Multimix Academy Trains CICAN Members On Data-Driven Reporting Of Trade, Logistics Sectors, Others

Commerce and industry journalists in Nigeria have been called upon to strengthen their understanding of supply chains, logistics and trade dynamics to boost the quality of economic reporting as well as enhancing public understanding of the country’s commercial landscape.

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Multimix Academy, Dr. Madu Obiora made the call during a webinar titled “Beyond the Headlines,” organised by Multimix Academy for members of the Commerce and Industry Correspondents Association of Nigeria (CICAN) as part of the academy’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative aimed at strengthening industry journalism.

Delivering the theme paper, Dr. Obiora, said the training was designed to equip commerce and industry reporters with the technical knowledge, vocabulary and analytical frameworks required to report accurately on supply chains, logistics and trade across Nigeria and Africa.

He highlighted that Nigeria’s economic narrative is largely a supply chain story, noting that many of the country’s pressing economic challenges including foreign exchange volatility, port congestion, rising food prices and factory closures can be traced to logistics and supply chain disruptions.

Obiora said “Every story about port congestion, rising food prices or factory closures has a supply chain dimension,” adding that shallow analysis or misinformation in industry reporting can distort public policy decisions and undermine investor confidence.

He underscored that informed, data-driven journalism is critical to strengthening national competitiveness, noting that Nigeria needs journalists who can report on commerce and industry with the same rigour applied to political reporting.

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Multimix Academy disclosed that the webinar forms part of Multimix Academy’s broader commitment to developing industry capacity in Nigeria.

He stated further that for more than two decades, the institution has trained over 1,000 supply chain professionals across the country, but it is now extending its knowledge-sharing efforts to the media sector.

Obiora affirmed that the academy’s CSR intervention is aimed at improving media literacy in supply chain reporting, stressing that “informed reporting drives better policy, better business and better outcomes for all Nigerians.”

Obiora introduced participants at the training to the fundamentals of supply chains, which includes the network of entities, resources and processes involved in producing goods and delivering them to the final consumer.

The process, he said typically revolves around raw material suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, warehouses, retailers and ultimately end users.

He also clarified key distinctions between logistics, supply chain management and trade facilitation.

Logistics, according to him, refers primarily to the physical movement and storage of goods, including transportation, warehousing and last-mile delivery, while supply chain management includes the entire end-to-end system from procurement and production to distribution and returns.

Trade facilitation, he said involves government policies and systems that simplify cross-border trade processes.

Obiora declared that supply chains directly affect the daily lives of Nigerians, adding that logistics costs alone account for between 30 and 40 per cent of consumer prices in the country, insisting that disruptions in transportation, ports or distribution networks can quickly translate into higher prices for consumers.

He maintained that beyond inflation, supply chain efficiency also influences employment, investment decisions and food security.

He mentioned that Nigeria’s logistics sector employs millions of people, and bemoaned that agribusiness supply chain failures are responsible for post-harvest losses estimated at up to 40 per cent annually.

The webinar further scrutinized persistent structural challenges in Nigeria’s logistics ecosystem, including port congestion, poor road infrastructure, high energy costs and regulatory bottlenecks.

Obiora cited Apapa gridlock, for instance, as costing the Nigerian economy more than ₦1 trillion annually in lost productivity.

Participants were also informed that Nigeria’s port dwell time averages between 14 and 21 days, compared to three to five days in Singapore and about seven days in Mombasa, stressing the country’s competitiveness gap in trade logistics.

The training also underscored additional systemic inefficiencies such as multiple regulatory agencies operating at the nation’s ports; high container examination rates; the heavy reliance on road transportation for more than 70 per cent of freight movement, adding that these factors collectively raise logistics costs to between two and three times the global average relative to GDP.

The implications, he noted extend to industrial productivity, with many manufacturers reportedly operating at between 40 and 60 per cent capacity utilisation due to unreliable supply chains for inputs and distribution.

The webinar also dwells on the impact of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) on Nigeria’s supply chain ecosystem.

He pointed out that while the trade agreement promises tariff elimination on more than 90 per cent of goods and the potential to increase intra-African trade by over 50 per cent by 2030, experts also warned that the benefits would depend heavily on logistics readiness and infrastructure efficiency.

The journalists applauded the training which underscored the importance of data-driven reporting when covering industry and trade issues as they were encouraged to rely on credible sources such as the National Bureau of Statistics, Central Bank of Nigeria, Nigeria Customs Service, Nigerian Ports Authority and Nigerian Export Promotion Council to verify claims and build accurate narratives.

Obiora admonished that many industry stories often rely on single sources or anecdotal claims, while encouraging the journalists to triangulate data, analyse multi-year trends and disaggregate statistics to uncover the real drivers behind economic developments.

He charged reporters to focus on the human impact of supply chain disruptions by linking data to the experiences of farmers, manufacturers, traders and consumers, adding that stronger industry reporting can deepen policy debates, improve public understanding of economic issues and strengthen Nigeria’s competitiveness in global markets.

“As Africa’s largest economy, how Nigerian journalists tell the supply chain story shapes how investors, development partners and global markets perceive the continent,” he added.

Participants at the webinar which include members of the Commerce and Industry Correspondents Association of Nigeria described the training as apt, emphasizing that improved understanding of logistics and trade systems would enable journalists to move beyond surface-level reporting and provide more insightful analysis of Nigeria’s economic challenges and opportunities.

Multimix Academy provides training, certification, consulting, and professional development services mainly in the fields of logistics, supply chain management, and international trade to help individuals and organisations improve their operational efficiency and career prospects.