But two powerful voices dominated the room: one looking to the future, the other furious about the present.
The first voice came from the top. Chairman of SAHCO, Dr. Taiwo Afolabi, represented by Managing Director, Mrs. Adenike Aboderin, delivered a clear message: Nigeria’s air cargo competitiveness will only fly on the wings of collaboration, trust and infrastructure.
He was not speaking theory. He was listing investments.
To meet global standards, SAHCO has injected millions into game-changing equipment: a new dual-view X-ray machine for advanced cargo screening, an Exclusive Trace Detection (ETB) machine to sniff out explosives, a massive 16-ton forklift for heavy and oversized consignments, and cutting-edge cold-chain facilities for pharmaceuticals and perishables that cannot afford to lose temperature.
The company has also expanded its cargo build-up area to handle growing volumes faster and more efficiently.
“The air cargo sector plays a vital role in facilitating international trade, connecting markets, and contributing to economic development,” Afolabi said. “At SAHCO, we recognise that our success is closely linked to the success of every stakeholder within the cargo value chain. We all share the responsibility of ensuring cargo moves safely, efficiently and seamlessly.”
For him, the formula is simple: world-class infrastructure plus skilled workforce plus open communication equals global competitiveness.
SAHCO, he assured, is keeping its doors open for feedback to reduce turnaround time and boost trade facilitation.
SAHCO former MD, Owolabi
Then came the second voice – and the real headline.
Former Managing Director of SAHCO, Dr. Oluropo Owolabi, stood up and did not mince words. He said he was embarrassed by what he has seen.
International bonded cargo warehouses – built to rival the best in Africa, like the SIFAX Bonded Warehouse designed for seamless documentation, customs assessment, security clearance and swift release – have been turned into illegal car dealerships, trading hubs and Okada parking lots.
“If you want to buy a good car today, you go to the airport cargo warehouse! That place is meant strictly for clearing goods, not for people to sit down and start selling like a sausage market,” Owolabi fired.
It was a fiery, unfiltered critique that drew murmurs of agreement.
He dissected the rot further: systemic decay caused by operational interference. While world-class airports run with minimal personnel, Nigerian terminals are choked by as many as ten different security agencies hovering over one single consignment.
The result? Bureaucratic friction, endless delays, customs and NDLEA bottlenecks, and frustrated importers who have paid handling fees but cannot get their goods.
He also called out regulatory overreach, reminding stakeholders that bonded terminals are under the sole legal custody of Customs until duty is paid. The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), he argued, is the landlord entitled to ground rent, but must stick to structural maintenance and not interfere in handling operations.
“If private handlers like SAHCO or NAHCO pull out their equipment today, aviation logistics in this country will collapse instantly,” he warned.
The forum thus presented two sides of the same coin.
On one side, SAHCO is investing, innovating and inviting collaboration to make Nigeria a trusted leader in global air cargo. On the other, the environment it operates in is being suffocated by illegality, agency multiplication and misuse of critical infrastructure.
Speakers agreed on one thing: infrastructure alone cannot guarantee excellence. Without order on access roads, without clearing illegal car marts and truck blockades from airport warehouses, and without reducing security personnel at cargo hubs, the new X-ray machines and cold-chains will be world-class tools trapped in a third-world chaos.
SAHCO has done its part. Now, stakeholders say, it is time for FAAN, law enforcement and the federal government to do theirs – to restore the sanctity of the cargo warehouse as a place for clearing goods, not selling cars.
Because in global trade, no one does business in a sausage market.
