Thomas: Why Nigeria trails counterparts in air cargo sector

• UK‐Nigeria trade hit £8.1 billion Q4 2025

The Director of Cargo Development and Services, Lekan Thomas, said it is a striking irony that Nigeria—the continent’s economic powerhouse—lags significantly behind its peers in the air cargo sub-sector.

He disclosed that while the nation ranks fifth in air cargo traffic behind Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa, and Ghana, some recent industry data actually suggests an even more precarious position for Nigeria when factoring in the sheer dominance of East and North African hubs.

The disparity between Nigeria’s GDP and its air cargo performance is driven by a few critical structural bottlenecks.

Unlike Ethiopia and Kenya, which have built massive air cargo industries on the back of perishable exports (flowers, tea, and coffee), Nigeria’s economy remains heavily reliant on crude oil, which does not move by air.

In Nigeria, largely a one-way destination, cargo planes arrive full of electronics and manufactured goods but often depart empty, making operating costs significantly higher.

In his keynote address at the weekend titled, “Improving Export Facilitation Through the Aviation Corridors – A Focus on Nigeria‐UK Trade”, Thomas lamented iInfrastructure deficit – critical shortage of cold storage, modern cargo facilities, and fit‐for‐purpose screening equipment and indeed purpose built warehouses, long manual clearance of cargo, regulatory chaos and lack of standardization costing the nation billions of Naira annually from non-certified and non-tracked agricultural produce.

Focusing directly on the Nigeria-UK corridor, Thomas explained that the United Kingdom imports over 130,000 tonnes of fresh produce annually from Africa by air, adding that Swissport has just opened a 2,694-square-metre temperature-controlled facility at London Heathrow – its first in the UK.

His words, “They are investing in cold chain infrastructure, scaling up for perishables. The question is: will Nigerian produce – aggregated, certified, and properly handled – fill that space? Nigeria’s growing pharmaceutical manufacturing sector can serve the UK – but only with certified handling processes and unbroken cold chains.”

On what FAAN is doing to change the narrative in cargo development, he said the Managing Director of FAAN, Mrs Olubunmi Kuku, is implementing a comprehensive reform agenda built on the Directorate of Cargo Development and Services’ audit, the Avia Cargo Committee’s findings, and her vision.

On infrastructure transformation, Thomas listed the expansion, modernisation, and equipping of existing international cargo warehouses in Lagos, Abuja, Kano, and Port Harcourt, hinting at plans for new cargo villages with dedicated facilities – packaging, testing laboratories, aggregation centres – in Lagos and Abuja.

“The moribund domestic cargo terminal at MMIA is now commissioned and operationalised, designed to improve throughput, with similar plans for Abuja, Kano, and Port Harcourt. Bear in mind efficient apron expansion and airside upgrades to handle wide‐body freighters (B747, B777F). We are exploring PPP models with state governments and private stakeholders. Discussions are ongoing on mono‐rail terminations at cargo terminals in Lagos to improve connectivity.”

“Alongside the NSW, we are developing a cargo community system. Goal: less than 30 minutes processing for known shippers – down from the current hours or days, with plans for PLACI, Pre-loading advanced Cargo Information, to aid trade facilitation further.”

To their British partners, he urged work with us on capacity building – not just in infrastructure, but in aggregation techniques, farm‐level yield strategies, and market access requirements, noting, “You have expanded access to your market; helping us meet your standards is the logical next step”.

Quoting the UK Department for Business and Trade (March 2026), he stated that total UK‐Nigeria trade reached £8.1 billion in the four quarters to Q3 2025 – up 11.4% year‐on‐year, noting that UK imports from Nigeria stood at £2.4 billion, with the UK serving as Nigeria’s largest source of capital inflows with $2.94 billion in Q3 2025 alone – nearly 49% of all capital imported.

Wole Shadare