Nigeria's logistics sector is bleeding N3.2 trillion every year, and the operators feeling that pain most acutely are the same investors who thought reform would have fixed things by now.
Despite visible gains in policy and infrastructure conversation, the underlying inefficiencies that have long plagued the industry are still very much present. Logistics operators say the promises of reform have not yet translated into real relief on the ground, and the frustration is palpable across the sector.
The gap between policy progress and lived experience is the story here. Investors who committed capital on the expectation that the operating environment would improve are now sitting with those same old wounds, waiting for the turnaround they were told was coming.
What makes this moment significant is that the reform gains are real, just not enough. The question the industry is asking now is whether momentum will finally catch up with the scale of the problem, or whether N3.2 trillion in annual losses will simply become an accepted cost of doing business in Nigeria.
Originally published by BusinessDay.