The global powers focus on Togo as a preferred maritime gateway to West Africa, the United States and Russia gaining weight behind the port of Lomé.
Their growing presence indicates a strategic discrepancy of other regional ports – in particular the congestioned ports of Nigeria Lagos – as a capital of Togo is positioned as the new epicenter of trade in the African era of continental free trade (AFCFTA).
AFCFTA is a free trade agreement between 55 member states of the African Union, aimed at creating a single continental market for goods and services. The objective is to stimulate intra-African trade, reduce commercial barriers and improve African commercial position in Africa.
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The United States actively continues commercial expansion via Lomé. Last week, a delegation led by the officials of the United States Embassy in Lomé, Richard C. Michaels, organized a complete visit to the port installation and held a high-level meeting with the management of the Lomé container terminal (LCT). The discussions focused on the unlocking of commercial opportunities for American companies by taking advantage of the advanced port infrastructure of Togo.
“With advanced profound water capacities, advanced equipment and an annual speed exceeding 30 million tonnes, Lomé offers American companies unrivaled access to African markets.
“The expansion of current infrastructure, including a dry port and an industrial area, further improves the role of the port as an increasing bridge,” said the United States Embassy in Togo.
This diplomatic and commercial push occurs just a few days after US President Donald Trump met five West African leaders – Gabon, Guinea -Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania and Senegal – in Washington. While the meeting emphasized commercial collaboration in the midst of the reductions in American aid, the absence of Togo was visible in person but in the strategy: its port has quietly become the privileged way on the African markets.
Russia, on the other hand, obtained a more militarized entry. This month, Moscow has ratified a defense cooperation agreement with Togo, originally signed this year. The agreement includes military exercises, support for weapons and joint training, but in particular, also gives access to Russian warships to the strategic ports of Togo, including Lomé.
“Togo is considered to be the most organized and equipped in tropical Africa. For example, the most busy sea port in West Africa is located on its territory,” said Vladimir Gruzdev, member of the Russian government committee on legislative activity.
The agreement also covers hydrography, navigation and anti-pirate support, further extending the strategic scope of Russia by maritime infrastructure.
Beyond the rivalry of great power, the port of Lomé was energized by the sharp increase in trade in Africa in Asia-Ouest, which transformed the port into a center of central regional containers. The main ocean carriers like MSC began to deploy ultra-large containers (ULCV) to Lomé, bypassing traditional poles like Lagos directly. Analysts say that this reflects how transparent Togo has adapted to the requirements of modern maritime logistics.
Economists now consider Togo as an AFCFTA key winner, having reshaped its maritime port infrastructure to support intra-African trade. The goods arriving in Lomé are easily transmitted on larger markets, including Nigeria – an arrangement that exploits the weaknesses of Nigeria. The country remains linked to its exhausted Lagos port system, plagued by high loads, ineffective customs processes and chronic congestion.
Successive Nigerian governments have largely ignored the calls of maritime experts to decongest Lagos and to invest in underused oriental ports such as Calabar, Onne and Port Harcourt. This inaction would have opened the door to small neighbors to capitalize.
The Nigeria Expedition Association (SAN), which represents foreign maritime companies operating in the country, recently raised the alarm compared to the growing diversion of cargo to nearby ports, in particular Lomé and Cotonou. The president of SAN, Boma Alabi, explained that most of these goods end up making their way to Nigeria by informal means, resulting in economic losses.
The practice not only leads to a loss of freight, but strips the Nigeria of vital income, employment opportunities and the advantages of the value chain.
Alabi has also criticized the plans to introduce additional costs on on -board costs (FOB) on the cargo authorization in Nigeria, warning that it would worsen port competitiveness and lead more business through the border.
With AFCFTA now in force, the integration of regional trade is accelerating – as is the urgency for nations to align infrastructure on the opportunity. Togo would have evolved quickly and strategically, investing in international capacity, access and partnerships. Nigeria, on the other hand, continues to rely on a narrow maritime strangulation point, unfit for the current or future trade scale.
Analysts have warned that less that Nigeria is detached from its dependence on Lagos and invests in other maritime port corridors, it risks not only losing the relevance but becoming a passive recipient of the goods and the value which is now transported, controlled and imposed by its smaller but more agile neighbor.
