Jama Onwubuariri is the managing director/Co-Founder of Trucks Transit Parks (TTP), a technology-driven logistics company in the maritime and industrial corridors. In this interview with Joseph Olaoluwa, he gives an overview of the technology deployed to improve congestion at the port, West African expansion plans, as well as other successes.
Ètò has been credited with helping to tackle the longstanding truck congestion around the Apapa and Tin Can Island ports. What was the central problem you set out to solve when you conceived the system, and what were the biggest obstacles to its implementation?
The central problem was not simply the number of trucks on the roads; it was the absence of a predictable, transparent and coordinated system for managing access to the ports.
Before Ètò, truck movement was largely fragmented, with long queues, significant human interference and uncertainty for transporters and cargo owners. Our objective was to move from a manual environment to a technology-enabled, first-come-first-served system where truck movements could be planned, scheduled and monitored.
The biggest obstacle was resistance to change. Truckers feared being excluded from port access, while others were reluctant to relinquish long-standing influence over the process. There was also scepticism about whether technology could be reliably enforced and deliver the promised results.
