Nigeria loses an estimated N3.2 trillion ($4 billion) annually to transport inefficiencies caused by traffic congestion, poor integration among transport modes and fragmented logistics systems, Chairman of Global Transport Policy (GTP), Dr. Oluwasegun Musa, has said.
Speaking at the 2026 Annual GTP Conference in Lagos, Musa disclosed that logistics costs account for more than four per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), compared with the global best practice of less than 1.5 per cent.
According to him, road transport dominates the sector, accounting for about 99 per cent of freight and passenger movement, while rail contributes less than one per cent.
He noted that the overreliance on roads increases transportation costs and carbon emissions, adding that road crashes claim more than 12,000 lives and leave over 70,000 people injured annually.
Musa also expressed concern over the low level of digitalisation in the transport sector, revealing that only 18 per cent of transport agencies have fully digitised workforce planning systems.
He said Nigeria currently faces a shortage of more than 200,000 trained logistics and multimodal transport professionals, stressing that infrastructure and technology alone would not deliver the desired results without adequate investment in human capital and institutional capacity.
“We face a skills gap of over 200,000 trained logistics and multimodal professionals. Without deliberate investment in institutional capacity and human capital, no technology or infrastructure will deliver results.
“We must move from ad-hoc training to certified continuous workforce resilience,” he said.
Also speaking at the conference, the Chief Operating Officer of GTP, Mr. Onoruoiza Onuchi, said intra-African trade currently accounts for between 15 and 27 per cent of the continent’s total trade volume, compared with 60 per cent in Europe and 40 per cent in Asia.
He attributed the disparity partly to high logistics costs and inefficiencies across African economies.
According to Onuchi, logistics costs in Nigeria are estimated at about 25 per cent, while freight-related inefficiencies account for as much as 45 per cent of total trade value, compared with between five and 10 per cent in more efficient markets.
He stressed the need for reforms aimed at improving logistics infrastructure, promoting multimodal transport and strengthening regional trade competitiveness.
